Shifter's Curse: Shifter Paranormal Romance (White Spire Academy Book 2) Read online

  Shifter’s Curse

  Shifter Paranormal Romance

  White Spire Academy

  2

  Copyright © 2021 Victoria Mercier

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including but not limited to being stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, groups, businesses, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  This book contains sexual situations and adult themes. Recommended for 18 and above.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  About the Author

  Other books

  The Academy of Dragons

  The Blood of Dragons

  The Tears of Unicorns

  The Flesh of Titans

  The Forgotten Chains

  The Darkness Unleashed

  The Academy of Dragons Box Set & Bonus Story

  The Dark Fae Academy

  The Last Year

  The Last Fey

  Dark Fae Academy Bundle: Reverse Harem Romance + Bonus Story

  Chapter 1

  I watched Jaye pace between pillars. Behind him, spread the wonderful panorama of the White City. I feasted my eyes on the clear, hazeless vista but instead of happiness, I felt bitterness. While the druids died in the Ash Lands because of the magically radioactive haze, the Shining Ones enjoyed this paradise.

  Jaye stopped and glanced at me. He hoped I’d stay in the palace for the school year. The decision of where I was staying had slipped out of his hands recently. I suspected his mother meddled in our affairs. She couldn’t stomach my presence in the palace and even less the fact that her husband protected me. Why he’d done so I didn’t know and didn’t want to learn.

  The entire palace was like a pit of snakes. Even servants schemed and spread rumours like wildfire. I’d quickly learned that no one could be trusted inside these walls.

  “You still can withdraw from the academy,” Jaye said to me.

  “The whole reason I came here… why I survived your mother’s sick tournament was to enter the academy.”

  “You don’t need the academy. You can stay in the palace by my side. You’ll have everything you’ll ask for.”

  Jaye was handsome, his warm honey eyes melted whatever they touched, while his black outfit added an aura of menace. He was a combination that made women wet. I wasn’t resistant to his charm by any measure but we lacked the mysterious connection I’d experienced with Valiant.

  Maybe I couldn’t appreciate the gesture Jaye and his father were offering to me or maybe I just didn’t trust them enough to open myself to Jaye the way he expected me to. During our walks through the corridors of the palace, we’d passed female servants that watered my mouth, so beautiful they were. Jaye had not seemed to see them. I couldn’t understand what he saw in me…

  “I need to attend the academy,” I told him. “And besides, won’t we see each other every day there?”

  “We’ll,” Jaye agreed as he strode toward me. “But the thought that my brother will be there… he sickens me after what he’s done to you.” Jaye shuddered.

  I turned away from Jaye, hiding my conflicted expression. I. Hate. Valiant, I had to remind myself as intruding emotions started wreaking havoc in my chest. Jaye placed his hands on my shoulders and his fingers gently squeezed my muscles sending down relaxing energy.

  Talking about Valiant always created tension between us. It was my fault. I’d not explained to him the growing dichotomy inside me where one part hated Valiant while the other one craved him like an addict. Even with my best effort, I still couldn’t hide my true emotions from Jaye. He recognized quivering in my voice when we spoke about Valiant and so I preferred to avoid the topic. The only problem was that Valiant wasn’t a topic easily avoided. He was the heir of the White Flame and his every move was talked about. Servants were the worst. When they thought that no one was listening to them they were cruel, their words full of spite and venom. Things they said about Valiant… I couldn’t accept it. I’d confronted them and it only turned against me. Without having the royal blood or an official position within the palace’s structures, I could do nothing but return their venom in my words. It wasn’t enough to put fear in them.

  Their arrogance didn’t appear out of nowhere. Jaye later confirmed that he couldn’t fire them because of his mother. She was the cause of why the servants were obnoxious toward me when confronted. Did Jaye really expect me to stay in the palace? It was an exquisite, spacious place full of luxury difficult to imagine even after a week spent here. But underneath the beautiful façade, it was a place full of people with rotten hearts and dark intentions. With Jaye gone and the White Flame never present, who would protect me? The answer was simple and obvious – no one.

  “I have to go to the academy,” I said with more force than I intended, forgetting that Jaye Regentstar was a prince and if not for his father, I would be in his mercy. I liked him but I was also scared of how powerful these people were. If they wished, they could throw me out of the island and no one would protest.

  That abyss between us made me feel alienated despite Jaye’s hot kisses. I shivered and Jaye took it as a sign to hug me. I let him embrace me, I closed my eyes feeling his strong arms wrap around my chest. It was comforting despite the circumstances.

  A knocking on the door shattered the moment, Jaye unwillingly unpeeled himself from me and called out to whoever was on the other side of the door, telling them to enter.

  A defiant brunette cracked a door and glanced inside. When she noticed me, a wide smile split her face. Jaye beckoned her inside and instructed her to close the door behind.

