Chapter 1
Arora’s mother died when she was a mere three years old. People in their clan found it abnormal that her mother chose the name Arora, but her mother always told her she was meant for more than living with the dead. When her mother died, Arora tried calling her spirit, but the thing that returned was not her mother, and her father forbade her from doing any magic until her studies were completed.
Since her mother died, he changed from being the caring, loving man she thought him to be… To a cold man and over the years could be cruel if you ended up on his wrong side, which Arora seemed to constantly aim to do.
Now years later you would think that being the daughter of a necromancer in a university filled with supernatural creatures would be… Well normal, but it’s not!
She is the baby sister of the infamous Kozor Paine and daughter of Necromancer Azakras. Her brother wreaked havoc on the university before graduating, and that’s just the cherry on top of a mountain of the reputation of her family. Now the badest of the bad boys want to take her to the spring dance, and her father agreed!
***
She jumps in her pink and black mustang with the perfectly painted rims and the neon pink light in the back window. There is only one place to get rid of this anger she is feeling before she calls on spirits that should rather stay dead! Her pink leather seat sticks to her naked legs, and she sits upright, pulling on the steering wheel. She would have preferred to wear something that is more her style, but her father made her wear a dress for dinner.
All the while knowing that the Brat, Dremon Daemonne, would be there to ask if she could join him for the spring dance! In her rush to leave after her father agreed, she didn’t think to change! All she can think about is getting out of the house and getting to the race.
Just because Dremon comes from what her father views as a good family does not mean that she thinks he is the perfect match for her. Besides, she still has things she wants to do before being forced to settle down!
Her car is the only thing she owns that she did not get from her father. He nearly died the day he saw her drive it up the long driveway and park in front of their huge house. Her mother had left her some money for her twenty-first birthday, and she used it to buy the one thing she knew would drive her father insane!
Taking a ninety-degree turn, she slams on the pedals, changing gears, and slides into a drift before pulling the car into the perfect parking spot right in front of everyone. It’s the weekend, and it’s the only time she can get away from being what her family wants her to be. A spirit caller! The perfect daughter and sister that never speaks, or if her brother could have his way… She wouldn’t breathe!
He wouldn’t kill her. He would kill anyone who dares to touch her, but sometimes she wonders about him. He has that same cold, cruel streak her father has.
She sits on the hood of the car, hooking her heel into a special spot in the bumper while checking out the competition. Her skirt pulls up to her mid-thigh and her shirt opens up her belly ring and chain around her waist.
Yet another thing she got to look like the popular girls and not a tattoo like the rest of her family. In the end, she agreed to get the tattoo, but only because it made her look more badass, but before that, she did everything in her power to agitate her father.
He is always angry with her in any case, so why not give him a reason.
“Have yet another fight with daddy?” A young pixie pops up next to her.
Her pink bob hair blows in the wind as her blue eyes sparkle with her smile.
Tricia, her one and only friend in the entire world…
“Hey, babe! Have you arranged a race for me yet?” She grins and Tricia rolls her pretty eyes.
“What are best friends for, girl. Done and dusted.” She sprinkles a bit of dust and her wings start to glimmer.
“You are not racing.” She hears his smooth voice behind her and feels his hot breath blowing on her neck.
“Dremon, haven’t you bugged me enough for one night?” Arora turns around, her red eyes flashing fire with her anger growing.
“No, how about we make this interesting?” He steps out from behind her, and she hates his gorgeous smile.
Unlike the other girls, she doesn’t fall at his feet or drools because he has such sexy dimples. She won’t swoon before his perfectly toned body, no matter what her body is screaming for her to do.
“Oh? What did you have in mind?” She licks her lips after removing the lollipop out of her mouth.
“Your father agreed, but you haven’t. How about a race. When I win, you have to go to the dance with me. Smile and be friendly, and most importantly… You have to behave.”
“And if I win?”
“You can fret as much as you like… And you don’t even have to smile” He grins at her, and she rolls her eyes.
“When I win,” She walks up to him, staring into black eyes. “I’m not going to go with you.”
“I doubt father will allow that.” Her brother appears out of nowhere, and she huffs.
If he is here, her father’s guards aren’t far behind, meaning either they will race now, or she will be dragged home and have to steal her car back from her father… Again!
She jumps behind the wheel and grins at Dremon. “Are we racing or not?” She pops the lollipop back into her mouth and pulls her car out to the starting line.
His car pulls up next to her, and she doesn’t even look in his direction. She has to focus on the road ahead. Racing against supernaturals isn’t just racing. It’s a game of no rules, no favour. Any and all powers are used to get your opponent out of the race. She is the only racer on the circuit that never used or will use her powers to win, and she has won most of her races.
