Magic Gambit (Hidden World Academy Book 3) Read online

  Boy, I get that feeling. My mind feels like a car that’s trying to go sixty miles an hour in first gear.

  “For one thing, it means the cult can’t make Roxie and Gabbi switch again,” Bianca retorts. “It means now Roxie’s safe in the Dull World, so they can’t make her destroy anything, and we can work on getting back at them. On stopping them.”

  “Won’t they have more than one disc?” I ask.

  “Unlikely.” Kasian shakes his head, chewing on his full bottom lip. “Discs like this are rare, difficult to make. If I had to guess, I’d say that Gunner or someone else in the cult got that disc from the fae as well. Not Anzac, but some other fae kingdom. No human could’ve made a disc like this, no matter how powerful their magic is. And the fae don’t give up their gifts easily.”

  “We could be wrong though,” Theo says, sighing. “We don’t know for certain. We don’t know anything for certain. And the cult could go out and get another one from somewhere. There are lots of fae kingdoms. Sure, they’re small and isolated, but there are more of them than you’d think. Especially over in the United Kingdom.”

  An idea begins to form in my head. The fae are very mysterious and powerful creatures, rather secretive, and very careful with outsiders. I doubt they’d like the idea of their precious magical devices being used to destroy a world. That doesn’t really seem like their style. And even if they did like the idea of the Dull World being destroyed, I don’t think that they’d want it done using their magic. It would make them feel used by humans, and the fae hate to be used.

  “What if…” I drum my fingers on the table, speaking slowly as my thoughts formulate. “Okay, so… we can be pretty sure this disc was made by the fae as well, and that no human is going to be able to replicate it.”

  Kasian nods in affirmation.

  “Well, King Anzac likes me. Likes us. And he trusts us. Do the fae have any communication between kingdoms?” I look over at Theo.

  He shrugs. “Sure. I mean, it’s not always friendly; they used to have wars all the time. But that’s settled down now that the world is more global and interconnected, same as with our civilization up here. I think they also had to band together because humans were encroaching more and more on their territory. They had to unite or die, you could say.”

  “So if we asked King Anzac to get the word out to all the other fae kingdoms, he could do that?”

  “I don’t see why he couldn’t. Get what word out?”

  “I think we should tell him about the cult, and about what it’s been doing.” I gesture at the disc Bianca’s holding. “That way the fae can stop making more discs and protect or even destroy the ones they do have. If they refuse to give any to humans, it’ll keep the cult from getting their hands on another one.”

  “That’s definitely something,” Cross says slowly. “Like you said, Anzac likes you. I think that could help. It’s not going to hurt, anyway.”

  Fae can tell when you’re lying, so Anzac will know I’m telling the truth. It’s why it’s so important to be careful when making deals with the fae. They’ll trick you, not by lying but by telling the truth and getting you in the fine print, so to speak. They’re all about exploiting the letter of the law. Their ability to see through lies can be annoying if you’re trying to get the better of them in a bargain, but it’ll be helpful in convincing them to believe me about a crazy cult that’s trying to destroy a parallel world.

  “Okay, so, first step, we go to the fae,” Kasian says. “We keep Roxie away from the cult by making sure they can’t get another disc. What else?”

  “We need to get that prophecy interpreted,” Cross says. “We have no idea what the damn thing means other than that Roxie will break the world.” He rolls his eyes. “Of course the one decipherable part was the fucking doom and gloom part.”

  Right. I groan inwardly. Because why would anything be easy when it comes to prophecies?

  I’m feeling a bit maudlin and downtrodden about the whole thing, but we just spent the night fleeing from a cult, nearly died, Bianca had to murder her boyfriend, I literally switched back and forth between dimensions for an hour, and none of us have slept.

  It’s been a long fucking night.

  Theo nods, picking up the thread where Cross left off. “We can ask Anzac about that, although I don’t think he’ll be able to help much. Prophecies aren’t a fae specialty. Maybe we can find another djinn who’ll do it. One who won’t try to kill Gabbi.”

