“That’s for you to find out, but I’ll say this in advance. If anything happens to Kyra before rising to her true potential, you’ll destroy more than just her soul,” she says without blinking. “Do with this information as you please. I’m not here to sway your devotion or vows. See you later.” She taps the jaded ring around her finger and disappearsinto a phantom door.
Celine may not be forcing my hand, but the Gods themselves are trying to break my vow. Regardless of this information, Kyra will meet her end for who she will become. A secret I promised to keep, along with the vow to end her life.
Chapter 19
New friend unlocked
KYRA
Aliseand I leave Ethan’s little fight group battered and bruised. Or maybe, I alone, did a piss poor job at avoiding his strikes. She is drenched in sweat but wears a look that screams ‘great workout.’ I, on the other hand, am struggling not to vomit my lungs. Regardless, fuck him.
Conflict stirs within me at the last few minutes of our match, and I space out in deep thought. The pain in my stomach numbs as the surrounding noise mutes.He was going to kill me for sure this time.Or at the bare minimum, he was contemplating it.
But something dark hides in those bright, golden-red orbs, lying dormant and caged. While he hovered on top of me, familiarity pulled me under the weight of his tide. I felt his pain.Mournful…Empty.
Unable to swim my way out, I dove deeper and foundHesitancy…Intimidation…Mistrust.
It wasn’t until my urge to live took hold and ignited a fleeting ember, that I was able to flip him over. I felt more than my body pressed against his rigid frame. Staring back into his eyes showedUncertainty…Salvation.
One of us will become the other’s source of immense pain, and soon after, Death will follow.
“Hey, Kyra, are you okay?” Alise asks, yanking me from the hollowness of my thoughts. Only now do I realize the gravity of what I felt staring at him. And I’m taking it all to the grave. One way or another.
“Yeah, just tired,” I chuckle to keep this ordeal with Ethan from ruining my day. “How’d your match go?” I ask, nudging her shoulder with mine.
“Fine for me, but a bit more intense for others. Like Ryan stated, we normally spar for about twenty minutes, so I’m sure their magic was pushing to its breaking point. Just glad no one was hurt,” she titters.
“It’s my fault he was acting dick-ish. Sorry about that,” I apologize, knowing they were on the receiving end of his hatred towards me.
I sigh, continuing down the immaculate path guiding us. Angie disclosed their time moves much slower–two mortal days equals one of theirs. Currently, I’m feeling how true that is. We walk along a smooth dirt path, rimmed with flowers seeming to have blossomed only yesterday, and all I want is to lie down and nap. With their sun raised high and a mellow breeze, I’m halfway ready to do it.
“Don’t apologize for him. It’s not like the two of you are dating, you know.” Curiosity tugs her bubblegum pink eyes in my direction, and she halts. “Unless?”
I whip around, picking up the hint. “Hell no. I’d sleep with rock guy before ever considering a relationship with Ethan. Eww.” I shudder at my own sentiments. The decree is factual with a few lies embedded, and Ethan proves everyday why I should hate him, but my eyes remain unbiased.
“Good. You can do better, and I still haven’t heard the full story of rock guy,” she laughs, her pace finding mine.
“It’s such an embarrassing story. For him that is.” I return a chuckle of my own. It takes all but three minutes to update her aboutthat unfortunate part of my days starting here, and Alise is in stitches over it.
“You’re telling me he broke into your room, swinging his…what did you call it, ‘extended appendage?’ Making it bounce around like a bunny?” She wipes a few falling tears after using her arm to mimic the action. My arms fold across my chest with an escaping snicker and half lifted smirk. “Here I am thinking I have it worse with Zack and his group of dumbasses. I stand corrected,” she says, ending her laugh-a-thon.
We approach the White Wing’s entrance, and Alise stops, all sense of playfulness cast aside and replaced by an inquisitive disposition. She scans over me with wonder, biting the corners of her lips and twiddling her thumbs.
“What’s wrong?”
Pushing her glasses further upon her nose, framing those buttered pecan freckles spanning across her cheeks, Alise huffs. Aside from the sweat, she is quite the catch with her hair cut into a bob. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear reveals its pointed tip. I damn near choke on a gulp.She’s an elf. A blood elf.
It takes everything in me to force down my rising fear. Thanks to Angie and her books, I read a brief summary on them. A secretive race, cute and shy, but when pushed into a corner, they become some of the fiercest beings. It went on, stating how their torture tactics are unrivaled and used for interrogation.
“Can I ask you a question, and it’s okay if you’re against answ–”
“You can ask me whatever you want,” I blurt, tossing my fear to the wind. Those ears make her more adorable, and I can only surmise the more adorable her kind is, the deadlier. And fuck me, Alise has cuteness in the bag.
“Your next lesson, is it with Caspian?”
I ponder for a moment, retrieving my phone and thinking back before Horus kidnapped me with his dimples. “Which class is that? My schedule only mentions the lesson’s name.”
“It should be, ‘Bonds and History of Fay.’”
