Unraveled

“And I will be given answers. You commanded my friend to attend one of your meetings, yet never told him when and where that meeting will be held. Tell me, and I’ll tell him.” Please, please, please.



“I don’t have the information you seek.” The witch never took a step, yet the distance between them was suddenly cut in half.



Mary Ann raised her chin another notch. “You’re lying.”



“Am I?”



Yes, she had to be. “Do you want us to die?”



“Maybe.”



“Why?”



“You are friends with a vampire, a werewolf, both enemies to my kind, and a boy who draws us with a power we have never encountered before. To echo your question, why wouldn’t I want you to die?”



Her teeth ground together as her own strategy was used against her. Time for a new angle, she supposed. She forced her expression to clear, her tone to gentle. “What’s your name?”



“Marie.”



Mary Ann was surprised by the simply stated answer. “Well, Marie, you should know that we’re going to do everything we can to stay alive.”



“As would I.” Marie’s head tilted to the side, her study intensifying. “Do you know what you are, Mary Ann Gray?”



Hearing her own name used, when she’d never offered it, was jolting. “Me?” She laughed; she just couldn’t help herself. “I’m human.” Average in every way.



“No. You’re something more. I can feel you feeding on me.”



Her eyes widened in horror. “Feeding on you? Are you kidding? I am not a vampire.”



“I didn’t say you were. But you are attempting to drain me, and I won’t allow it.” With every word, Marie’s voice sharpened.



Drain her? What— Oh. Yeah. “Drain” must mean “mute” in witch-speak. “I don’t mute natural abilities, so you should be able to—”



“Do you purposely misunderstand me? I said nothing about muting. You are sucking at my life-force like a vacuum, trying to take everything and leave a mere shell behind.”



“No. I’m not.”



“Continue to lie to me, and I’ll cast a truth spell on you.” Now the witch’s voice slashed. “Never again will you be able to lie about anything to anyone. Ever.”



Could she really do that? Mary Ann experienced a wave of fury, of frustration and helplessness. And with the emotions, more of that sweet power flowed through her, filling her up, somehow soothing her. “I’m not lying now. I’m not…sucking at you.”



“Perhaps you haven’t yet realized what you are, then.” Marie’s eyes narrowed as she backed away, heading into the forest. Odd. She was pale now, her beautiful tan visibly fading. “If you return to town, I’ll assume you’re there to finish this.”



Finish this fight between them, she meant. “You will assume correctly.” Shut up. Just shut up before she attacks!



Mary Ann couldn’t, though. She would not be the weak link anymore.



Marie disappeared behind the branches and leaves, and Mary Ann spun, quickly jetting inside the building. To safety. What had Marie meant by “perhaps you haven’t yet realized what you are”?



Riley might know. He had arranged his schedule to match hers, so, if he’d come to school, she’d get to talk to him during class.



The second period bell suddenly rang.



Doors flew open and kids raced into the halls. Lockers creaked open and slammed shut. Mary Ann had to fight her way through the crowd. Great. She’d missed first period entirely, and she had a test tomorrow. Great. Mr. Klien, if he’d come to school after partying so hard last night, would have done a review today. Without that review, she would flunk.



Schoolwork didn’t come easily for her. She had to slave for every A, and slave hard, but she hadn’t been studying the past few weeks, her attention too focused on, well, staying alive. Last test, she’d gotten a B. Her first. And the last pop quiz? Solid D. Another hated first.



She hadn’t told her dad yet. When she did, he would flip. Make that if she did. She kept telling herself he was better off not knowing. He had enough to deal with. Besides, she would ace the next one and her overall grade wouldn’t be affected.



Oh, who was she kidding? As her peers headed into their next class, she finally admitted the truth. She hadn’t told him because she didn’t want the hassle of being lectured, maybe even grounded. And hey, maybe Marie really had cast a truth spell on her. Now she couldn’t even lie to herself.



“Hey, Mary Ann.” Brittany Buchanan walked briskly down the hall, grinning, a paper outstretched in her hand. Her chin-length red hair was the envy of every girl at school. Well, not her twin sister. Brianna’s hair was the exact same color, only longer. “Glad I ran into you. Riley asked me to take notes for you in Chem.”



“Riley’s here?” she asked, claiming the paper.



“Yeah.” The redhead sighed dreamily. “I almost passed out when he spoke to me. That boy’s voice is deep.”



