by Skyla Madi
No one heard me.
I tried to make my voice louder but my voice was drowned out by the crackling of the fires. My world grew darker as Sera stepped forward.
“I’ll go.”
The rest of them protested.
“No. Let me,” Eli interrupted, stepping forward.
Panic washed over me and I tried moving, but failed miserably.
“No, please.” I begged. My voice was faint, blowing away in the wind.
“No, Eli. It’ll be a lot easier to contain Sera than you.”
Tay was smart. He knew he was no match for Eli. He flicked his gun to Sera and she flashed her palms in surrender as she slowly approached him. When she was close enough, she glanced down at me sympathetically. It didn’t last long as he grabbed her, pressing the gun to her head and walking her back to the car. Once they were both inside, the car started up. Tears poured from my eyes, I didn’t mean for this to happen...
Eli and several other guardian angels rushed to my side while others hurried to cars and plotted ways to get Sera back. When it seemed like all hope was lost for Sera, I heard Tay’s car brakes screech. I angled my head enough to see the reverse lights appear. The car rushed backwards, before coming to a stop. Everyone watched on in suspense as the driver’s door opened and Tay exited from the vehicle with his arms above his head. Sera had managed to disarm him, also turning the gun on him. A few guardians cheered, but it was short lived as Tay sprinted across the paddock. Sera aimed the gun at him, but Eli leapt to his feet and swatted the gun away.
“Don’t shoot. We’ll get him, stay with Ruby.”
Eli and two guardian angels chased after Tay. I fought hard to keep my eyes opened as they caught up to him and squared off for a fight. Suddenly my eyes became impossibly heavy and it physically hurt to keep them open. Giving up, I closed my eyes and let darkness claim me.
Bright Lights and Consequences
My mind focused in and out briefly. The lights were bright on my face—white lights…I was in a hospital. Faces peered over at me, but I was unable to distinguish them as I drifted back into unconsciousness. In my mind I was at peace. I felt no pain, no regret, and no sadness. I pictured my mother’s face, she was so beautiful and I grew excited at the thought of seeing her again. The excitement was short lived when Eli’s smile entered my mind—and our kiss, and the day at the waterfall. Was I dead? Was this my life flashing before my eyes? It couldn’t be. I’d mostly only seen Eli. Eli, in my mind, stood tall and fierce with his arms crossed tightly over his chest, exposing the rigid muscle on his forearms. He began to float into the distance and I reached out for him... but he slipped farther away. I tried calling his name, but I had no voice. Slowly, he disappeared, the blackness had swallowed him.
I opened my eyes, blinking a few times to clear my vision. The first thing I saw was Mila, sleeping awkwardly on a seat next to my bed. I squeezed my eyes shut. I wasn’t dead.
“You’re awake,” A voice mumbled.
My eyes snapped open and I turned my head abruptly toward the voice. I met a robe first—a long navy blue robe—and long white hair.
“It’s the first time she’s slept in two days.”
I turned my neck back to Mila and flinched as pain radiated down my spine.
“You’re pretty beaten up, I wouldn’t move too much.”
I tried to swallow, but my throat was dry. Mr Aleksandrov crossed the room to pour me some water. He cracked a vial of clear liquid and mixed it into the cup before handing it to me. The muscles in my arm ached as I reached out for it.
“It’ll heal you quicker.”
“Thank you,” I croaked, bringing the small plastic cup to my chapped lips and drinking the whole cup.
“Ruby!” Mila called, her voice husky from sleep.
She launched out of her bed, nearly landing on top of me. Mila grabbed my hands, pulling them into hers.
“Thank god, you’re okay.”
I smiled at her. “How are the others?”
“The ones that survived are okay.” Bitterness laced Mr Aleksandrov's tone and I dropped my gaze to my hands. Of course he was mad. Guardian angels died and it was all my fault.
“Mila, now you know Ruby is awake and okay, you need to go back to school.”
“But Uncle, I—”
Mr Aleksandrov strode over to the door and opened it.
“Let’s go.”
With a sigh, Mila released my hands and stormed out the door. Mr Aleksandrov turned to me. “When you get back to school, we need to have a serious discussion.”
Great, no doubt I’d be kicked out of Sage. I nodded in compliance. He grabbed a long coat that hung over the end of my bed and left the room. I closed my eyes, willing sleep to take me again.
There was a light knock at the door that forced my eyes open again. I watched the door as it opened and in stepped Eli. He looked good in his all black guardian angel outfit. As always. I should’ve been relieved when I saw him, but I had a feeling our conversation wasn’t going to be nice. Avoiding my eyes, he strolled in and sat on the armchair that Mila was previously sleeping on.
“It’s good to see that you’re awake and okay.” He smiled a painfully fake smile.
“Yeah…” I muttered, fiddling with my fingers.
Silence fell and I watched him as he awkwardly glanced everywhere, but at me. The room was so tense you could cut it with a knife. After a while, his gorgeous green irises flitted to mine.
“I know you need time to recover from what happened, but if I don't say this, I’m going to explode.”
I dropped my head with a nod.
