Francesca, The Great and Terrible: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance Read online

  I was picturing our kids, but she would also have kids with Oprix, Daxar, and probably Galen. I’d man bonded with Galen, and he was okay with me now. I think I liked him because there were no pretenses with him. He never lied, and the boy was awkward as hell. He wasn’t going to join our group, then try to get Francesca to pick him over the rest of us. We had that conversation. I had been worried about that since he grew up with a mother with just one mate.

  Galen thought the way the Flying Monkeys did it was the right way, and he told me that with total honesty. I didn’t have the Sentinel’s ability to tell when someone was lying or not, but I could tell Galen was telling the truth. Galen thought Francesca could get different things she needed from the individual things we brought to the table. I could even call Galen a friend now.

  Yeah, things were definitely looking up. We just had to go save Glinda and her baby and find a way to beat the Fisher King. It was a tall order, but if anyone could fix Oz, it was our group. We were woefully outnumbered, but if we could rescue Glinda, we would have three Sentinels and Galen, who had magic from another world. I knew my mother would join the fight if needed.

  I just realized something. My mother was okay with me being with Francesca, and now I was expected to bring her to court for a big celebration. Presenting Francesca to my mother was way scarier than the Fisher King.

  Chapter 20

  Frankie

  W

  hy had I never just grown up and talked to Glinda? I did exactly what the Fisher King wanted, and now he had his hands on her. I loved kids. I might have been a horrible bitch to people sometimes, but after being around Saffron and Oprix’s younger siblings, I adored children. I wasn’t ready to have any of my own yet, but I already knew I didn’t want to be like my mother and have just one. I wanted a big family with lots of laughter.

  Glinda clearly didn’t trust us just as much as we didn’t trust her, or she would have told us about her children. How was she hiding her belly in those gowns she liked to wear? Could you wear a corset while pregnant? We decided to teleport half of the way to the North, just enough that it was safe not to set off any magical alarms. Stopping to talk to Zusim had taken a big chunk out of our morning.

  We decided to break for lunch in the forest. We were still in Emerald City, but I could see the mountains in the North in the distance. Kazax left with his army to go hunt for us while we sat around a fire off the road. It was sweet. Ozma was snuggled into her little group of boyfriends and Dorothy, and I was snuggled into my boyfriends too. Galen was sitting off to himself, and that just didn’t feel right. Galen was one of us.

  “Oh, Galen, get your ass over here.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Get over here and snuggle with us. Put your head in my lap.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”

  Idris started laughing. “She wouldn’t have asked if she wasn’t sure. Get over here, man. Take it where you can get it.”

  Galen awkwardly settled with his head in my lap. He sighed when my hands found his long hair, and I started to play with it. I noticed Zusim stare at both my group and Ozma’s.

  “Has something changed in Oz? People used to be like the Flying Monkeys, then suddenly, they weren’t. All of you take lovers like the Flying Monkeys.”

  I was dying to hear Ozma’s answer and how the four of them all got together, so I didn’t answer first.

  “I wanted to go save a family. Dorothy came with me, and so did my army. Living on the road and going through all that bonds you. Dixius, Ethar, and Aldor always had my back, and Dorothy was there to talk girl stuff with. We couldn’t exactly experiment on the road, but since we’ve gotten back home, I’ve given them teleportation powder to sneak to my bedroom at night.”

  I smiled and buried my face in Oprix’s chest. Seeing Ozma with her little group made me happy. I wanted them to not have to sneak around the same way I didn’t want to have to sneak around. They were cute together. Ozma was sitting in Ethar’s lap, and they were both leaning against Aldor. Dixius has his head rested across Ozma’s feet, and Dorothy had her head in Ozma’s lap. My group was a little similar.

  Zusim’s dark eyes settled on my group. “How did a prince of the Flying Monkeys come to be with a Sentinel?”

  Idris just shrugged. “Probably the same reasons you did. I lived in the West, where Azami was trying to break the curse on the cap. Francesca and I grew up together.”

  Zusim just nodded. I had about a million questions for him while we waited on our food to be ready.