  “What?” Bianca’s eyebrows shoot up. Quickly, I explain about Solomon and how he thought I was Roxie and tried to kill me.

  “He must’ve thought that killing Roxie would prevent the prophecy from happening,” Kasian says.

  “Why would a djinn care about the fate of a parallel world?” Theo asks.

  “Maybe he doesn’t,” Cross puts in grimly. “Maybe he saw something in the prophecy that made him think this world would be at risk too. The Cult of Singularity is fucking with some powerful shit that no one quite understands.”

  “The Dull World and the Hidden World balance each other out,” Kasian says. “Or that’s what Angelique has always told me.”

  A shiver runs down my spine. Angelique is a history professor at Radcliffe, and she knows her stuff.

  “We all have twins in that world,” I add. “Maybe killing off our twin permanently kills us off too?”

  “Whatever the reason, we gotta figure out what this damn prophecy says.” Cross raps his knuckles decisively on the table. “If we figure that out, we can try to prevent it.”

  “You can’t prevent prophecies,” Kasian and Bianca say at the same moment.

  “Sure, but prophecies can be misunderstood and misinterpreted,” Theo argues. “They’re written like bad poetry, which is why you have to go to an interpreter to even get an idea of what they really mean. And they often turn out in a way that people didn’t plan or expect, right?”

  “We need help.” Kasian heaves a sigh. “We need allies. At the moment, it’s just the five of us against an entire cult. There were hundreds of them in that cave, and who knows how many beyond that. We need more people to fight them.”

  “But who can we trust? How do we find allies?” Cross waves his hand around as if there’s a line of people waiting to hand in applications. “Take out a personal ad in the paper?”

  “Could we go to the police?” I ask.

  Before the words are even out of my mouth, I realize I already know the answer. Everyone rolls their eyes, although the guys do it in a fond way.

  “Look, if we could go to the police? Roxie would’ve done it.” Bianca sets the disc on the table and then braces her hands on the scuffed wooden surface, leaning against it. “She probably thought of that first. I guarantee you she realized the police either wouldn’t listen and wouldn’t believe her or they’d have members of the cult embedded in the police too. Maybe both.”

  I have to admit she’s right. Roxie motivations can be hard to guess sometimes, but I have no doubt that she’s whip smart and a good strategist.

  She’s in the top of her class at Radcliffe Academy for a reason. She grew up with parents who pitted her against her two siblings and made them compete with each other in magical tournaments where the only real rule was “don’t kill each other.”

  So, yeah, she wouldn’t have gone to all of this trouble if there was an easier solution.

  “We can try to find other allies,” Kasian says. “There have to be others out there who know about the cult, or at least the idea of it, and want to stop it. We need people on our side.”

  “But not the police,” Bianca reiterates. “And not anyone in a position of power. We have no idea who might belong to this fucking cult. And if we tell anyone who Gabbi really is, they’ll want to turn her into the government, and we’ll be in even worse shit than before.”

  Everyone nods, except Cross, who glares at her. “Since when are you in charge?”

  “I’m not in charge, I’m being sensible.” Bianca straightens and
folds her arms primly. “I want to get my best friend back and keep her safe. That means keeping Gabbi safe, and that means going about this the right way.”

  Cross puts his hands up in a sarcastic form of surrender. I sigh. Those two are going to stay at each other’s throats, I just know it. They might be allies now, united for a bigger cause, but Cross and Bianca have hated each other for years, just like Roxie and Cross hate each other—but even more so, I think, because Roxie and Cross had a bit of attraction between them, and Bianca and Cross definitely don’t. They hate each other’s guts.

  And I doubt even the possible end of the world is going to change that.

  “Look, we’re all we have right now,” I point out. “I’m not asking you two to like each other, but I am asking you to please try to get along while we work on this. If all goes well, you two never even have to talk again, okay? I’m not Roxie, I’m Gabbi. So Cross isn’t dating your best friend, Bianca, and Cross, your girlfriend’s best friend isn’t Bianca. Can we try to put any personal issues aside for now? The cult is united, and they’re not going to let anything stop them. So we have to be united too. Please? For me and Roxie, if nothing else.”