Tricia takes a spot in front of the road between the cars and her wings start counting them down as they glow red, red, orange, orange, orange, and green! Arora pulls away first and hits the first corner, drifting as adrenaline rushes through her veins. She has to win this race!
Dremon isn’t known for playing fair, and she’s ready for anything he throws her way, but when they hit the second turn, he passes her, winking at her as his car drifts swiftly past her.
They hit the straight, and they are head-to-head. He hasn’t used any magic, and she becomes a little nervous when the final turn before they head back, comes into view. Rain starts to fall as she feels the engine of her car protesting against every gear change.
They hit the turn, and she took the inside, taking back the first place from Dremon. She can see the anger flash in his eyes, and she pays him back with a wink, moving the lollipop from one cheek to the other. She keeps first place in the race as rain starts to pour down onto the road, and all that remains are the last two corners.
If she can just stay on the inside of the drift, she can win this race. She slams on the pedals as the first turn comes up and drifts as she pictured. Feeling confident, she turns the wheel for the second and last turn when something goes wrong, and the next moment, her car goes flying through the air.
It flips over and she sees glass shatter all around her, but the roll cage protects her and stops it from crushing her entirely. Holding her arms in front of her face, she hits her head against the side of the car when it comes to a standstill, finally landing on its wheels.
She can hear the noise of the crowd running closer, but his strong arms are the first to pull her out of the car.
“You stupid, stupid girl!” She hears her brother's voice, but everything around her feels hazy, and all she wants to do falls asleep.
***
Dammit! F@ck!! He should never have let her race! Dremon swears at himself as he wipes a string of bloody hair from her face. He picks her up bridal style and carries her to his car, carefully putting her down on the passenger seat.
When her brother starts to protest, he simply ignores him, but when he swears at her, Dremon loses his patience and walks back, grabbing him by his shirt collar.
“Don’t ever speak to your sister like that again!” He barks at the now quiet Kozor before turning on his heel and climbing into his car.
His people will take care of her car and make sure there is nothing for the humans to find. He needs to get her back to her father’s house, so she can be taken care of.
He knows that having to explain this is going to be difficult, but he has to get her back.
***
“I’ve always hated that damn car!” Her father’s angry voice pushes through her aching head, and she groans as she tries to open her eyes.
“I’ve told you, father, it’s not the car, but the driver.”
“You should rather stay quiet, young lady! If Dremon didn’t find you and bring you back here, who knows what could have happened!” His anger was almost giving his pale face colour.
She glares at Dremon, who seems to look more concerned than pleased at the moment. Slapping away the hand of the healer that is still trying to mend her head wound, she stands up and glares at her father.
“I will never stay quiet! You know that as well as he does!” She nods in Dremon’s direction before rushing out of the room.
Just as she’s about to rush past the man who just cost her a car, nausea and then dizziness hits, and she feels his arms close around her again. Darkness takes over, and the last thing she remembers is being lifted off her feet.
***
“I don’t know what you see in her, but if you think you can tame her wild spirit, you are welcome to try. I’ve given up trying.” Her father swallows the contents of the amber liquid in his glass.
Arora is fast asleep in her bed upstairs, and Dremon joined him for a drink before going home. He has to make sure that he can still take her to the dance, and the only way of getting past her father is to stay on his good side.
Kozor storms into the library wanting to know where she is, but immediately goes silent when he sees the two men sitting together talking. Getting up from his seat, Azakras glares at his son.
“Sir, I think the boy is simply worried about his sister. You should excuse his behaviour.” Dremon gets up, deciding it might be best to leave now.
Azakras nods before sighing. He thanks Dremon again for saving his daughter and walks to the door with him. When Dremon says goodnight, he sees her red eyes glaring at him from the top of the stairs, and he gives her a slight smile.
What a prize she is… If she just sees that they are meant for each other. He turns and leaves, sliding behind the wheel of his car and loving the feel of the engine purring underneath him.
He knows that she is looking at him, he can feel her eyes on him as he pulls out of their driveway.
“What a prize indeed.” He thinks to himself.
***
Arora stomps away from the window and sits down in front of her mirror. The wound has already started to heal and a slight scar is starting to form on her forehead. She lost the race… Dammit! How could she lose the damn race!
And now her car is wrecked, and her father is definitely not going to pay to have it repaired after she crashed it. Where is her car?
She grabs her phone and sends Dremon a message to find out where it is, but after he doesn’t reply for over an hour, she throws her phone down on the couch in her room and climbs into bed.
She is not looking forward to tomorrow! Her father will have a driver take her to school, and she hates it that people see the damn SUV with the official family logo on the side.
Why did she have to lose that damn race?!