  “Tell us about your children, Zusim. If you are comfortable, that is.”

  Zusim got this dreamy, faraway look on his face. “Elore was our firstborn. She was a week early, and she came with Quadling red hair, but my skin. As soon as she was weaned and started crawling, she showed us she could change into a monkey and started zipping around her nursery. She’s five now and wants to know more about the Flying Monkey part of her heritage.

  “My son is two. His name is Khuzin. He was the same. He weaned himself early and started showing us his monkey. He’s quite strong for a two-year-old. He loves books and being read to. He’s very intelligent. He gets that from his mother.”

  “How did you hide them?” Daxar asked. He had joined our pile of bodies, and it just felt right being snuggled with all of them.

  “Glinda has a smaller castle attached to hers. Ages ago, a mother in law lived there. She gives the pretense of living in the main castle, but she actually lives in the smaller castle with her family.”

  Idris rubbed my braids. “Do you think now that Francesca and I are together, you won’t hide anymore? Once we beat the Fisher King, maybe they can all come out to play.”

  Zusim gave him a sad smile. “That’s all up to Ivia. Some people in Oz wouldn’t understand our relationship, even if we can shift. Ivia thought it was best if we hide, and Glinda agreed. I still serve Ivia, even if I’m not in her court anymore. I’ll only bring my children out if my wife and queen agree with it.”

  “Spoken like a true Flying Monkey,” Idris said, tipping his canteen at Zusim.

  “The Flying Monkeys really revolve around the queen?” Ozma asked.

  I didn’t need to see Idris to know he winked at Dorothy. I could just tell by what came out of his mouth.

  “Yes. We have a matriarchal society. The females take female lovers too. You have the power to change all that in Oz when you’re queen.”

  “You don’t think the people will revolt if I tell them they can take female lovers and multiple lovers if they want?”

  Daxar just chuckled. “The key phrase there is if they want. You aren’t forcing them to. You are just allowing it if they want it. I think the South will love it. The rest of Oz may take centuries to catch on, but you aren’t forcing anyone to have the relationship you do. You are just making love legal. Any type of love.”

  Ozma nodded. “Will you be on my council when I’m queen? I’m going to need wise people around me. I like the Scarecrow, but he doesn’t really understand the needs of flesh and blood beings.”

  Daxar squeezed my shoulder and said something that set my mind at ease. “I’ll serve on your council if you like, but I won’t live in Emerald City. If she’ll have me, I was hoping to live in the West with Francesca.”

  I disturbed our entire pile of bodies to fling Daxar on his back and kiss him. “Of course, I want you in the West with me. Won’t you miss the South?”

  “I have everything I need in the West.”

  I looked up from Daxar’s chest and found Galen. “You too, Galen. I hope when this is over, you come live in the West with us.”

  Everyone seemed to think I was bringing Galen into the relationship, and I still didn’t know. I just knew I didn’t want him out of my sight and I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. I wanted him in the West with me when this was over. Shit, did I like Galen that way? I did. I totally did. Idris was just smirking at me like he knew too.

  Galen just grinn
ed at me. It was the first confident smile I’d ever seen from him. “We have to beat my father first.”

  For a minute, I had forgotten about the Fisher King and the mess in the North. I was just a girl sitting around a fire with her friends talking. I wanted to beat the Fisher King and Locasta so that I could have a few more moments like this. I was going to be a different kind of Sentinel than my mother. I was going to enjoy life.

  No obstacle was going to stand in my way of that. Not even the Fisher King and Locasta.

  Chapter 21

  Frankie

  W

  e’d already decided the safest way to approach the North was through the Forest of Gugu. It was Zusim’s idea, and he said we might pick up allies there. After we left the Yellow Brick Road, we decided the safest bet was low flying. No alarms would pick that up, and there were parts of the Forest of Gugu that people had never seen before, so we’d be safe from random mirrors. Saffron, Galen, Frabess, and I were trained flyers. We had enough Flying Monkeys with us to carry Daxar, Dorothy, Ozma, Dixius, Ethar, and Aldor. We could fly under the cover of the trees without being noticed.

