Page 81 of Fortune Fae Academy
“Destined is he, the one of the fall.
The ground shakes.
The air breaks.
The cycle is broken. Once and for all.”
Rowan’s magic coursed through me as I breathed life into the powerful prophecy, using the wave it created to secure a lifeline of my own.
Flames engulfed Mina, flaring around her in bright reds and blues until they cooled to an ethereal silver. She breathed them in, taking a step back and finally releasing me as they vanished inside of her.
“Fae,” she exclaimed, “what have you done?”
Fucking disgusting,I thought as I propped myself up on the woefully uncomfortable stool I had been given. I kept my feet firmly planted on the ground and my forearms on my thighs as I leaned forward and tried not to fall.
I would have preferred the floor in my current state, but I wasn’t going to let Roderik have the pleasure of seeing me bow.
That didn’t change the fact that everything hurt. Especially my eyes because they were currently being subjected to Roderik’s naked ass.
Which, I supposed, was better than the other side of him. He faced away from me as he perused a new human crop. One that was lined up for his enjoyment in none other than the central chamber of the Collegium itself. It was unheard of for humans to come to our realm, much less to the heart of our society.
Maybe this wasn’t theheartanymore. More like the empty cage that had once housed a soul, but now was nothing more than an echo chamber of lust and greed.
Roderik had both of those in spades. He wandered back and forth between the row of beautiful women, demonstrating his power over the room.
One that had been prepped for today’s activities. Beta servants had brought in towels and incense canisters. The scented smoke drifted through the air, curling with sensual promise as its aphrodisiac properties made my chest tighten. There were even centers filled with finger foods and plentiful towels, as well as other amenities.
I’d expected Omegas to be brought in to entertain Roderik’s needs. Instead, it had been humans. And the Alpha beamed with arrogance like he was already a king.
No one stopped him. No one interrupted and said that he’d just taken a long bath with his newest Omega before coming here. That this was wrong and unnecessary.
Yet, with his cock still half-hard from his activities, he admired the females while the veiny appendage swayed with his steps.
They wore various layers of clothing. Some were in the process of undressing as they stupidly tried to vie for the Alpha’s attention.
“Very nice,” he said, pinching the chin of one woman with particularly large breasts.
She remained kneeling before him and loosely folded her hands over her thighs. Her position forced her to arch her neck, but she didn’t seem to mind. She smiled up at him with servitude that could rival a trained Omega’s.
But theseweren’tOmegas. Their bodies were not designed for the brutality of a Fortune Fae Alpha, or the Dust he would require, and they would die if they took an Alpha’s knot. None of them seemed to care about that gruesome little detail.
I’d seen this before in Roderik’s territory. It had disturbed me then, and it most certainly disturbed me now. More so because it seemed that Amell condoned it.
He watched from his perch at the desk near the window filled with stacks of documents. A passing curiosity made me wonder if they were about territory squabbles, or something pettier like complaints from those lucky enough to land a council meeting.
When one fell to the floor, I figured out it had more to do with his experiments. Depictions of runes and patterns in the Web were scratched out in chaotic detail as if it were a road map for the insane.
Amell didn’t even lift his gaze when Roderik tore off the woman’s shirt, revealing her breasts. She squealed with delight when he picked her up, propped her on his thigh, and buried his face in her cleavage.
Whatever cult Roderik has grown in the Human Realm needs to be dealt with,I thought as another jab of pain speared through my jaw.
Roderik had tried to take the dose of toxin I owed him, but I wasn’t going to give it. Not until he agreed to my new terms.
So far, we were at a stalemate. He had tried to use a syringe on me, though. Then he’d tried torture. Various broken bones drew on my Dust stores to meld back themselves together. Torn muscles knit into the right places and missing pieces of my body had already regrown.
But my Dust was running low after the damage Roderik had done. So, for that, I was selfishly glad of the distraction that gave me some time to heal.
I also plucked what little Dust I could draw in from the air. The Collegium itself was made with the ethereal life force. It breathed power and exuded it—but it was also guarded.
