Ella
There are no such things as fairy tales or happily ever afters. Not in my world. My reality is riddled with pain and loss and immense hatred.
Until him.
Trayton Nacht, the new transfer student at Darlington Academy.
Something about his darkness calls to me. The way his eyes glimmer in the night and the cruelty of his handsome smile. With a single glance, he turned my world inside out. And now I can’t get enough.
But what if he’s just like the rest of them? What if this is all just another masquerade?
Tray
She stole my heart, once upon a time. Three years ago in an alley where she left me with a pair of sodden blue slippers.
Her life had been mine for the taking, until I discovered the fae magic lurking beneath her skin. Now it’s time to recruit her, to take her to her fate.
But first, we’ll play a little game.
One that will end in destruction.
Because fuck fairy godmothers.
What Ella needs is a Dark Fae.
One who can help her burn Darlington Academy to the ground.
A Dark Fae like me.
Freshman Year
Laughter.
Jeers.
Cruel words.
It all blended around me, but certain voices peaked above the crowd.
“I can’t believe she thought Dash actually wanted to go to the dance with her.” Carmen’s giggle followed, the sound grating on my nerves. My stepsister often woke me with that noise, usually before acting on whatever nefarious activity she and Ryan had plotted together.
“Classic Cindersoot, always living in her little dream world instead of our reality,” Ryan said now, her cackle holding a sinister touch to it. I had no doubt this latest scheme was her idea. She was the more intelligent of the twin brats.
And somehow, they’d recruited Darlington Academy’s very own prince to play in their twisted game.
I swallowed, the pain of their joint betrayal making it hard to breathe. As if I hadn’t gone through enough this year. But that was exactly what Dash Charming had preyed upon. He was the one I’d confided in and cried to after my father’s death.
Dash had just been so convincing.
After weeks of courting me, kissing me, holding my hand in the academy halls, telling everyone he adored me, I actually thought he liked me.
What was worse than falling for it was falling for him.
His wicked grin now told me it was all a lie.
A savage joke with me as the punch line.
And everyone knew.
What had he said about me behind my back? What had he told the others? Did he tell them all about my nightmares? About the shadows?
I shivered.
I always knew deep down something wasn’t right. I’d just ignored my inner misgivings and given in to the fairy tale of reality. One my mother always told me existed. But her death had proven otherwise.
And then my father’s passing this year…
I hung my head, my throat tight with emotion.
The entire freshman class stood around me, most of them amused. Some cast pitying glances my way, which was somehow worse.
Here I stood in my ruined blue gown, soiled by the punch Ryan had poured over my head. My blonde curls had absorbed the brunt of it, but my entire outfit was destroyed. Even my cerulean slippers.
My heart ached. No one could know what this night had meant to me. I’d dug the old dress out of the attic from my mother’s former wardrobe and hemmed it myself to make it fit. Only to have it all so spectacularly spoiled.
I’m sorry, I whispered to her. I’m so incredibly sorry.
I knew better than this. All those who attended this academy were rich, elitist assholes who only thought of themselves. I was the one who didn’t belong—the poor daughter taken in by her father’s widow.
I’d begged my stepmother, Clarissa, to send me to the local high school. But she said I needed the academy, that it would set me up for the future.
Was this the future she had in mind?
Four years of hell?
“Oh, I think she’s going to cry,” Ryan mock-whispered.
Dash chuckled. “Should I offer a pity fuck?”
“She did look hot in that dress,” his best friend drawled. “Bet she’s a virgin, too.”
Gross, I thought. We were only fifteen. Why wouldn’t I be a virgin?
“Of course she is. No one in their right mind would ever touch her,” Ryan replied, sounding far superior despite being a month younger than me.
Why am I still standing here? Because my feet had forgotten how to move. Well, they quickly remembered now. I refused to cry in front of them. Refused to let them see another moment of my agony.
I picked up my skirts and ran, their uproarious laughter trailing in my wake.
They’ll all pay, I vowed. One day, somehow they—
A sob threatened my throat, cutting off my thoughts. I could plot my revenge later. Escaping mattered more.
Doors seemed to open for me, allowing me to burst into the night where all the cars waited.
I sprinted by them all, not caring in the slightest about the damp, snowy ground. The upcoming holidays were going to be hard—my first ones spent truly alone.
But this? The Freshman Holiday Ball? Had made it even worse. Because I had no one to run to.
No family.
No friends.
Not even a pet.
Tears trickled down my face, freezing in the night air. But onward I pushed, longing to leave everything behind me.
I had a month to pull myself together, to harden my shell, to not let their comments and cruelty impact me. I could do this. I had to.
Three and a half years. I could survive that. In three and a half years, I would be done with school, done with them.
My stepmother couldn’t access my inheritance. Neither could I. Not until I graduated.
But on that very day, I would withdraw every penny and run far, far away.
Once I graduated, I would be free to—
My slippers gave out beneath me, sending me careening into a nearby wall. A wall with hands that grasped my hips to keep me upright.
I shook my head, clearing it and seeing the darkness around me for the first time. I’d run with a single-minded purpose of escape without paying any mind to my surroundings.
“Are you all right?” a deep voice asked, his face shrouded in the shadows. All I could make out were his piercing black eyes.
A chill swept up my spine. Something about this male was dangerous. It seemed to cloak his aura, allowing him to blend right into the night.
Or maybe it was my imagination.
Hell if I knew.
I took a step back, only to find myself caught in his too-strong grip. “Let go of me,” I breathed, the demand in my tone hidden somewhere beneath my fraying emotions.
He released me in an instant, causing me to fall flat on my ass in a pile of dirty snow from the road. Of course. I wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all, to whimper at the cold, and to beat some sense into my guardian angel. Assuming she even existed. I was seriously starting to doubt any aspect of the universe cared about me at all.
The stranger’s hand appeared, but I batted it away, too irritated to accept his help after being so unceremoniously dumped on the ground. A consequence that I recognized was more my fault than his.