  We made it to the Forest of Gugu in record time. It was an overgrown jungle with trees that were hundreds of feet high with vines climbing the bases. We were hoping to find the monarch of the Forest of Gugu. There was a huge yellow leopard named Gugu who was supposed to be wise who ruled this forest. The Flying Monkeys knew him and thought if Gugu’s people spotted Flying Monkeys in his forest, he’d make an appearance.

  The Flying Monkeys didn’t think Gugu would have turned to evil, as Locasta did. They thought he might want to fight on our side. We all flew low enough to be spotted by animals on the ground, but not low enough to be smacked by branches and bushes.

  We flew until it got dark, and then we finally had to make camp. Oprix and Idris set to work making a tent cover from branches and leaves while Saffron and I went out and set our own magical alarms. Frabess was blessing the area, and everyone else was either scouting or hunting.

  All I knew about the Forest of Gugu was that it was vast, and all kinds of animals lived here. Gugu himself was a yellow leopard who was supposed to be very wise. He kept the peace in this forest, and he knew it like the back of his hand where the people of the North never came here because they would probably get lost.

  I was sure Gugu knew we were here, but who knew how far away he was? I was sure we’d meet him eventually. Coming to the Forest of Gugu was a risk. If we got lost, we’d have to expose ourselves to fly above the trees to get out. We came here because we wanted allies, and we were hoping Gugu knew something we didn’t.

  Zusim was the oldest out of everyone here, and he was the only one to have actually met the mysterious Gugu. Even Zusim couldn’t recall where his court was in this huge forest. All of the talks between Gugu and his councilors and the Flying Monkeys were done just at the entrance of the forest, so no one got lost.

  Zusim could tell us Gugu was fair and had his spies in the North. We weren’t originally going to come here until Zusim joined us and thought Gugu could help. Before, our plans involved totally avoiding the Forest of Gugu because we didn’t want to get lost. It was Zusim’s mate and child we were going to rescue, and if he thought Gugu was worth the risk, we were all going to listen and take it.

  I was a little paranoid as we sat in front of our fire and ate. It was too quiet. I didn’t hear normal forest noises. I couldn’t hear insects or birds. The forest was devoid of any noises, and that was always a bad sign. It usually meant magic or battle.

  “We should sleep in shifts,” I said. “It’s too quiet out here. Where are the crickets? The birds? I can’t hear any sounds of nature.”

  Zusim just smiled. “It’s because they don’t want you to hear them. The Forest of Gugu is a refuge for talking animals. They’ve either gone to report to Gugu, or they are watching us for him.”

  “Well, they are shitty spies,” I snapped. “It’s a forest. There should be animal noises. It’s making me paranoid. It’s too quiet.”

  Zusim found that hilarious. “They aren’t shitty spies. They aren’t making noises for a reason. I think they want us to know they are watching. It’s a test, little Sentinel.”

  I crossed my arms and glared at Zusim. I got this feeling he was making fun of me, and it just wasn’t the time. We were in the middle of a forest we didn’t know our way through, and the next generation of Sentinels could be lost if we didn’t get to Glinda. Hell, the entire Sentinel line in the South would be obliterated if we didn’t get to her.

  “I still say we sleep in shifts. I don’t like tests, and I don’t want to risk this being an attack. I’ll take the first watch.”

  Daxar kissed my forehead. “I agree with Francesca. Zusim, you are the only one here who knows Gugu, and Francesca is right. It’s too quiet here. I’ll take second watch.”

  Everyone went off to our little makeshift tent, and I sat in front of the fire alone. Galen wanted to sit out there with me, and I sent him off to bed because I’m an idiot. I would have preferred his company. I wanted more alone time with Galen. The Sentinel training in me sent him off to bed because I knew all of us were going to have to be well-rested if Gugu didn’t show his face soon. Someone would have to be keeping watch every night before we decided to give up on the Forest of Gugu. Zusim may have trusted Gugu, but I trusted my instincts, and a forest shouldn’t be this quiet.

