King of Swords (Stormcloud Academy 1)

“Cute,” he grumbled. “Change of plans. Zeph wants you to meet him in the clock tower.”

“You’re kidding.”

Stormcloud’s clock tower was ninety stone steps up. I’d never been a fan of heights, so the idea of mounting them was a non-starter. Arvo didn’t blink, though. He was dead serious.

“He wants privacy. I’m here to make sure you go up.”

“You gonna pull me up by the hair?” I asked.

“If I have to.”

“Very well, Arvo,” I sighed, dreading the unending climb and the unguarded crow's nest at the top.

“Do I need to escort you?”

“No, that’s fine.” Then I added, unable to resist twisting the knife on him, “You know, Zephyr is really lucky to have someone like you who’s so good at following orders.”

Arvo’s face reddened. I loved it. It was funny how finding a person detestable and wanting to fuck them can get all tangled up.

The pits of my dress were stained, and my hair was all mussed by the time I finished climbing the interminable spiral stairwell. At the bottom of the stairs, I was somewhat nervous that Zephyr wanted me to meet him in a secluded place with a deadly drop. By the time I reached the top, I might have welcomed the sweet release of death.

Zephyr was already in the clock tower when I arrived. He wore a perfectly cut black Tom Ford suit and a custom-tailored black shirt. He looked like some sort of unholy minister, his dark curls blowing in the mountain wind.

“The old crow Amelia let you out, I see,” he muttered, staring into the distance.

“She’s all bluff and bluster, I think. How long has she been here?”

“They built the school around her. Don’t pay her too much mind, Biba. She’s a bitter old drunk.” He raised a hand and waved me over.

“I don’t like heights.”

“You shouldn’t have gone to school in the mountains, then.”

Zephyr wasn’t asking. I screwed up my courage and haltingly walked to his side. The view from the open-air arch made me gasp. As high as the school was, this felt like we were touching heaven. The mountains continued ceaselessly before us, disappearing into a distant whiteness where sunlight bounced off clouds and melted snow infinitely.

“You’re looking at the better part of Switzerland,” he said. “On a clearer day, you can see past it into Germany and France. The whole world before you. Don’t you feel like you can just pluck it?”

“Why did you call me here?”

“I wanted to see you.”

“You see me every day.”

“Not like this. I wanted you away from everyone else. We need to speak candidly.”

I held my breath. There were so many things he could spring on me that I wasn’t ready to respond to.

“Theo Brant,” he growled. “Had anyone else in this school pulled the shit he did, I’d have cut off his head and mounted it from a pike up here. Theo’s special, though.”

“How so?”

“For one thing, he has pedigree. He might be a bastard, but he’s the bastard of the landed gentry. For another thing, if I killed him, I think I’d lose you.”

We turned to look at each other.

“Does that matter?” I asked, not believing him.

Zephyr pulled me close to him and stared deep into my eyes. His fingers clung tight to my waist. So strong was his grip that I feared he would lift off my feet entirely.

“You’re part of something big, Quinn. You and I—we are the future of Stormcloud. I cannot lose you.”

“Is that why you paid my tuition?”

His brow arched an expression of both consternation and amusement. “How are you so sure it was me?”

“I know things, Zephyr. I know someone paid my tuition and Gail’s after our fathers died. I know our fathers went to Stormcloud. I know they were close to the Kings, and to your father.”

“You don’t know nearly as much as you think you do.”

He pushed me back, just a little and not to the edge of the tower. But the shove was enough to scare the living daylights out of me. “If you want the whole truth—” His hands found my belt and unbuckled it. “—you will have to earn it.”

Not breaking eye contact with me, Zephyr flung the belt off the edge. I looked frightfully down to see it swirl past the walls of the school and down the mountainside. I clutched hold of the stone behind me to stop my shaking legs from sending me down after it.

He advanced close and brought both hands, curled like talons, to the neck of my dress. Without warning, he tore it clean down the front. The wind struck my suddenly unclothed body, making me wince. A second later, he pulled my bra up and took hold of my breasts.

I wanted to scream, but Zephyr prevented that with his mouth. He sucked my bottom lip between his teeth and pressed my body against the archway.