Chapter 29
I had walked for god knows how long and how far with my feet now raw and bloody.
My body felt heavy and tired with every inch begging me to rest. But the thoughts of a warm bed, a hot meal and wiping the smug faces off the bastards who did this, had me taking each step forward until I found my way here.
Wherever ‘here’ was.
I slowly make my way over some jagged gravel, when suddenly I hear a familiar voice calling my name.
I look up and into Mr. Valor’s green eyes as they quickly widen. His features slowly darken as he takes in my current state; my torn and dirty clothes, my messy hair and my bleeding and bare feet.
“Micai.” He rushes over to me just as I stumble, lifting me up to carry me in his arms.
His hands pull me closer into him, but the feel of his body heat has me leaning in further, hoping to soak up the warmth and rid myself of the cold that's seeped into my bones.
A small tremor works its way down his body, his hands clutching me tighter as he carries me.
He turns his gaze toward the forest in front of us and slowly begins walking.
He doesn’t ask me anything and doesn't push me to talk right away.
Instead, allowing me to take a moment to relax and feel the small relief of being safe.
I look toward his face; his gaze is cold and hard, his brows are cinched downward and his jaw is tight. His lips pull into a straight line as he looks ahead and makes his way through the forest. A strange dark look bleeding through his eyes as we moved.
It's a complete contrast to his slow careful movements and the soft hold he has on me, or the warmth that seeps into my skin with his gentle touch.
“How did you…” I start, but he answers as if he already knows my question.
“I had finished my duties earlier than expected and thought you would be training, as you usually do.” He gives me a knowing look, breaking his cold and dark gaze, turning it into something softer as he glances down toward me.
“When you weren’t there…” He hesitates for a moment, looking to the trees ahead of us as his steps grow slower, his eyes slightly glossy as he continues.
“I felt that something was wrong. So I began to check the surrounding area. I heard a noise in the distance...” His grip tightens around me and I wince.
He catches the slight shift in me, quickly loosening his grasp and gives me an apologetic look.
He stops walking and looks down at me, the coldness in his eyes completely thawed as he meets my own. “What happened, Micai?”
His deep green eyes search mine for answers, a strange expression pulling at his features as he watches me.
But what do I tell him? That I was drugged by a group of students that hate me?
That they tied me up and let wild magical beasts loose to hurt me?
That I killed one of them, but was attacked by another one soon after?
And that I was then saved by a much bigger and terrifying beast that I’d fought before?
There were too many strings attached to everything, too many stories and explanations that would have to be told to understand how I got to this point. And even if I did tell him everything, he couldn’t help me, not really.
Even if he tried, it wouldn’t stop them or change their minds.
Sometimes violence had to be met with violence. And I had every intention of showing them they made a mistake by messing with me.
“Micai…” He places his hand over mine, one I had put on his chest and tightened without realising it.“Tell me so I can help.” His forest green eyes plead with me, a look of genuine worry seeping through his gaze as he awaits my answer.
And something prickles at my chest with the look. I could see the concern in his features, the anguish in his eyes and something else; an anger or fear waiting patiently behind it all…but this was for me to deal with.
And I had been holding myself back in the academy for too long.
I let all those pretentious assholes get away with too much and let them believe I was still the same girl as before.
Maybe a part of me had convinced myself that they were all just bad pranks and things that I should tolerate. And that it wasn’t real torture, or that they hadn’t really hurt me…that it wasn’t like the Facility.
But that was the problem.
The Facility was literally a prison and a place of true nightmares and Hell. Nothing could compare to that.
I had gone easy on them, thinking they were still ‘kids’ . But I too was once a kid, and they spared me no mercy then, or now.
I had been put through enough. But not anymore.
“Micai, you need to–” He calls before stopping and taking a slow breath.
He closes his eyes before opening them again, his gaze now more firm and resolute.
“I can help. Whoever did this to you…will pay.” His eyes darken, his gaze turning to our front before he begins walking again.
“Give me their names or their years… anything .” He grits out, a slight tick forming in his jaw as his brows pinch downward.