  I knew we had made a grave mistake coming here when I felt a sharp prick on my neck, and my vision started blurring. Someone blew a dart with sleeping potion or, worse, poison at me. It was fast acting too because I couldn’t even open my mouth to scream for my friends.

  My vision went black, and I collapsed in a heap.

  Chapter 22

  Frankie

  W

  hat the fuck happened, and where was I? I could feel ropes binding me, but it wasn’t Daxar, and this wasn’t a Quadling game. My head was pounding, and there was dirt in my mouth. I struggled to sit up, but I was tied up like a hog due for slaughter on a Winkie farm. I settled for rolling around in the dirt until I could actually see my surroundings. My entire group was surrounding me, and they were all tied up too, but it looked like extra effort was put into restraining Saffron and me.

  I wriggled onto my other side to see if I could see my captors. I could see animal feet everywhere. There were paws, hooves, claws, and a whole variety of feet. I could see four large, yellow spotted paws in front of me.

  A velvety voice with a purr to it finally spoke. “Apologies for the restraints, but Zusim, what are you doing in my forest with two baby Wicked Witches?”

  I sighed and tried to spit some of the dirt out of my mouth. If I never heard the terms Good and Wicked Witches ever again, it couldn’t come soon enough. How had Gugu managed to restrain two Sentinels, everyone we brought with us, and that many Flying Monkeys? That wasn’t a normal sleeping potion they shot me with. My mother had trained me to resist a sleeping potion long enough to call for help. I should have been able to wake everyone before I passed out.

  I craned my neck up at him. “According to Zusim, you have spies all over the North. I’m sure you know what Locasta is getting up to. Why don’t you think about that before you go around calling someone a Wicked Witch?”

  The yellow leopard got right in my face and started sniffing me. He backed away and sat on his haunches.

  “Locasta is no Good Witch, but then again, neither were the Witches in the East and West,” Gugu growled.

  “You smelled me. Do I smell like bad magic?” I asked.

  I wished this conversation would hurry up because my fingers were starting to get this prickly feeling from being tied behind my back, and laying on the dirt on my side was not the most comfortable position ever. I’d also like to have the conversation clearing my mother’s name looking someone directly in the eyes instead of their paws.

  “No, which is why you are restrained and not dead. My spies reported you in the forest with Zusim and that
you hummed with good magic. I wanted to sniff you and talk to you myself before I decided your fate. Why do you hum with good magic if your mother was so Wicked?”

  I struggled against the ropes, but they tied me down like I would have tied down someone I thought was evil. I could burn them off with magic, but that wasn’t the right call here. That would just have them scared of me. Magic wasn’t the answer to every solution, and neither was fighting. My mother taught me that — some things needed to be talked through.

  “My mother wasn’t Wicked, and neither was Adora in the East. They were framed by a spell cast by Locasta and a man who calls himself the Fisher King. The Fisher King is from the same place the Wizard was, and his goal is to steal all the magic from Oz. There should be four protectors of Oz. North, South, East, and West. My mother and Aunt in the West and East are dead. Locasta has gone bad, and she has Glinda and her unborn child captive so the Fisher King can steal her magic. That would leave the South unprotected and essentially end the Sentinel line in the South.”

  Gugu started pacing. All I could see was his paws passing in front of me. “I don’t know why I believe this story, but I do. My spies have been reporting some bad things from Uptown in the North. Someone has been supplying the Black Market with some pretty awful ingredients, and Locasta turns a blind eye. We’ve also seen her visiting Mombi like old friends instead of mortal enemies.”

  “She and Mombi are good friends,” Ozma said. “Locasta cursed herself to appear as an old woman, and she can drop the glamour at any time. Locasta and Mombi murdered my parents and kidnapped me when I was a baby. Locasta bound my magic, turned me into a boy, and made me think I was a boy. She left me with Mombi to abuse me growing up.”

  I saw the paws walk into the direction I heard Ozma’s voice. I guess she got a sniff test too. I heard Gugu chuckle.