Chapter 24 Elodie
ELODIE
Igape in disbelief as I watch Professor Drayker slump to the ground. A tornado of emotions whips through me, but there's no time to think, and there's no time to check on Rion or pat Ocean on the back for doing something I was desperate to do for so long.
There isn’t a single second, not when the onslaught of students continues to charge toward us.
I can’t see Jude in the distance anymore, the bodies obscuring my view. It seems like he enjoys issuing commands and then hiding while the carnage unravels. I wonder if he ever gets his hands dirty.
Grinding my shoes into the ground, I brace, ready for the next person as guilt curls through me.
I know I should have taken Rion's advice and made a run for it, giving myself at least a few moments of a head start.
Instead, the task remains the same, getting back to Institute Thirteen, but now there are even more obstacles in the way.
Thankfully, Thorne's magic curls through the crowd, smothering one person after another, creating a pathway. It’s somewhat jagged, but visible enough to risk it.
“We need to go, and we need to go now,” he commands as Ocean helps Rion to his feet.
“Heard,” my wolf replies, wiping a hand down his face.
One last side glance from my shadow fae, and he takes the lead. I keep a step behind him, charging through the crowd and heading for the outskirts of The Vale.
My stomach is in knots, anticipating the other shoe dropping as we almost glide through the madness, seeing students fight among themselves as they try to claw their way toward us, only to be met with Thorne’s magic enveloping anybody who gets too close.
Ocean appears at my side as we start down the path to Institute Thirteen, and hope blossoms in my chest. But I quickly frown when I don't feel the presence of Rion. He always stands a touch closer than everyone else, and I can’t sense him at all.
Glancing over my shoulder, I gasp, and my steps falter. Stumbling over myself, I roll across the ground in a tangled mess before quickly scrambling back to my feet.
“Rion,” I yell, panicking as I watch him tussle with another student.
A flash of red etched into their blazer confirms they’re from Institute One.
I don't wait to see if the others have noticed he's under attack; I move without thought, desperate to help.
But before I reach him, he shifts. His wolf appears before me once again as he snaps and snarls at the witch before him.
He whimpers and writhes, cowering on the path as her words grow louder.
Panic floods my veins as I falter, glancing down at my palms, knowing exactly what I need to do.
Kill or be killed. Or worse: be captured.
I know I'm not alone when I hear whispers come from beside me, magic exuding from my best friend. She tries to keep her distance as she helps. Unfortunately for me, my abilities require me to get closer.
As I approach, blood gushes from the attacker's nose, dripping down his uniform.
I slam my hands against his chest, and for the first time, relief consumes me as I watch his head snap back.
He falls to his knees, his abilities thrumming through my veins as I try to breathe through it.
All I'm hopeful for is that it's enough to stop Rion from hurting any longer.
“Oh my God,” Ocean cries, snapping my attention to her, and my hands slip away from the asshole who thought he could mess with one of my men.
I hear his limbs collapse in a heap as I follow the sound of Ocean’s voice to find her cowering over Rion.
“He's dying. I don't know what he did, but he's dying,” she repeats, panicked.
My heart pounds in my chest as the weight of the world threatens to bring me to my knees.
I can't handle this.
We can't keep everybody away and save him too.
My world is crumbling.
Turning in the direction I last saw Thorne, I desperately seek his help. Except when I look over Ocean and Rion, toward the shadow fae in question, I find a blue haze around us, Thorne the only other person inside the domed barrier.
“I can hold us like this for a little longer,” he rasps, his face scrunched with discomfort as he nods toward Rion. “Help him, Elodie, you know what to do,” he states, and I gulp.
Glancing between the witch groaning as he rolls on the floor and my injured wolf, I move on instinct, grabbing the witch by the collar of his shirt and yanking him along with me. Without care, I drop him beside Rion, leaving just enough space for me to drop to my knees between them.
Ocean remains on the other side of Rion, silent and observant.
Leaning closer, I run my hands through Rion’s fur, and he winces in response. Blood is spotted all over him, tiny, deep cuts running the length of his limbs. Anger burns inside of me. This fucker is gonna pay for harming him.