  Cross and Bianca eye each other for a moment like they’re both imagining how to slice the other one’s head off, and then they both nod.

  “Sure, cupcake, whatever you want,” Cross says, and the words could be sarcastic but his tone is sincere. Even if Cross is prickly at times, he’s always been honest with me.

  Bianca sighs. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s up to us to stop these idiots. We can’t trust anyone else.”

  It’s up to us.

  Great.

  Chapter 3

  I would like to state, for the record, that it’s a big fucking responsibility to know the fate of the world is in your hands.

  This is like finals week, only so much worse.

  And our lack of a solid, detailed plan only makes it all that much more terrifying. In books and movies, when the heroes wing it, of course it all works out in their favor. But last I checked this wasn’t a movie, and I’m pretty sure us winging it is going to get us all squashed like bugs.

  The first part of our plan is to go back to the school to sleep. We’re all dead on our feet, and we need to regroup. Maybe school isn’t super safe, but it’s safer than anywhere else I can think of. It has insane security measures, and it’s telling that neither Roxie nor I have ever been attacked on campus. I think it’s nearly impossible for the cult to get to us there. And I never saw any hooded figures on campus either, just off campus. That must’ve been why they needed Gunner. Creepy, random hooded figures walking around the academy grounds? Security would’ve been all over them.

  Cross, still dedicated to the idea of keeping me safe, wants us to go on the run. But Kasian brings up a good point: before he died, Gunner said that the cult has let me keep pretending to be Roxie because it keeps the heat off their backs.

  As long as I’m living Roxie’s life and pretending to be her, the Cult of Singularity can hunt for her in peace. If Roxie was declared missing, the police would be all over it—and sure, maybe the police won’t be my friends, but they aren’t going to be friendly to the cult either.

  For now, if I go back to campus and continue to act like Roxie, the cult might leave me alone. At least long enough for us to get to the next step in our plan.

  “We can’t let our guard down. Radcliffe can’t be entirely safe,” Theo points out as we all stand up from the rickety table we gathered around for our impromptu war council. “If Roxie felt the need to flee…”

  “My idea was to have Gabbi flee, but someone already stole the ‘go to the Dull World’ idea,” Cross grumbles.

  I poke him. “How about we try for some actual positivity?”

  The roguish man gives me a small, fond smile. “For you, cupcake, I just might try.”

  We finally sneak out of the old meeting hall, staying on high alert as we make our way slowly back to Radcliffe’s campus. It’s all the way across town, but none of us trust a cab or carriage. What if a cult member is driving it?

  I’ve never felt this level of paranoia before. My eyes feel like they’re on fire, I’m so tired, and my nerves are jangling, a siren in my head going off every time someone passes by us or a shadow moves. I cling to the guys, who don’t seem to mind in the slightest.

  Bianca determinedly wears her heels the entire walk back. Unlike me, she’s not wearing those special molded-to-your-feet gel inserts, but she probably figures blisters are a better option than getting glass or God knows what else embedded in her feet.

  “You all right?” I ask her as we step back into the dimension bubble that surrounds Radcliffe. I don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful to see the majestic old buildings rising up, a haven of peace in the middle of busy metropolitan Valencia.

  Bianca shrugs one shoulder. “I’ll live. Won’t be the first time I’ve bled through my shoes.”

  “That is disturbing.”

  She smirks at me, then grows serious. “Keep me posted on things, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  The word comes out automatically, but I’m not sure what that means. Am I going to see her around anymore? She knows I’m not really Roxie now. She knows I’m not really her best friend. Doesn’t that mean she won’t want to spend time with me?

  To my surprise, the idea makes me sad. I want to keep Bianca in my life. There’s a lot more to her than I thought there was, and it’s my fault I’m only just now realizing that. If I’d made more of an effort to be a real friend, if I’d ignored my fear that I wasn’t going to act enough like Roxie and had actually put in the time… then maybe I would’ve seen all of these parts of her long ago, and I would’ve been able to appreciate her more.

