“I’m afraid everything is not fine, Miss Kolgrim,” he stated, shaking his head.
“When you lit that young man ablaze, just from mere excitement, I realized your powers are far more unstable than are suitable for my class.”
“What are you saying?” I asked, unable to hide the hurt on my face.
He rested a hand on my arm, tilting his head comfortingly to the side. “It deeply pains me to have to do this, Miss Kolgrim, but you need a more practical approach than I am able to give you.”
“But!” He said, the cheer returning to his cheeks. “I’ve found you a much better teacher than I.”
One little accident and he offloads me onto someone else? My cheeks warmed with shame and I eyed the exit, not wanting any more of this pity party.
“Don’t be upset, Miss Kolgrim. He’s an excellent tutor. He is our resident genius and though he is a student like yourself, there is no one more qualified than him to teach you. And lucky for you, he’s already agreed!”
“Who is he?” I said, feigning interest.
The words ‘Raiden Adelgrief’ crept from his lips so slowly it made time freeze.
I shook my head in disbelief, my heart pounding rapidly in my chest.
What? He can’t do this. He can’t hand me over to him. He’s, he’s...
“Alexander’s brother? That Raiden?” The words leapt from my lips as if they were chased off the edge of them.
“Why yes he is!” The professor said, looking pleased with himself, as if he’d paired me up with a close friend.
“No, Mr. Whitlock. I can’t take classes with him. Anyone but him!”
His smile faded, and he looked almost affronted by my response. “Why not?”
“Um, w-we don’t get along,” I stuttered, looking away, and he considered me for a minute, folding his arms.
He shook his head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, Miss Kolgrim. This is an institution of higher learning!” He held me by the shoulders and slowly shook me.
“You must put aside your childish squabbles and be more mature if you plan to succeed here.”
He wouldn’t budge. That was clear, so I just nodded and left the room, walking back through the winding halls, toward my new Control of Dangerous Magics class. With… Gah! Raiden! I threw my hands in the air in utter resentment. What next?
I slowed, peering down the long strength of twisting paths ahead. There was a frost enchantment in here. The floor was covered with mounds of fluffy white snow that crunched delicately under my shoes.
There were jolly snowmen with carrot noses, and beautiful ice sculptures all around in the shape of deers and other forest animals. It was really nice. It wasn’t even all that cold in here.
Last time I’d seen ice was when I first met Raiden. He was on the stage at orientation hall, ice spears in hand, looking ready to tear Bane’s head off. Bane, of all people! As bad as Alexander was, even his temper was no match for Raiden’s and now I was to be locked in a room with him for an hour twice a week?
And why did he even agree to be my tutor? I gasped. Was this how Alexander planned to punish me? Through his brother?
Ow! A sharp burning pain lit up my skull as if someone had doused by head with gasoline and lit a match. I patted my head frantically, my hand globbing into something gooey and warm.
What the hell?
I spun around and there they were. Alexander’s threat come true. Four Floodquake guys, one holding a candle high in the air with dirt-encrusted fingers. All of them laughed, sinking fiendishly deep creases into the roughness of their greasy, ugly faces.
“What’s wrong with you?” I yelled, scratching the wax out of my hair. They didn’t say a word, they just gripped their grimy hands around my arms and pulled me toward a nearby classroom.
I kicked and screamed to no avail, my fingers scraping their into their skin didn’t even seem to register. They just carried me away like a rag doll through the doors and flung me hard onto a small wooden desk.
“Let me go. You animals! What’s wrong with you?” I snarled, and they released me onto the table, crowding around like vultures, their bodies eclipsing the light.
I stood, my arms squeezing my sides to not touch them. Sweat sped down my cheeks as I rooted myself to the table, my eyes darting from one bully to the next.
“Listen, Void User!” The ugliest one said with a shrug, still smiling. “We’re just doing our job. Why don’t you make this easier on yourself and co-operate?”
“Co-operate with what?” I said.
“So, here’s the drill. You pissed off the wrong king and we’re here to teach you some manners.”