“What you did was selfish.” His voice was cold and fierce, making me cringe. “Do you have any idea what you put Mr Aleksandrov through, what you put me through?”
“I know, I’m sorr—”
“People died,” he interrupted. “Does that matter to you or are guardian angels disposable? There’s plenty of us, right?”
I looked at him. His eyebrows were pinched together as he watched me closely.
“No, it’s not like that at all.”
“Then what’s it like?”
I turned my body toward him, ignoring the pain. “He had my cousin… or at least I thought he did.”
“Ruby, if you had come to me, I would have been able to tell you your family wasn’t even in the country. We kept tabs on them for you.”
Guilt bucketed heavier on me.
“Don’t you trust me?” The hurt he felt was displayed so plainly on his face and my chest swelled. “I thought we were being honest to each other but you were hiding so much from me.”
“Eli, please, I didn’t want you to get hurt…” I pleaded.
He lifted himself from the chair and began to pace the room. “But instead of involving trained angels that kill vampires for a living, you decided that you, a goddess who doesn’t even know how to use her magic, would go and take one on?”
I sunk into the blankets. “It sounds stupid when you say it like that.”
“Reword it any way you want, it won’t sound any smarter.”
A tear rolled down my check and Eli hung his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I was scared. I was so scared,” he whispered, not looking at me. “You nearly died—at one point I thought you did.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t feel anything from you, and I felt… sick and numb and… alone.”
I looked at him as more tears wet my face. “I’m sorry for what I put you through, but they’re my only family, and I couldn't lose them as well,”
“I just wish you came to me...” He exhaled. “I guess we don’t have the connection I thought we did.”
I panicked as he walked toward the door. “Eli, please, don’t go.”
He paused and turned to me. His expression was unreadable—it was like he felt sorry for me, but at the same blamed me for everything. “Now you want my help and support? You can’t pick and choose.”
I flinched at his words and he left, closing my
door behind him. I sat staring at the door, tears falling one after the other, each dropping faster than the last. Once again, I felt alone… more alone than ever. Eli was the last person I wanted to push away, even though my actions said otherwise.
***
The next few days grew more and more depressing as they rolled by. No one visited me and I wasn’t really upset about that. I understood. I’d put everyone in danger, and risked the school and Mr Aleksandrov’s reputation. I had gotten guardian angels killed and I betrayed Eli. I wasn’t my favorite person right now either.
Today was the worst day so far. Today, I had to return to Sage Sanctum.
My thigh had healed very well in the last few days, just like Mr Aleksandrov said it would. The medical staff at the hospital were shocked it healed so quickly for a cut so deep, but didn’t really investigate it and why would they? They were happy were happy to clear a bed.
***
I kept my eyes on the white floor as I was wheeled in a wheelchair to the front door. It was hospital policy and it was embarrassing. When we reached the door, I rose from the chair and grimaced in pain when I put pressure on my leg. I shut my eyes and felt Eli. My stomach dropped. They sent him to pick me up. I suppose it wasn’t a bad thing. Another guardian angel would have driven me off a cliff after what I did—after I got their colleagues killed. I stepped out of the sliding doors, immediately meeting Eli’s stare.
“Hey,” he greeted me as I approached him.
I glanced up at him. His face was neutral. He didn’t look upset or happy to see me.
“Hey,” I replied.
Eli turned around and I followed behind him as he walked us to the car. He opened the door for me and helped me in without a word. When he closed the door, I quickly ran my hands over my face, exhaling loudly. I needed to man up and say something soon... I might not get another chance. I practiced what to say to him over and over in my head while I was in hospital, but now that I was out and in Eli’s presence...I couldn’t find the right words.
We drove for an hour without saying a word to each other. I wanted to tell him I was sorry and that I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I’d already said it a few days ago. Repeating it wouldn’t help my case. My heart ached while we drove. I wanted to be close to him and to touch him—show him in any possible way that I cared for him. But every time I convinced myself to reach out and touch him, I chickened out.
With a loud exhale, Eli pulled over to the side of the road. I glanced around nervously. Maybe I wasn’t going back to Sage and they were just going to dump me on the side of the road, like a wounded animal.
“What are you doing?” I asked cautiously.
He turned the car off and angled his body a little so it faced mine. “I think we should talk before we get back to Sage.”
I nodded. That’s what I wanted this whole time, to talk to Eli, but now that he wanted to, I didn’t. I was scared. I had no excuse for what I did.
“It was wrong of me to attack you in hospital when you’d just woken up. I’d been waiting, stressing for two days before you woke up, and it was building and building and I— ”
“It’s okay, I deserved it,” I confessed, interrupting him. “Everything you said was right.”
He reached across and took my hand in his. The sudden contact sent a familiar trickle of warmth down my spine.
“In my mind there weren’t any consequences. I knew I would be killed or turned again, but I was willing to risk everything to save Camilla. Aleksandrov didn’t do anything when we were attacked at the cabin, so I assumed he wasn’t going to send any guardians to save me.” It was almost impossible to ignore the way my skin tingled in his grasp. “But now there are consequences and I have to face them.”
“I’m your Guardian Angel and I’ll be here to guide you every step of the way, but under one condition.”
