Chapter 34 #2
I glance toward Morgan. I was treated better by a stranger I had met only a couple of times, than them.
Like a switch finally flipped in me, I realised they never deserved me.
The friendship of the past was dead.
They were only a dream that had once helped to give me comfort when I was young and alone, and no more. Now, I would let those memories and feelings go.
A small grin tilts my lips, a strange feeling of almost relief falling over me.
“I’m nothing to you–”
“Micai–” Knox calls from Morgan's side as I continue, my gaze solely on Xander and his returned cold glare.
“It's a mutual feeling.” I take a step toward Xander, his eyes widening slightly with the proximity. “So when you see me…don’t even look my way.” I look at the other sets of eyes on me, making sure they know I mean every word. “Let's stop pretending like we ever really knew each other.”
Clearly what I thought I had with them in the past was all an illusion or some dream of mine. And even if it wasn’t, none of it mattered…they weren’t the boys I knew as a kid anymore.
I take a step back and turn toward Morgan as I call over my shoulder. “And don’t come near me again. ‘Cause I won’t take your shit anymore.”
I head towards the girls dormitory; wanting to change and go for a quick run or sparring session and release some stress. I make it to the courtyard before a hand grabs me from behind. Morgan .
Had she been following me this whole time? Why?
And why had she even helped me back there in the first place? We only shared one class and hadn’t even had a conversation before, so why would she care about me? Why get involved?
I had heard she and Seria didn’t get along, and from my past memories I do remember Seria complaining about her. But would she have really helped me because of that? From some hostility toward Serie and her puppets?
“Seems like you're overthinking things.” Morgan gently pulls me over to a nearby bench, the area quickly emptying out of the couple of students sitting there as we make our way over.
Morgan sits down, pulling me with her and waving her entourage away. They look back and forth between me and Morgan, but don't budge an inch.
“I’ll be fine Grey. Go take Ash for a walk.” The one I’m presuming is Ash raises a brow, his green eyes filled with an amused glint as he slides a hand though his short wavy dark-brown hair. The taller ash brown haired boy standing beside him, Grey, gives her a tiny smirk.
But neither of them move.
“Overprotective dickheads.” She turns back to me, a sigh leaving her lips.“I can’t even go to the bathroom without them checking if anyones had a whiz before me.”
She sighs while rolling her eyes at them as I try to school the small grin trying to spread on my lips.
Morgan seemed like the honest and blunt type, like she would rather say it to your face than talk behind your back or play little mind games. Maybe that's why her and Seria didn’t get along.
Either way, it was a little refreshing. And a complete change from how the majority of the girls in this academy treat me. Which usually involved dirty glares and smug smiles, with either hateful or degrading words spit at me for fun.
She gives me a small smile, a softer look in her eyes as she leans in closer.
“But we both know, I’m safe with you.”
My brows draw down together as she continues.
“After all, you already saved me once.” Her small smile widens, as a knowing gleam grows in her gaze.
I open my mouth to ask her what she means, but she quickly cuts me off.
“I have a question though,” She taps a slender finger against her lips.
“How did you manage to pull off all those moves in that tight black assassin outfit?” A large smirk stretches her lips as her eyes curve up into crescents. “Cause you looked badass .”
I feel my facial features fall at the certainty of her gaze. How did she know it was me?
How was that even possible? I had been covered from head to toe and it had been the dead of night.
Or was this some guess of hers? Some suspicion or theory she wanted to test out?
But why me? The rumours around the academy alone should have dissuaded her from thinking it was me. Weak, magicless Micai and all.
“I don’t know what you're talking about.” I shake my head as Ash and Grey whip around toward Morgan.
“Morgan,” Ash calls as his gaze flickers to me; a look of confusion taking over his expression as he looks at my smaller frame. “She's the one…”
His words fade off as she gives him a smile and curt nod. The boy beside her, Grey, narrows his blue eyes at me. They seemed to be searching for something before widening with some realisation.
Then it dawns on me. He was the boy on the ground in the forest during the beast attack. I flicker my gaze toward the other boy named Ash. His tall frame and dark brown hair seem to match the other one that night too.