I follow his hardened glare and spot the grey roofing of the academy in the distance. My limbs stiffen as a slight chill works its way up my back with the thoughts of heading into the academy.
I couldn’t go there. Not like this.
I wouldn’t give them all the satisfaction.
“Micai–” He continued, but I cut him off, twisting around and trying to break free from his embrace. His grip tightens as he tries to stop my movements, a confused expression drawn across his face.
“Not the academy.” I shake my head, my narrowed gaze meeting his.
“You need to be treated–” His brows pull together, a more stern look taking over his features before I cut him off again.
“No.”
“There's no ‘ No ’, Micai. You need to be–”
“Not there.” My voice breaks a little, a small vulnerable crack appearing in the armour I wear. One I didn’t even realise was there.
He looks at me, his gaze penetrating as his eyes search my face for something. They slowly soften once they find it, and then flicker over toward the academy again as a new conflict creeps into his gaze.
Maybe we could go somewhere else. Somewhere where we wouldn’t be seen. But where?
Then a thought hits me. “I’ll go to the abandoned training building where we–”
“It doesn't have what you need to be treated.” He counters before I can even finish, his features gentle but voice firm.
“It's either there or my room. And I’d say it's a longer walk to the girls dormitory than to the old training building from here.” I flicker my gaze around us.
“Why–” He starts, but his words cut off when I place my hand back on his chest. His muscles tense below my touch as a slight breath escapes his lips. His eyes meet mine again and I let a bit of how tired and weak I feel seep through into my expression.
“I don't want anyone to see me like this.” I look down at my torn and dirt-ridden uniform with blood dripping from my legs and feet. And then toward the cuts and scrapes that coat every bit of my exposed skin. “Please, Mr. Valor…”
I’m not completely sure what he sees when he looks at me or how much he understands, but he gives me a small nod.
“ Gadriel …” His voice is low and brows slightly pinched as he speaks with a strange look forming in his eyes before raising his voice again, “You can call me Gadriel.”
He begins walking again but veers away from the main academy building and toward our training spot.
“ Gadriel.” I mumble, the name falling from my lips without thought.
He pulls me in close with the call of his name, his eyes glancing down toward me for a brief second as a small grin tilts his lips.
His green eyes twinkle as the moon above us shines on him; his hair like white golden silk against its light.
The small smile he wears, for just a brief moment, changes his features into something more warm and… captivating.
But then all too soon it's gone, his normal serious look reappearing as his gaze falls back toward the forest in front of us.
After a few more minutes of walking, we finally reached it. The old training building.
He takes me inside, finding a small old wooden bench beside the dilapidated stairway, and gently places me down.
He flickers his gaze back and forth between me and something in the direction of the academy.
“I’ll get some supplies…will you be okay?” His eyes watch me for some kind of reaction but I give him a small smile and nod, trying to reassure him.
“I’ll be fine.”
He quickly makes his way toward the entrance but stops and turns around for a brief moment to gaze back at me. “I’ll be back soon.”
He's gone in seconds, in a blur of movements and matching the speed I would have had at my normal strength. But his steps are so silent, that if I hadn’t seen him leave I would have thought he had just disappeared.
I’ll have to get him to show me how to do that another day.
A couple of minutes pass as I look down at the rips and holes throughout my uniform and toward the dirt and dried smudges of blood on my body.
I watch on and notice a small cut on my leg slowly closing up and healing. I guess my power was slowly recovering.
I try to stand, and wince from both the sting from my feet and the pain searing up my side. Right, fractured or broken bones.
Hopefully, whatever was in my system would fade faster and allow these injuries to be properly healed by the morning.
Just as I’m thinking that, Gadriel shows up, holding a large black duffel bag.
He kneels in front of me and pulls out wipes, ointment and lots of gauze. I hope he didn’t think I needed that much. That amount would probably wrap the torso of a guy twice my size and still have some to spare.
He leans toward me but then suddenly stops, an awkward look on his face as he flickers his gaze toward the medical supplies in his hands before meeting my eyes.