I had the feeling I already knew what it was.
“You tell me everything.”
I stared at our hands. In order for this to work, we had to work together. I wasn’t alone in my choices anymore. What affected me, affected Eli. I nodded my head and he visibly relaxed.
“It was the first time in my life I felt like I truly lost something special to me.” He told me.
I glanced at him and his eyes were fixated on our hands.
“But your father—”
“He was a good man,” he interrupted. “When he wasn’t blaming me for killing my mother.”
I frowned and Eli’s eyes glazed over like he was reliving some distant memory.
“She died when she gave birth to me.”
“I’m sorry...”
He shook his head. “Don’t be.”
“The night my father died…my grandmother was babysitting me,” He continued. “I was almost seven years old. She brought me to Sage, and Glenda an old retired angel, took me under her wing and raised me. When I turned twenty-one, she passed away.”
My heart swelled and threatened to shatter into a million pieces at Eli’s story, a story of so much loss and sorrow.
“My point is…I share your fears of being alone. I would have done the same thing as you...” He admitted.
It meant a lot to me to heat Eli say that. With a smile, he let go of my hand and started the car.
We still spent rest of the trip in silence, but it was comforting.
“Are you ready?” He asked me as we pulled into the gate of Sage Sanctum. The very gate I slipped past the night of my escape. Eli handed a piece of paper to the guard who glared at me before letting us pass.
“This will be fun,” I muttered under my breath.
“You have no idea.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Your little stunt has made curfew earlier by an hour and dorm students have to be escorted to and from dinner. Students also have to sign in and out of their dorm rooms whenever they leave and every dorm has been issued a second dorm monitor.”
I was speechless, not because Eli had used the word dorm too many times in a sentence, but because I single handily ruined every student’s life at the school. Raina and her posse weren’t going to be the only ones hating on me now.
Eli pulled into the car park, exited his door, and came round and opened mine. I unclipped my seatbelt and slipped from the car. Eli didn’t step back, leaving our bodies dangerously close. I swallowed hard, hoping to take some of the nerves down with me.
“There’s something else you should know.”
“Oh no…” I groaned. “What is it?”
“I have to take you to the dining hall. The school’s board has requested a meeting.”
“Like a ‘thanks for nothing, see you later,’ kind of meeting?”
He smiled a sympathetic smile. “I don’t know.”
I scuffed my shoes against the pebbles as I moved out of the way for Eli to close the door. “If I’m kicked out, what happens to you?”
Eli shut the door and leaned up against the side of the car, crossing his arms over his chest. “I get assigned to someone new and you’ll continue your life amongst the humans...probably. If you don’t graduate, then you don’t get a guardian angel.”
“I have one now and I haven’t graduated.”
“You only have one because you were being targeted specifically.”
I leaned against the car next to him, slumping into myself. “I’m scared. I don’t want to leave here.”
Eli shifted his weight towards me. He rubbed his backhand along the side of my face and I closed my eyes, absorbing his touch like a sponge absorbs liquid.
“Whatever happens, I’ll be there for you.”
“Even if they kick me out?”
His lips twitched. “Especially if they kick you out.”
I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. Underneath me, his muscles tensed, but when I squeezed harder, he relaxed into me. I closed my eyes and savored the moment. He said he’d be here for me, but I would never ask him to leave all that he has for m
e. I hugged him because this might be the last time we see each other.
“Rub—”
Eli and I pulled apart. Rocks crunched underneath Hunter’s sneakers as he made his way over to us. I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my jeans as heat filled my cheeks. There was no doubt Hunter could see how embarrassed I was.
“Aleksandrov sent me to meet you two at the gate...”
Eli cleared his throat and started walking. Hunter fell into step beside me as I followed Eli. He tugged on my blue shirt, pulling me back a little.
“De Luca? Really? That’s the guy you’re interested in?” he whispered hastily.
“What are you talking about?”
“He’s a guardian angel. It’s not allowed.”
“It was a support hug,” I scoffed. “I don’t know if you know or not, but I’m probably going to be kicked out today.”
It was more than a support hug. When we embraced, I felt it. My heart fluttered and pounded. It just felt...right.
“If you say so…” sighed Hunter, brushing his fingers through his hair.
Students were scattered everywhere and dirty looks and comments were whispered from every angle. Most hated me and made it their mission to glare at me. If they were trying to make me uncomfortable then mission accomplished. Some students walked past without a glance in my direction. I freed my hands from my jeans to tuck my hair behind my ears.
“Your stunt has driven most of the boys crazy,” Hunter murmured to me.
Eli glanced over his shoulder, his brows furrowing and I scowled at Hunter.
“Please, I’m nauseous enough,”
He laughed and we approached the steps of the hall.
“Good luck,” He whispered in my ear and dipping his hand in squeezing my hand.
“Thanks.”
Hunter turned and walked away. Before Eli opened the door he turned to me. “He likes you,” He said, nodding his head towards Hunter.
“What?” I glanced over my shoulder to see Hunter retreating to wherever it was he came from. “No, he doesn't.”
“You didn’t see his face when he saw us hug.”