  I can’t blame her if she doesn’t want to hang out with me. I’m not her best friend. I’m just the imposter who’s been avoiding her and putting her on the back burner for five months. I don’t deserve her time.

  But it would be nice if she gave it to me anyway. I’d like that.

  “Great. I’ll see you, then.” Bianca nods. “Get some rest.”

  “Yeah, I will. You too.”

  She veers away toward her dorm, and Kasian rests a hand on my back as my three men and I walk to my dorm room. It’s like he expects me to just fall over from exhaustion, and he has to be ready to catch me.

  Actually, I can’t really blame him for thinking that.

  The guys and I don’t usually do a ton of touching in public. Not that we’re ashamed or anything, but we can’t afford to draw a lot of attention to ourselves when I’m pretending to be someone I’m not. The fewer upsets we have, the better. Because if people are gossiping about us over the whole “three boyfriends” thing, they might also start on the whole “Roxie sure is acting weird lately” thing, and it’ll only spiral from there.

  But we’ve had an exhausting and terrifying twenty-four hours, and I really don’t give a crap as we walk past tired-looking students who are hurrying to their early morning classes. We’ve been up literally the entire night. We all nearly died. I just want my guys with me.

  Theo takes my hand as we walk, his thumb rubbing across my knuckles. I squeeze his hand tightly and follow Cross, who’s in the lead and walking like he wants to burst out into a sprint but knows that would draw too much attention. He keeps looking around and glaring which, well, isn’t really that suspicious since it’s Cross and he’s usually like that, but I know that right now it’s because he’s keeping an eye out and making sure nobody’s going to attack us from out of nowhere.

  By the time we get to my dorm building, Kasian has his arm around my waist while Theo has his arm around my shoulders, the two of them supporting me, with one of my hands caught up in Cross’s as he leads us up the stairs. I’m still tired, exhausted honestly, but the feeling of them touching me is comforting, and I want more of it.

  It’s not the usual feeling I get when I want to have sex with my boyfriends. It’s not that hot
thrill in my stomach or that aching, squirming desire between my legs. It’s more that I want them as close to me as physically possible. I want to be touching them all over, and to have them touching me; I want to have all of us tangled together and safe. I want the comfort of their bodies. I want to know that for now, at least, we’re together and connected.

  After what feels like a thousand more stairs than usual, we finally reach my dorm room. Cross lets go of my hand and opens the door carefully, his free hand already moving to cast a spell, prepared to blast whoever might be waiting on the other side.

  I see the spell fizzle out between his fingers as the heavy wooden door swings open and reveals that my dorm room is empty.

  Well, thank goodness for small miracles and all that.

  “We’re clear,” Cross announces, like he’s my security detail.

  “Thanks, guys.” I kiss Kasian, and then Theo, on the cheek. “Goodnight. Or, well, good morning. Get some good sleep.”

  Theo blurts out a shocked laugh. “What? You don’t really think we’re leaving you alone now, do you, love?”

  I pause. “Well, I mean… you all have your own rooms…”

  “We can’t send you into the Dull World to keep you safe,” Cross says. “Since apparently we’re dating a self-sacrificing heroic type. But that doesn’t mean we can’t keep an eye on you and protect you as much as we can.”

  My chest warms, my heart aching sweetly.

  If anyone can keep me safe, it’s these guys. Kasian with his steadiness and his planning, Cross with his constant willingness to fight and his reckless courage, Theo with his quick thinking and his unexpected moves.

  I should probably resist and tell them that they should go back to their rooms, that it’s fine, that I’m fine, but… God, I just want them to be with me.

  So I nod, and all four of us step inside.

  Leftover adrenaline is still thrumming through my veins, and I feel like if I try to go to bed right away, I’ll never be able to fall asleep. I’ll just end up pacing my room or staring up at the ceiling.