Desperate to take Rion’s pain away, I take a deep breath, planting a hand on the witch's chest first, before pressing my left hand against his. I suck in a breath as magic thrums through me and I become a vessel. Only this time, it's not blades of grass I'm playing with.
It's real life.
I have to make sure I choose the balance correctly, so I take from the witch, not Rion.
Not my wolf.
Uncertainty wars inside of me when I don't instantly see a response to confirm I'm doing the right thing, but the strain of the magic leaves my vision blotchy, forcing me to clench my eyes closed.
“Please, please help him. Please keep him safe. Please do not let any more harm come to him,” I whisper, my cheeks damp as I plead with all of the hope I can muster. It's only when I feel a hand on my shoulder that my head snaps back and my gaze latches onto Ocean’s as she smiles at me.
“Elodie, stop now.” I shake my head, my throat tight with a lump I can't dislodge. “Elodie, look,” she insists, pointing toward Rion.
When I follow her line of sight, it's to find him in his human form, looking up at me with a lazy smile and a whimsical glint in his eyes.
Holy fuck. I did it.
Taking a deep breath and grounding myself in the earth beneath me, I yank my hands back from both of them, not bothering to check on the witch as I wrap my arms around my wolf and bury my face into his neck.
The moment doesn't last long, though, as a grunt from Thorne reminds me that he's protecting us, and it's taking all of his strength.
“Are you okay to move? We need to go. Thorne’s draining himself, and you’re… well, you’re lacking clothing now,” I rattle off, and Rion nods, unfazed by his exposed skin.
I offer him my hand, and he takes it, leaping to his feet with no actual help from me.
Glancing at Thorne, I nod, encouraging him to release his magic.
“When I drop it, we run,” he orders, and I nod, braced and ready. “Now!” he hollers, and the four of us take off at his command.
My feet pound against the path as Institute Thirteen draws nearer, but before we reach the top of the steps, a yelp from behind makes me pause.
Thorne falters, and I manage to catch myself before I crash into him, but it’s Rion’s curse that worries me most. As I turn to see the commotion, I find Ocean in the grasp of the one person I wish I didn't have to see right now.
Walker.
This is the second time he's wrapped my best friend up like this.
My heart hammers in my chest as I spy the feral students frozen a few steps away. We’re a damn breath away from safety, and it’s ripped away from us once again.
Thorne shifts to my left and Rion moves to my right, the three of us glaring at him as he keeps an arm banded around her chest.
“We both know I'm not going to hurt her,” he says, eyes fixed on me, and I scoff.
“Then let her go!” I yell.
“When we have an audience, you're mistaken,” he states, and I frown in confusion, unsure what he's referring to, but as I glance off in the distance, I understand exactly what he means.
Another crowd has formed, one held back by their commander, Jude.
“Put the fucking barrier back up,” Walker snarls, and before I can even look to Thorne to tell him not to use his strength, the familiar blue hue protects us again, only this time, there’s another intruder inside our barriers.
“They can see but not hear, correct?” he grunts, peering at Thorne, who grunts in response.
Relieved, Walker quickly returns his attention to me.
“What did I teach you, Elodie?” he states, and I huff, folding my arms over my chest as I glare at him.
“Not to trust anybody,” I snap back, and he shakes his head.
“The saying, repeat it,” he insists, and my eyebrows furrow as understanding slowly washes over me. I know what he's referring to.
“Power is forged in ruin,” I mutter, and he nods.
“That's right. Now, you want power; it's about time you forged it,” he snaps, and I sigh.
“You're not making any sense,” I bluster, tensions high as adrenaline courses through my veins.
I just need him to let go of my friend.
“Ruin, Elodie,” he repeats, and I huff in frustration.
“I don't know what you're getting at, but whatever this is, it's a little late, considering you're on the wrong side,” I bite, and he shakes his head again.
“We're out of time, as always,” he mutters, my frustration only growing.
“Where's Kael?” I insist, and he rolls his eyes.