  She did so, bowing deeply to show respect to Jaye who waved us away. Like two arrows, we shot forward, embracing. Since our arrival in the White City, we didn’t see each other. All my daily requests were denied because of some imaginary security concerns. What kind of threat was Geneve in the face of all the armed and trained guards? I was sure that the royals had other, more subtle methods of keeping themselves safe.

  We went to the balcony and leaned on the railing. The warm wind messed our hair and we stood like this, in silence, for a while.

  “I can’t believe it,” Geneve said.

  “That we made it?”

  “No. Well, yes. But not only that. This.” She made a sweeping gesture with her arm. “The palace of Regentstars. This is big, Morrigan.”

  I had to admit that I hardly believed it myself. One day I was living in the Ash Lands, fearing I would grow old and die there, a tiny shadow of who I could become, then everything happened so quickly after Luoo had died. It felt like a dream… or rather a nightmare. A very bad nightmare.

&n
bsp; “You don’t say,” I told her with a sad smirk. “Most of the time I don’t know what’s happening around me.”

  “I can’t blame you. They led me through a labyrinth to get here. I don’t even remember the way back.”

  “That’s why I don’t leave my rooms—usually.” It was an easy lie. Well, there was a grain of truth to it as well. A week wasn’t enough to learn the palace that seemed to be larger than the city of Paras… Thinking of Paras always left a sour aftertaste. It reminded me about Claud and my imprisonment there. I shoved the dark memories out of my mind before their poisonous roots could spoil our reunion.

  Geneve recounted her story, telling me about her room at the academy and her visit there. She told me that the academy was as large and confusing as the palace but we’d have personal guides there. Hearing it, uplifted my spirit, although I couldn’t envision how the academy was going to afford guides for all of us. There had to be a catch.

  “We can see it from here.” Geneve pointed at the sprawling complex on the mountainside on the other side of the White City. “All of this is the White Spire. The academy of the Shining Ones.” I frowned at her proud tone. Geneve I remembered had been much more reserved than her. It didn’t make me wary of her but I wondered why was that. It has to be the tournament’s fault. We were all convinced that we’d die.

  Geneve glanced at me, picking up the tension.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked in a hushed voice.

  I was not going to talk about her change right now. We barely met and I didn’t wish to ruin our reunion. But I couldn’t just dismiss her question. I’d be rude and make her suspicious.

  It wasn’t hard to find another concern as was grappling with one when she knocked. I squinted, looking past the pillars into an open room where Jaye was supposed to be. He wasn’t there. I didn’t know how to describe it but Jaye’s living space consisted of five massive chambers, a spa-like bathroom, a swimming pool, a private garden and a spacious balcony we occupied right now. Being sure that he couldn’t overhear us, I said, “It’s… I don’t know. It seems like a dream after waking up from a horror. I live in a palace, Jaye likes me very much and I like him more every day. But there are dark undercurrents in this place. Servants hate me. Queen hates me. Valiant… Valiant…” I trailed off.

  “The heir. You still haven’t gotten over him.”

  I sighed.

  “It’s not that easy,” I replied. “He’s turned out to be the worst kind of man you can run into. He gave up on me in my darkest hour and now he hasn’t even bothered to come and explain.”

  “He’s the heir to the most powerful city in the world. I’d expect no less from him.”

  “What?”

  “I mean, he’s arrogant and he’s an asshole.”

  “Ah. Yes. He’s that for sure.”

  “What’s wrong with Prince Jaye? He looks good.”

  “It’s not that how he looks. The problem is… well, I don’t know how to describe it, but with Valiant I felt that gravity between us, a kind of connection. With Jaye… it’s absent. I fear…”

  “Ladies.” Jaye appeared between pillars. He approached us with a confident gait. As he stopped, he placed softly a hand on my shoulder. While Geneve looked a little mesmerized, Jaye showed no interest in her. “There happen to be a fair nearby. We can take my flying platform and visit it. What do you think?”

  Geneve looked at me knowing it was my decision to make. Getting out of the palace? Hell yeah.

  “Sure.”

  *

  The palace lay on the mountainside like the academy. Seeing the palace from the flying platform left me speechless. Geneve looked stricken as well. It wasn’t only that palace spread for a mile in all directions but its terraces full of gardens, pools, and exquisite architecture were simply out of this world.

  Once more I felt anger, seeing these wonders and comparing them to the Ash Lands. How unfair it was. The Shining Ones could bring all the druids to their island, not necessarily to the White City, and they wouldn’t even see much of a difference. They could shove the argument about the sin of our ancestors into their asses. I had nothing to do with their decisions and I wouldn’t be perceived through the prism of those who had lived before me.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?”