“What King? Alexander?”
“That’s King Alexander!” The weasel looking guy said, slapping me in the face and I stumbled almost falling off the table. Hot pressure swelled in my cheek and I cupped it.
Their eyes hovered over every inch of my legs, their mouths ajar as if catching flies. Everywhere their filthy eyes went felt defiled by them.
I held my arm, trying to squeeze myself away, but there was nowhere to go. I just wanted to melt into the earth, be anywhere else but here.
“You’re all garbage, complete filth!” I screamed and at that they scowled, each pulling a wand from their pocket to point right at me.
“Dance, Void User!” They all cheered with glee as hot sparks of blue flames shot from their wands and hit the table, burning the wood everywhere it landed.
I dodged each spark, my legs moving frantically away from their flames. My socks were singed, black as tar and my ankles were next. One wrong move and I’d be scarred for life.
“Stop it!” I cried, sweat draining off my face.
I did their cruel dance, as the table swayed and buckled. They all laughed like hyenas as tears spilled down my cheeks, soaking my blouse.
Is this what Alexander could really have ordered? Humiliation? Pain? Thoughts of my black orbs driving deep into his jaw roared through my head, along with the fantasy of his agonizing screams. I can’t believe I ever let myself want him. He’s a monster!
“Stop it!” I repeated, as I sprang to the end of the table, trying to climb down. The tallest one shoved me back on, with a sharp jab of his elbow to my chest.
“Oh, you’re not going anywhere. We’ve got plans for you,” he said with a snicker. “When we’re done with you, you’ll know who your King is.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice shaking. But it only took one look at the way they all eyed my body to know what they had in mind. Their eyes were glued to my legs like hungry wolves, the saliva dripping disgustingly from their lips.
Oh God. No!
“Does King Alexander know what you have planned?” I said with a gasp, shoving them back.
As if barely registering a word I’d just said, one of them muttered, “King Alexander wants results. He doesn’t need to know the means. Only the end.”
If they really thought I was going to let them put their filthy hands on me, they had another thing coming. A cool sensation rippled in my core, washing the shores of my very being, fighting for release.
“I’ll tell him! I’ll tell him everything you do to me,” I warned, biding time for the Void to kick in and send these assholes flying.
But then, the ugliest one’s hand wrapped tight around my neck, wringing it till my throat burned and I tasted blood.
“You’re just a Void User! Think he’ll care? If we end up ‘accidentally’ killing you, we might even get a promotion,” he laughed, and they all joined in.
His hand smacked down on my thigh and cursed flames rushed the room, engulfing the bullies in darkness. They yelled, frantically beating the flames off their clothes, panic ripe in their eyes.
I leapt from the table and sprang out the door.
“Help! Someone please!” I cried out, racing through the snowy hallway that was now buzzing with student life. Students chatted and merrily made their way to class, at least until the screaming Void User came pushing past them like a bulldozer.<
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Every head whipped in my direction, mouths ajar at the bully stampede beating the snow after me. None with the slightest interested in helping.
Please make them slip on the snow. Please make them slip! I thought dashing around every corner and curve.
Students ran away, some even diving out of my path, rushing into nearby classrooms.
I screamed at the top of my lungs and just kept running. To my horror the roar of Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! filled the hall as every locker behind me came tumbling to the floor.
I glanced behind me and my heart sank to my stomach. Instead of the bullies, there was an enormous mirrored sphere, weighing at least a ton racing down the hall after me. It crushed every abandoned bag, book and shoe in its path. The ground vibrated violently under it, signaling the end.
I was the last person in the hall. Everyone else had already evacuated into the nearest classroom.
The sphere was only a few feet from me, rushing toward me like a bullet. My heart exploded in my chest, my eardrums fit to burst from the vibrations of the roll. My feet beat the floor, every desperate strive bringing me no closer to safety.
I dove for the nearest doorknob and tried to turn it but it was locked. So was the next and the one after that.