Thank God he was here. If he was here, he was okay. “Where is he?” And why hadn’t he delivered the notes? Why hadn’t he picked her up this morning?



“Don’t know. But, uh, are you two, like, dating, because…” Brittany bit her bottom lip. “Yeah.” Hands off! “We’re dating.” She hoped. After last night, though, he could have changed his mind. She’d been so sure of herself, so stupid. She may have ruined everything. Now witches were even visiting the school. “Thank you for the notes. I owe you. Big time.”



“No problem. And as for payback, if Riley has a brother, you could, I don’t know, introduce me.” Brittany started biting her lip again.



“He has two.” And both were dealing with curses of their own, she recalled. Anyone they were attracted to would think they were ugly. Anyone they weren’t attracted to would think they were gorgeous. “I’ll see if they’re free.”



“Thanks!” A grinning Brittany flounced off.



Mary Ann rushed to her locker, threw her bag inside and grabbed her book and binder. The halls were now almost empty, the bell due to ring in less than a minute. Too much time gabbing, she thought, and she had to haul butt into the three hundred building.



As she barreled around a corner, a door in front of her opened unexpectedly. She stumbled as she darted around it—or tried to. An arm reached out, hard fingers banding around her wrist and jerking her into a darkened room. The moment she was inside, the door closed, locking her in with her assailant.



Her textbook thumped to the ground. Crap! She could have used it as a weapon. Do something. Quick! Fighting panic, trembling, Mary Ann struck, slamming the heel of her hand into the guy’s nose, just like Aden had taught her.



He howled.



She stilled, recognizing that howl. Her heart slammed against her ribs. “Riley?”



“I think you broke my nose,” he said, but he sounded amused. That amusement didn’t last long, however. He flipped on the light, chasing the shadows away, and she saw that his expression was etched in violence. His eyes were narrowed, lips pulled back, teeth bared. Didn’t help that blood poured from his nose.



“I’m sorry. You just, you scared me!”



The tardy bell rang, and she wanted to curse.



“Don’t be sorry,” he growled. “Be proud. And I’m sorry I scared you.”



He didn’t sound apologetic. He sounded just as violent as he looked. She glanced away, needing a moment to calm, and saw that they were in a supply closet. The scent of disinfectant saturated the air. Cleaning supplies lined the shelves.



Deep breath in, out. Finally, her trembling eased and her heartbeat slowed. “Why are you so upset?” she asked, keeping her eyes away from him.



“I’m not.”



She ran her tongue over her teeth. Someone needed a truth spell, and it wasn’t her. “So where were you this morning? I waited.” And waited. Oh, God. Did he hear the whine in her voice?



“After the vampire gig, I had to escort Aden home. As there was a wee bit of opposition from his new subjects, I was afraid someone would follow him and try to take him out, so I ended up camping outside his window all night and all morning.”



Her hand whipped up to her throat as her gaze once again clashed with his. “Did they? Try to take him out, I mean?”



“No.”



“So he’s well?”



“Well, but tired. He still sees the fairy ghost, and that ghost prevented him from sleeping.”



Tired and ghost-whispering were far better than mortally wounded. “Where is he now?”



“Here.”



“With Victoria,” she said with a nod. A statement of fact, not a question. Those two were always together.



“No. Victoria didn’t attend today.”



“Why? Was she hurt?” And why wasn’t Riley with her? Usually Riley glued himself to the vampire’s side, protecting her his first priority.



Tendrils of jealousy worked through Mary Ann, followed by tendrils of guilt. Their relationship shouldn’t bother her. They were princess and bodyguard. If Victoria were injured, Riley would be punished. Perhaps killed.



Or maybe things were different now, under Aden’s rule.



“Physically, she’s fine,” Riley said. “Our councilmen want her to stay away from Aden so that he can date other people.”



What? “And she’s okay with that?”



Riley’s lips twitched. “You’ll have to ask her.”



“If Aden’s king, how can the councilmen tell her what to do? He wouldn’t allow it.” Would he?



“Aden doesn’t live in our home. He’s new and no one knows what to make of him. Everyone is looking to the councilmen for answers, and right now, they support him. We don’t want that to change, so we’re catering to their desires. Besides, to deny them would cause unrest among the people. That unrest would be dangerous for Aden.”