Taken By Nightfall

Taken by NightfallBy Mikaela BellTable of ContentsChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 34Chapter 35Chapter 36Chapter 37Chapter 38Epilogue Chapter 1“Aria, can you come down here, please?” Killian, my guardian, calls from downstairs. I put the book I was reading down and hop off the bed. I hurry down the stairs of our farmhouse to find two strangers sitting on the couch in the living room. I stop abruptly at the sight of them. I have a feeling I know why they are here. I cross my arms and stare at them, waiting for one of them to speak.After a minute, the male, who looks to be in his early forties- although it was hard to tell since Fae age slower than humans- stands up. He is built like a linebacker with shorter sandy blonde hair, and deep brown eyes. “Hello, Aria. My name is Ajax, and this is Isabelle.” Ajax introduces himself and the female with him to me.My eyes take in Isabelle. She looks younger than Ajax, with long chocolate brown hair pulled in a bun, and emerald, green eyes. She smiles warmly at me.“Aria, they are from Nightfall Academy,” Killian says gently, moving over to where I stand. I whip my head back and forth; this is not happening.“No.” I can’t get anything else out. I start to shake, afraid of what they will say next.Ajax raises his eyebrow at me. “No is not an option. Especially not for you.”I feel sick. I knew I would have to attend Nightfall Academy, where the most magically gifted Fae go to learn magic. It is in Oyxnmire, the capital of Noctem. I had hoped they would have forgotten about me when I ignored the letter informing me that I needed to attend the academy and didn’t show up when the school year began in September. That was three weeks ago.I ignored the summons, simply for the fact that the academy is in the capital. I can’t explain why I fear the capital, just that it has always been there. “Please, don’t make me go there. I would rather have my magic bound.” I mean it too. I would rather go through life without magic than attend the academy.They bind magic with these vile iron cuffs that suppress the wearer's magic. I’ve heard the iron cuffs are painful, and being cut off from your magic will leave you feeling hollow.Isabelle gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. She looks horrified. “My dear, you know what that means, right? If we bind your magic, we will be sentencing you to a life of servitude.”Oh, that’s the other thing about wanting my magic bound. Fae with their magic bound are not allowed to work. They are forced to work as servants for the wealthy. They are treated like dirt beneath a shoe. Some Fae will beat their servants for making a simple mistake. I know all this, yet I'm willing to pay the price. If it means I don't have to attend Nightfall Academy, then I will choose to be potentially beaten every day and have no magic.“Why are you so against going to Nightfall academy?” Ajax asks me. He sits back down on the couch, studying me.I am used to that. I am petite, with waist-length wavy blonde hair so pale it is white, wide lavender eyes, alabaster skin, and slightly pointed ears that mark me as Fae. When people meet me, they tend to stare at my eyes, which is what Ajax is doing now. I have never met another Fae with the same eye color as me. Most Fae have earth tones for their eye color.“I don’t want to be in the capital, and I don’t need to learn my magic,” I say.“Your reasons do not make sense,” Ajax argues. I can tell he is already getting annoyed with me. Tuff for him, he annoyed me the moment I saw him in my sitting room.Killian clears his throat, “I am sure you know what happened to Aria when she was little. I think that is a good enough reason for not wanting to be in Oxynmire.”“I understand you lost your parents and were kidnapped,” Ajax starts. I flinch at the reminder. “But you need to learn your magic. You are an extremely powerful Fae.”I don’t know the whole story of why my parents were killed. I don’t even know who they were. All I know is that I had been kidnapped by the person who killed them and was missing from six months to five years old. I never asked for more details. To me, life started when I came to live with Killian just after turning five. After twelve years, I’m not about to start asking those questions. I want to know more about my parents, but not what happened to them.I shake my head, “I’m not powerful.” I have only felt a spark of magic once since I turned seventeen. Fae don’t have access to their magic until then. There is a spell placed at birth to prevent us from using it. It is a law made up by the first king that was never reversed. I always wondered why they put the law into place.Ajax snorts. “You know that is not true. We have the report of what happened a couple of weeks ago.”Ah, that explains why they are here. I had a minor incident two weeks ago, or at least that’s what I call it. I was out one night when Felix- a guy I had repeatedly told to leave me alone- came on to me. I had gotten a tad angry when he wouldn’t leave me alone again. So, when he tried to get handsy with me, I heated my skin, so he burnt his hands when he grabbed me and his chest when I shoved him off. Of