What the hell? The students all locked me out, dooming me to die all alone. This was the end of the line, up ahead was a dead end. I ran to it and my back slammed into the wall. It wouldn’t be long now. There was only one door left and I couldn’t bring myself to open it. If I was going to die, I didn’t want disappointment to be the last thing I felt in the end.
The ground hummed, the sphere now so close I could see my reflection in it. I looked like hell. Uniform smeared in dirt, hair a mess with big angry bags under my eyes.
I pressed my eyes shut and turned my head away, my muscles clenching, bracing for agonizing pain.
Then out of nowhere, the sound of cracking glass erupted echoing off the walls and several seconds passed with no crushing, no pain, no nothing.
My eyes peeked open and my muscles unclenched.
Five ice spears pierced the orb like toothpicks, cracking it in several places and pinning it to the ground.
I blinked rapidly, not believing my eyes. It was Raiden, standing in the entrance of the last door. His thick black eyebrows furrowed, his black hair neatly gelled back, in sharp opposition to the wild fury scorching within his eyes.
How is this even possible?
The spears disappeared in a flash of light and smoke and the Floodquake bullies ran up to me, stopping short the moment they saw Raiden.
“K-k-king Raiden!” they stammered in unison, sandwiching themselves together in fear.
“Did you imbeciles plan to kill her?” Raiden snapped, his fists clenched tight, murder blazing in his eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Aria
“N-N-No, King Raiden! We never meant for it to go so far, but she ran!” The weasel faced one stuttered, clasping his hands and falling to his knees in a silent prayer. “King Alexander ordered us to scare the Void User.” The two others trembled, too frightened to even speak.
“You call this scaring? Are you mad?” Raiden yelled and they didn’t say a word. “Get out of my sight! I will deal with you three later!” He flashed a hand in utter rebuke and the three of them turned tail and ran.
Raiden’s eyes fell on me now, stern and severe. He took in my sweaty, tear-soaked face and trembling hands, and his expression softened.
“Are you all right?” He asked softly. I just stood there, stunned he’d even ask me that.
“No, I’m not all right. Do I look all right to you? Do you have any idea what they almost did to me? And what the hell are you even doing here?”
I wanted them to stop but the tears just kept spilling.
He looked at the floor and then back at me with shame burning in his eyes. Then he walked over to me, grabbing hold of both my arms.
“This wing is enchanted to help students find their classes. Wherever you walk, you always end up where you are meant to be.” His expression hardened. “Listen. Those idiots overstepped their bounds and I promise you that they will pay for what they have done, severely.” He spoke through gritted teeth, now looking more beast than man in his anger.
“Really?” I said, giving him a quizzical look and folding my arms. “And what about Alexander? He’s the one that ordered it.” Raiden appeared surprised at my words then looked away, his hands falling from my arms.
“Alexander-erm, has reasons for what he does. I know it’s hard to understand. But just imagine it. Wanting something so badly for so long and it just keeps slipping through your fingers like sand through a mesh.”
“God! I’m sick of this!” I yelled, throwing my arms in the air. “I’m sick of the mystery and the secrets. I don’t understand what you mean! Can’t you see I hate the stupid secrecy?” I let out a huff of frustration. “Why can’t you just tell me the whole truth? What’s this thing he’s wanted from childhood? Is it money, more power? What the hell is it?”
“Love, Aria!” The words exploded from his lips and his brows furrowed in frustration. “Perhaps if you were not so obsessed with your forest, you would see what’s right in front of you! If you would just open your heart to something other than woodland creatures or a Pine tree for five minutes, his motives would not be such a mystery to you!”
His eyes glimmered and glistened, as if he’d just gotten a thousand pounds off his shoulders.
I threw myself backward, speechless, my eyes darting from Raiden to the classroom door and back.
“Wait,” I said, he words finally registering. “What do you mean wanted since he was young? We just met a few days ago.”
Raiden turned his head to the side and glanced down at me from the corner of his eye. “As you were told, your every question will be answered once you’ve agreed to be our Queen,” he said, stubbornly.
