Page 41 of Faerie Marked

I should have been sleeping, the logical part of me growled, upset at being woken up for some stupid game. I should have been conserving my energy in preparation for classes tomorrow. Instead, I trailed behind Persephone and hermeanionstoward the center lawn of green I’d only glimpsed in the daylight. It stretched away from the circular drive and extended toward the border of forest trees keeping us hidden from the outside world.

“What are the rules to this game?” I asked, striving to be overheard above the relentless rain.

“You’ve heard of Capture the Flag, haven’t you? It’s along the same lines, except more dangerous because we can use magic,” one of her friends snapped. She glanced over her shoulder at me and her one look held enough disdain to fill a crater on the moon.

“I’ve played it before. It’s just been a long time.” I tried not to affect the same kind of tone. These were the people I needed to compete against for my place here. I didn’t want to stoop to their level.

Although maybe tonight they’d see what I could really dowithoutmagic.

“Try to keep up with us, will you?” Persephone called back to me. “There are the boys.”

And when we reached the center green, I saw Mike waiting there with Roman at his side, along with a group of other half-Fae from the boys’ dorm.

His eyes found mine without hesitation, his hair a beacon in the gloom. “Hey, Tavi. I didn’t think you’d be joining us tonight.” He inclined his head in greeting.

Persephone moved to his opposite side, sliding her hands along Mike’s shoulders in a proprietary move. “I finally managed to get her out of bed, in case you were wondering why we’re late. This should prove to be a fun game, don’t you think?”

I didn’t like the way my blood boiled while watching the two of them together. I didn’t like the way part of me, alargepart of me, wanted to stride over and punch Persephone right in the face. I knew how to make it hurt.

Rather than give in to my violent desire, I forced a smile on my face. “So, let’s get the game started already.”

Moonlight was something to fear for the first time in my life. Luckily, clouds covered the sky and kept the moon from sight. But the weather could change at any moment. I’d have to make this quick despite the rain.

Roman walked over and gave me a short rundown on the rules and soon we were split into two teams. I found myself beside Mike, balancing on the balls of my feet, ready to capture the scroll wherever it landed.

One of the boys next to him clenched it in his hand, his lips pursed in preparation for the spell to send the magically-protected parchment airborne.

“You’re going to do fine,” Mike told me. He blinked against the rain. “Follow my lead.”

“I think I can handle it,” I replied swiftly, and kept my eyes focused on the paper.

“I don’t want you to think you have to win just because Persephone is super competitive. She can be a little crazy sometimes.”

I didn’t like the way he spoke about her. “I didn’t realize the two of you were such good friends.”

“She runs in the same circles as my parents and some of their friends. I wouldn’t say we’re close, exactly—”

“Tavi,” Persephone snapped. She’d affected a similar posture, her feet apart and balanced, her arms loose at her sides. “Focus.”

Oh yeah, she didn’t like me talking to Mike.Good. Her irritation added another level to this game.

They didn’t expect my reflexes. I took satisfaction in their surprise. When the scroll shot off into the air, I bolted after it, my shifter nature reacting without hesitation despite the spell keeping it contained. I rebounded off one of the trees, twisting my body midair and reaching out to grab the scroll before it even hit the ground.

“Foul!” one of Persephone’s goons called out.

I clenched my fist around the scroll and dropped down to a crouch. “It’s not a foul,” I argued.

Mike came up behind me and clapped a hand down on the top of my head. “Good job! You’re a natural.”

This time, my smile was easy. “Damn right.”

“Throw it again,” Persephone demanded, fixing the boy who’d uttered the spell with a look designed to peel the flesh from his bones. “And this time, let’s make sure we have it in play for more than five seconds.”

We continued with the game, and now my dodging became real as the moon peeked out between the clouds here and there between the raindrops. There were a few near-misses where I had to twist away seconds before I landed in a shaft of light. Like a damn vampire instead of a creature who’d once run free beneath the same light.

I missed the pull of the moon. Felt entirely too human.

Still, time and again I captured the scroll before Persephone or anyone else had an opportunity to grab it. Soon the last bit of sleep left me and my movements became sharper. Faster. It became a game I played with myself. To see how fast I could move, to see how adroitly I could play, how I could show the rest of these girls who they were really dealing with.

---