There are layers to this place, histories written in flame and ash that we're only beginning to understand. Gabriel clearly knows more than he's revealed—his sudden awakening of memories has unlocked knowledge that makes him navigate this hellscape like he's come back home after a long oasis.
Which, apparently, he has.
None of us are acknowledging what he’d noted before we started this path:The gates of my academy…
The chances of possibility could be great, but the idea of Gwenivere, or Gabriel, being the lost heir of Wicked Academy seems farfetched…
Not impossible…but questionable.
However, the chances would make her arrival at Wicked Academy and her ability to be given grace despite her original female biology, now more acceptable. It still doesn’t answer how its possible.
"Totally…unfair to target an innocent fae for trying to survive,” Nikki mutters breathlessly. “But thanks for the frost bubble because without I’d be melting.”
"Gabriel," I call out, watching as he continues forward without acknowledging my voice. The distance between us feels both physical and metaphysical, as if his transformation has created a chasm I need to bridge through more than mere proximity. "The path ahead?—"
"I know what awaits," he cuts me off, not bothering to turn. The coldness in his voice should chill me, but instead, it ignites something primal in my chest. This isn't rejection—it's defensive.He's building walls because whatever memories have returned or been given to him carry enough pain to shatter lesser beings.
But I am not less. And neither is he.
Atticus moves up beside me, his crimson eyes tracking Gabriel's movement with predatory focus.
"He's pulling away from us," he observes, though his tone suggests calculation rather than concern. "The question is whether it's strategic or emotional."
"Both," I respond, surprised by my own certainty. "He remembers betrayal. Can taste it in the very air of this place."
It’s easier for me to pick up on it because I know how it feels. The constant betrayal by those who are the same and yet different enough to ostracize their own in ways of seclusion and forced hierarchy.
The vampire's eyebrow raises slightly.
"You can sense that through the bond?"
I don't answer directly, but my shadows extend toward where Gabriel walks, not touching but maintaining a constant awareness of his position. The connection between us has evolved during our trials, deepening into raw energy that transcends simple blood exchange —or passionate hot sex.
I can feel the storm raging beneath his controlled exterior—fury mixed with grief, determination poisoned by memories of devastation.
"Contact ahead," Mortimer announces, pointing toward structures emerging from the heat haze. "Stone pillars. And...hmmm. A being…or beings, guarding them."
The ‘beings' becomes visible as we approach—a massive fire serpent coiled around ancient pillars that stretch impossibly high into the burning sky. Its scales shimmer with internal flame, each movement sending waves of superheated air that make even Zeke's frost magic flicker and strain.
Eyes like molten gold track our approach with intelligence that suggests this is no mindless guardian.
"A gatekeeper," Gabriel states, finally stopping his relentless forward progress. "One of three. Each guards a key required to enter the academy proper."
"Three?" Nikki's voice cracks on the word. "I can barely survive walking. How are we supposed to?—"
"Wearen't supposed to do anything," Gabriel interrupts, his tone carrying that same detached coldness. "These trials were designed for those who belong here. The rest of you are...complications."
Well, isn’t that a nice way of saying we’re not needed.
The dismissal in his voice makes my shadows surge with irritation.
Before I can respond, Nikki straightens despite her obvious suffering.
"Complications?" The Fae princess's voice gains strength from somewhere deep within. "After everything we've survived together, we'recomplications?"
Something flickers in Gabriel's expression—a crack in the ice he's wrapped around himself. But before he can respond, the fire serpent uncoils with terrifying speed.
"INTERLOPERS,"it speaks, voice like roaring flame."ONLY THOSE OF INFERNAL BLOOD MAY PASS. ALL OTHERS BURN."
