“Why won’t you look at me?” He said, and my gaze returned to his. For the first time I saw weakness in the crease of his saddening eyes. In the depth of shining silver was fragility, vulnerability, and even fear.
His fear about all of this was every bit as strong as my own and he knew exactly what was going on. He knew why the kings wanted me so badly. Maybe he even knew why I was so irresistibly drawn to the kings in the first place. And still, he was afraid?
“Um, I have to go. I’m really tired and covered in dirt.” I pulled his hands from my waist. He didn’t stop me this time. His shoulders fell as if the air had just been knocked out of him and he just stared at me, lips parted, hurt and dejected.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be at the next lesson!” I called out as I turned to run down the hall. All he did was silently watch me go, his corner darkening with every step I took away from him.
I just couldn’t do this anymore. I didn’t know what there was between the four kings and me, but it wasn’t good for any of us. It was bringing out the darkness that existed buried in their hearts. And if I didn’t put a stop to this, next it would be me. And my darkness will never be allowed to escape. Because if it did, there’d be no turning back.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Raiden
I sped through the north gardens, the moonlit grass devoid of all student life. The area quiet except for the breeze that ran through the trees.
That was supposed to be my first class with Aria and look what happened. It ended in complete disaster. My pace quickened, crushing every rock, pebble, and leaf in my path, into the hard soil.
She was almost killed! And right in front of me, by my own men no less. I’d informed Alexander telepathically and instantly knew it was a huge blunder. He would kill them if I didn’t get there in time. Kill the fools who hurt her.
I couldn’t allow it! I had to see it for myself. Their punishment, their screams for hurting Aria. I had to bear witness to it all. Had to watch their suffering. How could my brother be so cruel to start without me? He knew I needed vengeance every bit as much as he did.
Thoughts of her flowed through my mind and I sighed, my heart racing, adrenaline coursing through my veins. The thought of her beautiful face almost made the wind sound like music, the breeze feel like a massage against my face and neck. Is this the magic of matehood?
The trees thickened up ahead. I was close now.
When she’d appeared before me wet with sweat and fear, it had taken every ounce of my restraint not to run to her and pull her into my arms. Almost as much as it took not to kill her attackers right where they stood. My every instinct to protect her, to hold her. Was this what they call emotional madness? I hated it as much as I loved it.
I’d seen a million lips before but none like hers. She trembled in my arms, fragile and small. My arms tight around her, automatically drawn to her flesh as if my soul’s programming demanded it. Did she know the evil thoughts I had of her? Did she know that right then, all I could imagine was her panty-less? Naked? Bared raw in front of me? A delicious feast for my eyes and mine only? Was that why she left me?
The trees thickened, the garden at an end. I was in the school forest now and the scant moonlight filtered in through the dense foliage. The smell of fresh-dug dirt and bedrock high in the air. I was close.
I paused, the screech of death echoing off the trees. There was yelling, screaming, and agonized crying coming from up ahead.
I sped forward, charging through the trees, freezing instantly the moment I saw it. A bottomless chasm about a quarter mile across, only god knew how deep. It cut the forest in half, devastating the landscape. Alexander’s work. And there he was on the other side of the trench, eyes dark as the night that surrounded us.
The three idiots who’d nearly killed her were in front of him. They were covered from head to toe in bruises, lumps, sores, and a few nonfatal open wounds. They dangled over the trench, tied with ropes by the ankles, their tears dripping into the darkness below. My brother stood, back straight with a deep scowl on his face, their judge and executioner.
“Please, King Alexander! Have mercy!” They cried as urine trailed from their pants, down their faces and into the trench. Alexander just stood there considering them.
I formed an ice bridge and walked across the gap, striding up to stop behind Alexander. The prisoners jumped at the sight of my scowling face. They deserved every bit of this. They will pay for what they’d done.
“I send you to frighten her and you almost run her over?! You even tried to lay your filthy hands on her? On my Aria?” Zander boomed, the veins popping up on his face. “Explain yourselves!”
The prisoners squealed like frightened little children waving their hands to shield themselves as if fearing another blow to the face.
“We didn’t realize it would upset you, my King. We only wanted to teach her a lesson for disrespecting you,” one of them pleaded with a squeal, his hands clasped. The other two clung to each other desperately, still crying.
“That was not for you to decide!” I yelled and Alexander jumped, just now registering my presence.
He did not spare a glance back at me, shame planting his feet where they stood, his eyes in the dark of the trench. Guilt must have been eating him from the inside out, to know that on his order, our Queen was nearly murdered. To know that if he had only been there, been able to stomach the sight of her hazing, none of this would have happened.
Alexander lowered the prisoners into the darkness. With every inch of rope he fed the pulley, their screams grew louder and more panicked.
Wack! They fell onto a ledge, about thirty feet down. Not hard enough to kill them, but perhaps enough to break a bone or two.
The enchanted ropes unwrapped the prisoners and soared back up to us then, like flying snakes. They then wrapped themselves around Zander's arms, before falling still once more.
