Chapter 11 Elodie #3
“That's because you haven’t really toured much of The Vale, to be fair,” she points out, and I make a mental note to add it to my to-do list. “I can help make it happen,” she offers, and I smile, a rare, genuine spread of my lips.
“You're too kind,” I muse, and she brings a finger to my mouth, hushing me.
“No, I'm psychotic, remember? Don't say nice things about me in public.” She's dead serious, and I have to hide my grin as I mutter my apology.
“So really, that just leaves The Sanctum,” I state, gulping at the mention of them.
“Yeah,” she breathes, the air suddenly feeling thicker.
“I can’t trust them, no matter what. The only alternative means I’m going to be their weapon, and I'll never let that happen.”
She smiles widely at me. “Good, that's my girl,” she insists, and I offer her a tight smile.
“How were they chosen?” I ask as we complete another lap around the field, my steps slowing again as I try to remember how many times we’ve completed the loop.
“Who, The Sanctum members?”
“Yeah,” I confirm with a nod, and she shrugs.
“I don't actually know.” She brushes her hair off her face, her nose crinkling with disappointment.
“And I bet there's unlikely to be anywhere I can read up on them too,” I grumble, and the knowing glint in her eyes confirms my suspicion.
“We could snoop,” she adds, and I consider the option for a moment.
“Maybe, but I need to let the dust settle before I do anything stupid and find myself detained again,” I surmise as another shudder takes over my body.
“That’s fair. So, what's your plan?”
That's a question that's been taking up far too much space in my brain. Currently, I have only one answer. It's the same answer I've had my entire life. “Survive.”
“So no more escaping?” she clarifies, and I nod.
“Not right now, at least. My gut is telling me to stay and strengthen myself, to understand what I’m actually facing instead of feeling like I’m completely out of my depth all of the time.” She hums in agreement again, offering me a soft smile that I reciprocate. “Do you think we will ascend?”
She grimaces. “I don't know.”
I hate the fact that it’s supposed to be our only way out of here, but she doesn't seem so sure of it. “What other options are there? I don't want to die, and that feels like the only other one,” I explain.
“If we’re being badass bitches, we have to figure it out,” she declares, and I nod.
“How long do we have?”
“Another eighteen months.”
I scowl, choking on my next breath. “I can't stay here that long,” I splutter, and she snickers, but there’s no humor to it. Before I can point it out, another thud at my back startles me, but this time, it's with a little more force, and I can't stop myself from toppling over.
I fall forward, managing to twist and flounder as I go down, miraculously landing flat on my back, only to find Willow towering over me. Her red curls frame her face as she glowers down at me.
“Back off, Willow,” Ocean snarls, but the bitch in question curls her lips as she points her finger in my face.
“My mother told me how worthless you are,” she says with a smirk, standing back just enough for me to scramble to my feet.
“Mother? I don't believe I've met the bride of Satan,” I rage, despite the fact that I'm supposed to be keeping my mouth shut and my head down.
She shoves at my chest, knocking me back two steps, but I manage to keep my balance this time.
When she does it for a third time, desperate for a reaction, I can't fight the frustration rising inside of me. I knock her back and she squeals in shock, the sound so shrill I want to claw my ears off as Professor Drayker appears at Willow’s side.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Elodie?” she calls out at the same time as Rion appears on the opposite side of me.
“What the fuck? She can't just keep pushing everybody around and not expect to receive consequences,” he blurts, pointing at Willow.
She tries to shove at my chest again, but Ocean throws her arm out, getting between us.
“Stay out of it, Rion,” Professor Drayker snarls, and he scoffs.
“Maybe you need to stay out of it,” he hisses back, and I rear back in surprise, my gaze ping ponging between the two of them as Drayker folds her arms over her chest.
“I’m controlling it,” she grunts, and I'm so distracted by their stare off that I miss the moment Willow manages to knock Ocean's arm out of the way, her hand swiftly coiling around my throat a second later. But it's not her fingertips that I feel flex against my skin, but the claws of her wolf.
“Let. Go. Of. Her,” Rion orders, and Willow snickers, the sinister shimmer in her eyes burning brighter as she breathes obnoxiously in my face. “Aren't you gonna do something about this?” Rion snaps at Drayker, who huffs.
“I punish students as I see fit, and it’s within my right as a professor—”
“If you're not going to handle this, then I will,” Rion warns as I claw at Willow’s wrists desperately. The desire to slam my hands against her chest is unbearable, but I fight against it, refusing to expose myself.
“You will do no such thing,” Drayker grinds out through clenched teeth, effectively taking a step back from us.
How is this even happening right now?
My eyes water, my heart races, and my taste for blood runs rampant through my body.
“Let go of her before I shift and claw at every motherfucker here, starting with you, Willow,” Rion orders as my vision blurs and my throat constricts. “How are you going to punish that?” he adds, aiming his snarl at Drayker.
I’m not going to be able to contain myself for much longer.
Every clench of her claws around my throat brings me one step closer to unleashing my own abilities.
Attempting to focus my attention, I spy Professor Drayker out of the corner of my eye, watching as she tilts her chin up with an air of superiority aimed at the wolf who was so quick to defend me.
“Don't try me, Rion,” she bites as Willow’s claws pierce my skin.
Rion's eyes shift as he turns his attention to Willow, his claws protruding from his hand as he matches her stance; this time, his fingers are flexed around her neck, not mine. “Let go of her before I make you do it,” Rion demands.
“Rion, stop,” Thorne hollers, his dark and dangerous tone cutting through the air. “It's what she wants you to do.”
My eyebrows pinch in confusion; it’s not what I want at all. It takes a moment for me to see through the haze that he’s not referring to me. He’s not even referring to Willow, but Drayker.
My face pulses, my blood pounding in my ears, and I know my time is up. My grip on Willow’s wrists tightens and I spy her eyes widening a fraction, but movement out of the corner of my eye makes me pause.
True to his word, when the professor doesn't seem to jump at Rion's demand, it’s not just his eyes that change, or his claws; it's his entire body.
Raging beside me is a wolf, snarling and thirsting for blood as he snaps his teeth at Willow. A yelp parts her lips as she rears back, finally releasing her hold on me.
My hand lands on my chest as I gulp in every breath. Dizzy and lightheaded, I feel like I'm gonna pass out.
“Enough,” Professor Drayker roars. If we didn't have everyone's attention before, we certainly do now. As I tilt my head to peer up at her, I’m surprised to see that it's not me her angry glare is aimed at. It’s not even Willow. It’s solely set on Rion.
Her eyes are narrowed and her teeth are bared as her voice slices through the air. “You leave me no choice, Rion, but to assign you to solitary training.”