I shake my head again. They had no proof it was me.
Then why was Morgan so sure?
“My ability–” Morgan starts before Grey cuts her off, his face stiffening.
“You don't know her well enough.”
Morgan raises a perfectly shaped brow, “There was a time when I didn’t know you Grey Aston, but I took the chance…” Her features soften a fraction, a slight warmth flooding her amber eyes as she continues, “And I don't regret it.”
His gaze meets hers; the stoic and serious look bleeding from his eyes as they share a gentle moment.
“Besides,” She grins, turning back toward me, “She’s worth the risk.”
She shifts in closer to me as Grey and Ash turn away. They continue to watch the surrounding area like sentinels, all while never leaving our side.
Morgan's eyes turn an iridescent hue as a light glimmer forms around us, casting a transparent cover over us and the area around Ash and Grey. Her eyes flicker back and she gives me a small sheepish smile.
“Everyone knows I have this psychic power to cast shields,” She waves her hand toward the light barrier covering us as I nod.
I didn’t know much about Morgan, other than what I’d heard from other students whispering. She was a second year student and didn’t have any good relationships with Seria or the girls in her year, only known to stick to the two boys around her.
She also had a very blunt and fierce nature, but was still known through the academy for her talent and aptitude for shields and barriers. Even the faculty was impressed by her skills.
But it wasn’t just her strong ability that kept others away, she also apparently had a strong family backing, one that no-one wanted to mess with.
“The truth is, I have another power…one I can’t let others know about.” Her expression turns a little sombre, the confident smile fading as a strange look of worry makes its way into her gaze. She turns toward Ash and Grey, a slight hesitation holding onto her gaze before she finally speaks again.
“It's not some amazingly strong power though,” she shrugs as a humourless laugh leaves her lips before they pull down into a small frown,”...it's not even an attack type.”
A shaky sigh leaves her throat while she takes a moment before continuing.
“But it's one I have to keep secret, because there are people who would want to use me for it.” Her eyes meet mine as a flicker of worry crosses them. But whatever she sees makes the creases around her eyes smooth out and the weariness in her gaze fade.“I can read people’s auras…”
Was that it? I don’t understand why that was such a big deal? I guess it wasn’t a common thing, but some witches could do it, right? I’m about to say just as much when she starts talking again.
“I can tell when people and supernaturals lie; what their powers and abilities are, and their personality…I can read beneath the layers they try to hide and down to their very core. Souls and all.” The hesitancy in her gaze returns as I feel my mouth slightly open.
That was different alright.
She was basically a walking lie detector machine–with the ability to see through everything and everyone–the good and the bad.
Imagine knowing the true personality of every head in the founding families of the supernatural world.
What abilities they were hiding, if and when they were lying, and if the smiles on their faces were only masks covering something darker beneath…
Is that why she didn’t get along with Seria?
Could she actually see and hear the bullshit?
“So Micai …” She calls, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I know you're the one who saved me because of this ability.” She glances briefly toward Ash and Grey, “But I don't know how you did it, or even why– not that I’m not grateful,” She rushes out, “...But,” A slight frown coats her lips, her brows creasing.
“How did you manage to fight off that beast by yourself? Why were you even there that night? Were you…involved in some way?”
There's a slight stiffness that works its way into Ash’s shoulders with Morgan’s words, and a slight tremor that makes its way into Greys clenched fists.
I meet her clear amber eyes as a heavy sigh leaves my lips.
If she really thought I was involved then she wouldn’t have helped me earlier with Xander and Seria, and she most certainly wouldn’t have told me about her secret ability…
Maybe she's wondering how someone who was supposed to have no power was able to fight and kill a beast that she couldn’t? Or how I knew where she was that night?
Or maybe why I even helped her to begin with?
But either way there was no longer any point in trying to hide the fact it was me.
And whether it was because of helping her that night or our previous life’s tragic fates, I felt some slight connection with her. A part of me wants to trust her.
“No, I wasn’t involved, and how I could fight…well,” I shrug, “I’ve been training.”
Even though a part of me wanted to open up, another part screamed that not even the walking lie detector would believe I came back to the past after dying.