Horror stained the prisoners tear drenched faces as they clung desperately to the edge, trying not to fall deeper into the abyss.
They cried, begging for us not to leave them down in the darkness, but their request fell on deaf ears.
Alexander turned to face me, his expression not any less intense after getting his revenge.
“Raiden, we have a problem,” he said
“What now?” I cupped my forehead in frustration, a hand to my side.
“Rumors abound that Bane led an attack on Aria.”
“What?! Is she safe?” I exclaimed. “When did this happen?”
"It happened yesterday. You and I both saw her today and neither of us knew! If I’d known what she’d already been through, I never would have done this to her. I never would have order them to...”
Interrupting him, I grabbed him by the shoulders, “Why did they attack her?”
He stilled, his expression stony, almost terrified. Then through clenched teeth he said, “I’m not certain but Luca gave her flowers. They seem to have romantic intent!”
I fell back, stunned by his words.
“And,” he continued. “They want her so adamantly that they are willing to use violence to get her.”
My hand cupping my chin, my mind racing to comprehend the situation, I gasped. “Could they have found out that she is the future Queen of our world, could they plan to use her?”
“That would make sense, but if they knew that much then surely they would know that only her soul bonds, her prophesized mates can claim her and ascend the Grand Lord's throne. Wouldn’t they?” I said.
Damn them! This is what they always do! Everything that’s ours, they step in and try to take it, first this school, now our mate!
I reached over to place a comforting hand on Alexander’s shoulder. “Listen Brother, we have to keep our heads about this. Our greatest strength is our intelligence.”
“You mean your intelligence,” he muttered under his breath, looking nearly defeated.
“We will get to the bottom of this. I promise you,” I assured, gripping his sh
oulder tighter and giving him a shake. “But in the meantime, at least find comfort in knowing that fate makes no mistakes, she is destined to be ours and there is nothing they can do to change that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY -THREE
Aria
Okay. Now I was worried.
I’d checked everywhere; her dorm, the library, the bathrooms, and even her favorite dinner spot. I even had to ask that jerk Allesandro if he’d seen her and still nothing. Where the hell was Cas hiding?
I entered Greendale wing. They had everything in here, from wand shopping, to Warbulian dining. Anything you could want, really. Cas’d taken me here once before and it was the last place I could think of.
The hall leading to the main cafeteria was crammed with students, each one carrying an array of colorful bags and luxuriously decorated boxes. Bumping into several students as they passed, I made my way into the bottleneck, squeezing myself through the cafeteria opening.
Then without warning I was spat out into the vibrant dining room. Golden chandeliers decorated the ceilings, each holding six shining handles. The room was awash in long wooden tables with benches trailing down on either side, all full of students scarfing down cuisines that looked both interesting and strange at the same time.
There were jet black chicken legs and reddish green mashed potatoes. That seemed normal enough, but on one table I could have sworn I saw them eating napkins.
A long line of students stretched on forever from the dinner buffet, each holding black trays, eager to be served.
A thick veil of buttery sweet air vapored the room, wetting my tongue and my belly growled.
No, Aria. You’re not here for food. Focus! What if Rebecca had already blabbed those big lips of hers? What if right now Cas was hog-tied, and roasting over open flames in revenge for lying to all those guys? I couldn’t stand the thought of it.
My eyes scanned the room, desperate to find just a single head of fiery red, amidst the confusion, but there was none.
My shoulders fell, my last bit of hope evaporating like water in the summer sun. At least until a cheerful voice chirped, “hi, love!” from behind and I spun around.
My smile widened till my cheeks nearly cracked open. Sitting to one side of the nearest tables, waving like crazy was, “Cas!”
I ran to her, stopping short when I noticed something. She was sitting all comfy on Allesandro’s lap, his bulky arms so attached to her, you’d think they were sown there.
I approached them both, arms folded, a big scowl on my face.
“Thought you said you haven’t seen her,” I said to Alessandro, and he waived a dismissing hand barely glancing in my direction.
“Forgot we had a dinner date. Sorry,” he mumbled unconvincingly, taking a brutish bite of his lamb shank. A line of syrupy brown gravy trailed down his arm to glob onto Cas’s lily-white blouse.
Cas shoved Allesandro in the chest and his eyes widened at the hard jab. “Hey! Look what you’ve done to my uniform! And what do you mean by not telling me you saw her? I told you I’d been looking for her.”
“Sorry babe,” he said, giving Cas a bewildered smile. Cas slid from his lap, wiping her blouse frantically with napkins. She then flicked the discarded napkins in his lap, and he scowled in annoyance as she walked over to me.
“Love, I’m so sorry. Men can be so absentminded, you know?” she said, folding her arms. “So, where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you, ever since those Flamenado’s took you.”
“Where did you think I was, in that jerk’s blazer pocket?” I said under my breath and she looked surprised by that.