“He screwed you over.”
I rear back, denial instantly kicking in.
“No he didn’t.”
“Are you sure about that?” he asks, cocking a brow at me. “He ran straight to Jude and told him everything.”
I grin. “Then he didn't screw me over.”
Has Kael let me down before? Yes. Have I felt the sweet essence of betrayal at his hands? Yes. But I know, hand on heart, that whatever he did and said was to help, not to hinder.
Walker pauses, mouth slightly open as understanding washes over his features.
“Where is he?” I insist, and he grimaces.
“Jude locked him away with the other subordinates.”
Guilt plummets in my stomach, heartache pounding rapidly in my chest.
It's my fault.
Thorne thankfully takes the lead as I wallow in sadness. “That's a problem for later. Right now, you need to make him retreat,” he snaps through gritted teeth, and Walker shakes his head.
“If he wanted to, he would. You're going to have to force him out,” he retorts, and I shake my head at the pair of them.
“He can't retreat. We need to save them, and he needs to pay. I wanted him here,” I snap, and Walker snickers.
“I’m sure you did, but whatever you had planned isn't coming to fruition. Which means drastic measures are needed.”
Once again, I shake my head. “You're not making sense, and you're not listening.”
He ignores me, snapping his attention back to Thorne while Rion remains naked at my side and Ocean stays pinned against Walker’s chest.
“The only way he will retreat is if I die at her hands,” he states, and I rear back in shock as Rion steps forward, protecting me as he makes it clear he’s referring to me.
“Why?”
Walker hangs his head in defeat. “Because that's about the only way he's going to feel threatened right now.”
“And what is it you're suggesting?” Thorne rasps, and Walker drags his free hand down his face.
“Well, we at least make it look like it wasn't planned,” he grunts, and I scoff.
“You're insane.”
His eyes return to mine, exhaustion clinging to the corners as they crinkle. “I’m tired. I'm done. I'm ready, and I’m too old for this shit. Besides, power is forged in ruin, remember? Many things may have been a lie, but not that.”
Rion folds his arms over his chest as he narrows his gaze on the enemy before us, his arm still bound around Ocean's arms, but she doesn't look like she's in any discomfort.
“I think you have too many questions to answer before death greets you,” he states, and Walker shakes his head for the thousandth time.
“She doesn't need any of the answers I can give. She needs to survive, and we're running out of time.”
“How?” Thorne asks, and Walker keeps his gaze fixed on me as he replies.
“Grab her and offer her as a trade-off. As we swap, you kill me.”
My pulse thunders in my ears as I take in his words and what he's actually asking.
Do I hate him right now? Absolutely.
Has he broken all trust for all of eternity? Absolutely.
Does he deserve to die because of me?
My world slows as I take in that weighted question.
I'm standing here because of him.
This all began because of him.
My life was ripped away because. Of. Him.
But if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't know Kael, or Thorne, or Rion, and I definitely wouldn’t know Ocean.
I wouldn't know that my life was a lie, that my parents weren't my parents. I wouldn't know that I am a scythe. As much as he’s brought destruction, destroying every fiber of my prior life, he's also blessed me with the happiest times I've ever had.
He deserves to pay for what he did, but his life is not the trade off.
“Now, Elodie,” he commands, his voice ripping through my soul as he charges at me. I act on instinct to protect myself.
At the same time, he shoves Ocean to the side, letting my palms connect with his chest. A scream rips from me as I try to yank my arms back, but it's futile. They're locked in.
I watch the life drain from his eyes as he sinks to his knees, and I follow him with a heavy heart thundering in my chest. His lips part, a raspy string of words slipping on a breath before he slumps.
“Your mother was forged in ruin too.”
Our touch disconnects, and I don't need clarification on what I can already sense.
He just sacrificed himself for me, and I have to make sure that it wasn't all for nothing.
Snapping my gaze to my left, I look just in time to see a portal appear and Jude's snarling face take a step away, disappearing from view, retreating, just as Walker said he would.
So why do I feel even farther from the finish line?