  “Your gardens have waterfalls,” Geneve murmured. “I saw one at the academy but it wasn’t anything as lovely as those.” Seriously? Geneve! What’s wrong with you?

  “The academy’s a poor copy of the palace,” Jaye said, not looking at her.

  The platform eventually reached the bottom of the mountainside. The palace guards stood everywhere. The massive wall and gate separated the platform landing from the street.

  They gave our trio rings with strong tracking spells and told us that an incognito squad would follow us. Jaye accepted it without expression and led us to a wall where a contour of a door appeared. Before Jaye pushed it, he used a spell and his outfit changed. He wore a deep black hood now. A shadow obscured his face so well that I wouldn’t recognize him if he passed me by on a street.

  “It’s necessary,” he whispered. “My face… you’ll see for yourself.”

  I didn’t inquire. He pushed the wall and the magical door opened, revealing a street on the other side. At first, I thought the bystanders would notice and swarm us. It didn’t happen and they just passed us by.

  “What the fuck?” Geneve muttered.

  A shadowy smile was the only reply Jaye gave. We followed him until the pristine wall of the palace ended, there he turned toward a park where only a handful of people were strolling with leashed animals. Before the war, humans used to own dogs and cats but the creatures the Shining Ones owned belonged to a nightmare rather than to the long-lost world. Neither Geneve nor Jaye seemed to be taken aback by the otherworldly appearance of the pets.

  People no longer behaved as if we were invisible, but no one bothered us beyond a few curious looks. White hair wasn’t terribly popular in the palace and I imagined the city to be no different. We paid them no mind and while their pets looked horrifying, they didn’t hold my attention for long. The park itself was what interested me. The gardens in the palace were so pampered that they looked artificial. The park—while well-maintained—lacked the polish the palace gardens had. It made the park more real and accessible.

  The lush greenery of the park was friendly and open when I reached it through my druid magic. The palace gardens were locked away by spells. My senses couldn’t reach the plants there. It’d felt out of place to be so close the nature and yet so far away. Here, I had a chance to reconnect with it.

  I slowed down, enjoying the sensation nature had on me. The park was quite large and it put a strain on me to reach its ends. But I held it, keeping my mind from drifting away and joining the soothing call of nature.

  “Morrigan, you okay?” A soft voice of Geneve got through.

  I shook off the mesmerizing sensation and focused on her. Jaye stood a little farther away.

  “Yeah, I am fine,” I replied, feeling revolution in my stomach and my mind spin. Geneve caught me before dived on the pavement.

  “You used your magic?” She asked and I nodded.

  “The parks so close to the palace have protective spells on them too,” Jaye said when he stepped closer. You could warn me, I thought instead of saying because I didn’t want to risk throwing up.

  Geneve asked if we could wait until I got better but Jaye explained that the spell’s shelflife was more than a day and he silently called in one of his men who came with an antidote. I took it and immediately got better but felt like a fool.

  “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Jaye said. “You don’t need to be sorry.”

  The fair wasn’t far away from the palace. Whatever spell kept Jaye’s identity hidden, did an amazing job. Not a single person recognized him. I also understood what he’d meant earlier when I saw the large posters and statues of the royal family. Seeing the pictur
e of Valiant didn’t do me any good, it reminded me of why I couldn’t just forget about this fucker. The worst thing was, I felt like I could forgive him everything if he just asked me to. It wasn’t fair to Jaye who had helped me survive the tournament.

  “I love it,” Geneve said.

  I glanced at her not being able to decipher if she was lying or not. Didn’t she escape the White City in the first place? Her unexpected change irked me to the point where I considered asking her about it, but with Jaye around, I decided against it. His people were following us and I was pretty sure that they’d eavesdrop on us. I didn’t think that the queen would leave me alone. I could only guess how many of the soldiers following us worked for her.

  “It’s… magical.” That was the only word that fitted this place. Children ran around holding talking balloons and food—that resembled characters from the stories Luoo had read to me when I’d been a child myself—rather than actual food. Spells were thrown around, producing harmless magical explosions. Ethereal dragons and other nameless animals flew through people causing them to jump up, startled.

  It wasn’t magic that hit me the most but the atmosphere of the fair. Happiness, joy, merriment. They were so thick in the air that the whole event felt like a dream.

  Jaye slowed down, allowing the throng of people to carry us around. We kept close to him. I eyed everything with a stupid grin. For a short moment, I was a child in an adult body. I wished to join the running children and play with the animated toys.

  Geneve took my arm when I started to wander away from them.

  “Stay close,” she whispered. “You don’t want to lose yourself here.”

  “What?” I asked. She made no sense.

  “I’ll explain it later.” She winked not letting go of me.

  Jaye eventually stopped by the tallest tower in the amusement park. It must be at least two hundred feet tall.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “The Tower of Anglad. It shots a bubble with people inside far into the sky.”