Chapter 15 Elodie #2
There are five notifications. Jumping to the first one, I watch the door open and a dark figure appear at the side of my bed.
A gloved finger trails down my face, brushing a loose curl back, but I blink and they’re gone.
Movement occurs twenty minutes later when Ocean climbs onto my bed, settling into the position I found her in.
The third notification is two hours later, when I’m greeted by the figure dressed head to toe in black again.
Despite Ocean sleeping along the bottom of my bed, they slip in beside me and I curl into their embrace immediately. My heart stutters as I watch myself nuzzle against the intruder.
What the hell is wrong with me?
The following timestamp is a little over an hour ago, showing the intruder slipping from my bed and disappearing as if they never existed. The final notification is from Ocean and me moving this morning.
I let my cell phone fall into my lap, my thoughts plagued with so many questions, but they are quickly interrupted by the sound of my stomach grumbling. Ocean’s head peeks around the corner of the bathroom door a second later.
“Are you ready to eat something more than cereal bars?” she asks, referring to the fact that’s all I had yesterday before I passed out, and I nod.
I would rather hide away forever, but food is a necessity at this stage.
“I can grab us pastries,” she offers, but as much as I love them, I think I need something a little more substantial than that. She probably does too.
“Thanks, but we deserve to eat properly. Are the restaurants open before classes?” I ask, and she grimaces as she shakes her head. Dammit. “Dining hall it is then,” I confirm, tossing the covers aside before climbing out of bed.
Ocean leaves the bathroom and I step straight in, hurrying to get myself ready, completely starved, before I dart across to the closet to find my clothes. Just as I slip my feet into my institute-issued shoes, Ocean appears in the doorway with wide eyes and a slack jaw.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, uncertainty rising to the surface, and she shakes her head.
“Are you going to classes today?” She points at the uniform I’m wearing and I nod.
“What else am I supposed to do?”
She gapes at me in response.
“I don’t know, deal with your thoughts and feelings, maybe? The fact that you were kidnapped? Tortured? Taken by The Sanctum? Slaughtering your father?” Her eyebrows pinch in confusion, like me in my uniform is the last thing she ever expected to walk in to find.
“That sounds gross,” I retort. There are far too many thoughts and feelings in my head that I don’t want to address, so I’m going to continue in my fake bliss for a little while longer.
“Or you could chill out with some movies and snacks, like, actually let your body heal,” she offers, trying to find an alternative, and it’s my turn to shake my head.
“I don’t want to get lost in my head.”
She offers me a sad smile as she nods. “Then classes it is,” she concedes, stepping back into the main area of our room.
I give myself a moment, running my hands over the lapels of my jacket as I brace myself to face the day.
Nothing comes from hiding away in here. Besides, I’ve experienced it all at this point.
The Sanctum is going to come for me whether I like it or not.
I may as well train myself as best I can before that time comes, especially if I’ve got Jude coming at me from another angle.
With one final deep breath, I’m ready. Grabbing my cell phone, I fix my bed before joining Ocean at the door. I’m surprised to find no one standing on the other side of it as we head out, but I enjoy the calmness that continues to linger around us.
We walk in comfortable silence as we descend the stairs and make our way outside. It’s only when we reach the peak of the pathway that offers the best vantage point of The Vale that I finally speak.
“So, what have I missed? So much has happened, I don’t even know what day it is,” I admit, and Ocean huffs as she shakes her head.
“Girl, same,” she agrees, linking her arm through mine as we continue to walk in sync.
She takes a second, tapping her chin in thought before she seemingly decides where to start.
“Well, Tiran was under medical attention for twenty-four hours after fighting with Rion,” she explains, making my jaw almost hit the ground, but I shouldn’t be surprised; Rion is a beast.
The flash reminder of Rion fighting with him comes to mind, but it’s quickly replaced with the searing pain at my sides. It’s not real, just another phantom reaction, but it’s enough to make me clutch my side with my free hand.
As if sensing my thoughts, Ocean grimaces. “Willow, on the other hand…” she starts, and I find my spine stiffening as I brace for impact. “Didn’t even get a slap on the wrist for that bitch move she pulled,” she snarls, anger burning through her.
My nostrils flare with barely contained rage, but it’s an easy pill to swallow because I never anticipated anything different.
“Are you going to eat before you fuck her up?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows excitedly, and I shake my head.