“I don’t know how hard you could have been looking,” I said. “I’ve been turning this damn school upside down trying to find you for I don’t know how long.”
She stilled, her eyes going glassy as if she were about to cry.
“Well, now you’ve gone and done it. If you wanted to hurt my feelings, you’ve succeeded.” she sniffled, “And for your information. I have been looking for you. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe while you were on one end of the school looking for me, I was on the other, looking for you?”
“This place is fucking huge love!” She squealed, the tears now spilling from her cheeks like a baby.
Great. One side order of guilt to go along with my panic.
“Look, Cas, I’m sorry.” I said, resting a hand on her back, while using the other one to wipe her tears away. After she calmed down, I felt for her hand and led her into a nearby empty corner. And after looking around to make sure that no one was listening, I told her that Rebecca planned to out her secret and that her life was in danger.
I’d played this conversation out a million times in my head. In all of them Cas started to panic, maybe cry or show some level of fear, after I’d told her. But not once did I expect to hear the word that came next.
“Meh,” she shrugged, completely unconcerned, her usual bunny rabbit-esque cheerful grin returning to her face. “I think it’ll work itself out.”
Meh? Work itself out?
“No Cas,” I said, trying not to shake some sense into her. “It’s not going to be okay! The dudes at this school are very dangerous, and you know how men are.”
“How men are in what way?” she said, in child-like ignorance.
Did I really have to spell it out for her? Thoughts of Alexander’s jealous fits of anger at the mere sound of Luca’s name raced back to memory.
“Well, you know. Men can be very territorial.” I said. “They feel like because you’re a woman and they’re a man, it means they can do whatever the hell they want with you. That somehow your vagina is a sign of weakness, a shackle for men to chain you with, to own you with!”
I was panting now, sweat drenching my face.
“Um, love! Are you feeling okay?” Cas said, looking terrified, as if she knew this wasn’t completely about her anymore.
Okay, so maybe that wasn’t completely about her. I might have a few issues of my own. But that still didn’t make Cas any safer. At least, as far as I knew, nobody was gunning to kill me.
“I’m fine,” I said taking hold of her hands. “Okay, Cas. Will you at least promise me to take this threat seriously? Like, take some precautions? Please?”
She looked apprehensive, but then her expression darkened, as if somehow I’d finally gotten through her sunshine bubble. Or maybe she just saw all the worry and anguish on my face and decided to give my weary soul some reprieve.
“Ok, will do,” she nodded.
“Eheem, am I interrupting anything?” A deep, familiar voice sounded from behind me. It was Luca, his blond hair almost glowing in the candlelight.
“Can we speak Aria? In private?” he said, voice heavy with concern. In an instant, the noisy room fell silent as the eye of every student around zoomed in on us like hungry flies.
Cas herself was stunned, mumbling gibberish, eyes glued to Luca as if she’d never seen her king up close like this before. Who could blame her with how gorgeous he was.
I looked away, memories of our last encounter in the alcove rushing back to mind. “Um-I’m not sur…”
“Of course, she’s sure!” Cas interrupted, jumping in to push me right into the wideness of Luca’s chest. My cheeks almost glowed red as our bodies touched and I jerked away, leering at Cas.
“Just a few minutes,” he pleaded. And I might have told him no, but my blouse was about to rip from Cas’s constant fingernail jabs to my back.
He led me through a pair of double doors and out into the misty night air. This end of the school grounds were covered in thick trees, making me think we must have been on the outskirts of the campus forest. We just kept walking, further and further into the trees, and away from the possibility of prying eyes.
Wait a minute. Is that where he was leading me, into the forest? At night?
Great idea, Aria. Go into a deep dark, lonely forest with a guy you barely know, whose brother just attacked you. Smart move. Still, even though I barely
knew him, something in me knew that unlike his brother, Luca would never hurt me.
The trees we passed kept getting more densely packed and willowy. They almost completely blocked out the fragile moonlight, which filtered in through brushy treetops in thin streams, breaking up the thick blanket of darkness that surrounded us.
I’d wanted to explore in here from the day I arrived but, like hell if I’d take the risk alone or even with Cas. I’d seen way too many students go in and never come back out.
The grass and ferns beneath our feet softened till it almost felt spongy and now there were fireflies, twinkling through the air like friendly little candle lights. It was beautiful, like a stage show of magical wonder’s, every bit as grand as what any Witch or Wizard could do.
Luca halted and turned to face me. What little moonlight filtered in through the leaves caressed his face, making the blue of his eyes shimmer and dance.
“I just couldn’t stay away from you, not after I’d heard about the attacks. Are you alright beautiful?” he asked.
“Don’t act like you didn’t know.” I said calmly, turning my head from him. “You knew exactly what Bane was going to do to me.”
“Do you think I like what he did? You think I enjoy seeing you like this? Unhappy?” he questioned, narrowing the gap between us and I turned to face him again. “It almost kills me every time I see you like this.”
Chased by Darkness: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance: (Four Kings Academy Book 1) Page 16