“Gah! Not this Queen stuff again,” I said palming my forehead, giving him a pained look. I stilled. “Wait, Raiden. You don’t agree with all this Queen stuff, do you? Like, you don’t also want me to be your Queen too, right?”
For a moment there was complete silence between us. He bit his lips, and looked deeply troubled for a moment. More than I’d ever seen him before, his eyes roaming the room then landing on me. His shoulders fell, his eyes stern and frighteningly serious as he narrowed the gap between us.
In a deep throaty voice, he asked, “And what if I do?”
I blinked rapidly, trying to process his words.
There was something in him that wasn’t there before, like an instant shift. His eyes were sharp and deep yet they trembled a bit with uncertainty. It was like two forces clashed within, desperate for survival. The question was, what were they?
His lips curled up into a grin, not a happy one, this was more one of curiosity.
“Well? Does it frighten you? My interest?” He took one final step closer and his wide, firm chest bounced into mine. I tried to take a step back, but he refused to let me, locking his arms around me mid-stride.
Him too? What was that now? All four kings? All four staking a claim over me? To make matters more confusing, I wasn’t completely sure whether they wanted me, or if they really wanted to use me as a weapon.
“Or is it the thought of two brothers that frightens you?” He continued, his smile widening to touch his eyes, and he brushed back a few loose strands of his sexy smooth hair.
The only thing that frightened me was the hot possession in his eyes. It was so much like Alexander’s but somehow different. It was as if Raiden could read my every word, blink or my slightest body movement to reveal things about me that even I didn’t know. Like a damn supercomputer or something. His face just kept shifting with his every thought and emotion, reflecting his readings of me.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I insisted and his eyes flared with interest.
His body crushed against mine, my legs trembling. I tried to swallow but
my throat was as dry as a desert.
“I’ll tell you what frightens me,” I said poking a finger hard into his chest. “The fact that I can’t walk ten steps without being chased, poisoned, or almost crushed to death! You and Alexander don’t scare me in the slightest!”
His eyes sparkled like kindling now, in that same lusty daze I’d come to know and rue. As if I’d said some magical words or pushed a button in him, his grip around me tightened, his face leaned in close to mine and his warm breath caressed my nostrils with an icy mint.
“It sounds like you need protection, Aria. I’m excellent at protection,” he said almost boastfully, smiling warmly in my direction.
The temperature soared in here and a light steam filled the air. The passage, lockers, classroom, and spears all disappeared in the warm mist. All I could see was him; all I could feel was his arms around me, strong and sure.
“Is that why you agreed to teach me?” I said, wiping the sweat from my face. “To help me learn to control my powers, so I won’t be such a ticking time bomb?”
His head shook lightly as he used his thump to wipe a smudge from my cheek.
“It’s true I took the offer because I’m rather interested in Void Magic, it is very rare and there is so much I do not know about it,” he said, excitedly.
“Oh, so I’m like a science project to you?” I said with a frown, digging my fingers into his arm, ready to push them off, but he wouldn’t budge.
“You didn’t let me finish.” He cleared his throat. “There’s something about you, Aria,” he said, leaning in closer to me, eyes widening as if not knowing the words to say.
“It is hard to explain with logic and reason, and that is the language to which I am most accustomed. But there is nothing logical about this.” His hand softly rubbed my cheek. “The way I feel right now, with your body against mine, defies all logic.”
And he was right. That’s exactly how I felt with Luca, Alexander and, terrifyingly enough, with Raiden right now. I looked to the ceiling, too afraid to hold his gaze any longer. I knew what was coming next. His lips would lock over mine, the room would spin and then for a few precious moments, my every care and worry would vanish as if stolen, my heart racing with joy and ecstasy. And right after that comes the damn attack. I didn’t know why I felt the way I did for the kings, or what they felt for me. All I knew was that this wasn’t love; love doesn’t run you over like a giant mountain boulder, it doesn’t suffocate you, and it sure as hell doesn’t try to trap you.
Chased by Darkness: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance: (Four Kings Academy Book 1) Page 15