“No. I’m going to save my energy until the right time comes,” I murmur, embracing the wicked side of me that wants to make her pay. I want the same satisfaction that I felt yesterday when I did the same to my father.
It’s startling how different I feel. I’m here because I killed someone to begin with.
It was a freak accident, one I was completely set up to be a part of, that much I know, but last night…
I don’t feel any guilt or sadness; I just feel freer.
Maybe that’s where my air of contentment has come from this morning, knowing my father is no longer a threat to me.
“She’s going to think she won,” Ocean states, and I shrug.
“Let her. It will make her fall even sweeter,” I promise, and she grins.
Like the psychotic maniacs that we are, we all but skip toward the entrance of the dining hall. The second we step inside, the new setup throws me off balance for a moment. I had all but forgotten about it in the chaos of everything else that’s happened.
The tables sit framing the tree in the center of the room, each angled to fork off in a circle as though it’s a clock in here instead of the usual layout, which involved us walking to the far end of the hall.
I preferred it the other way. I hate being so close to Institute One, but I don’t let myself get caught up in it as my stomach grumbles again. I just really need to eat.
Taking our seat at the usual table that has six chairs, I almost consider moving somewhere different so the others can’t join us, but I quickly remind myself that it’s only Kael I don’t want to be around. Rion and Thorne, I owe them more than I care to acknowledge yet.
As if sensing his name in my thoughts, my cell phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out to find a text from Rion.
Rion: Petal, where you at?
I quickly type out a reply and hit send.
Elodie: I’m at the dining hall.
The three little dots immediately appear before another text message comes through.
Rion: You left without me? I’m wounded.
Elodie: I’m sure you’ll heal.
I grin at his dramatics, fully aware that he won’t waste any time getting here, but those familiar three dots flash at the bottom of the screen again.
Rion: I will if you kiss it better.
I grin, earning a questioning look from Ocean as I shake my head.
Elodie: I could consider it.
Rion: Excellent. I’ll be there ASAP. The wound is on my dick.
I blush at his antics as I slip my cell phone back into my pocket just as a plate of food is placed in front of me. My excitement quickly withers to nothing as my hopes for eggs and bacon or pancakes are murdered by a plate of slop.
“I think it’s supposed to be porridge,” Ocean murmurs, dragging her spoon through the thick substance in front of her with a grimace.
Any other time, I might complain, but luckily, today is the day I’m so hungry I don’t care. With the mushy porridge in my mouth, I glance around the Institute Thirteen tables, unsure what I’m searching for, but when I don’t spot Brenna, I know that’s who I’m looking for.
“What about Brenna? Is she okay?” I ask, despite her shitty words being directed at me.
It wasn’t her fault, it was the magic, I tell myself.
Ocean shrugs. “I haven’t seen her,” she admits, following my line of sight before taking a tentative spoonful of her porridge.
My concern is abruptly interrupted as the doors swing open and a tall, pale, blond-haired vampire steps into the room. My heart beats so loudly, I’m sure it makes the floor rumble too.
He looks like he hasn’t slept as he glances around the space, but it doesn’t take him long to find me in the crowd. I feel torn as a part of me begs to run to him, to wrap my arms around his neck with the desire to fix it all, but I squash it down before it gets too vivid.
It’s not my fault I can’t do that anymore.
It’s his. Not that I really did that to begin with, but now I have to fight against the desire because of his stupid actions.
I wish his betrayal had changed how he looked to me, how his presence made me feel, but it seems I’m a glutton for punishment because it doesn’t.
I consider drowning him in a bucket of cold water, but decide against that too.
Rage quickly boils inside of me as my view of him is obstructed by a redheaded bitch who drapes her arms around his neck. Before the green-eyed monster can run free inside of me, I turn away, opting to aim my glare at the tree in the center of the room instead.
At least the tree doesn’t burn me with heartache.
I barely think the words into existence before a flash of purple flames dances around the tree in question, only to vanish a moment later, leaving five new additions in its place.
The Sanctum.
“Good morning, students. It looks like the perfect weather for our next Institute Game, wouldn’t you say?” Anya declares, throwing her hands out wide, expecting a cheer of some kind, but everyone just blinks at them.
“Fuck my luck today,” I mumble, and Ocean scoffs.
“Fuck your luck every day,” she corrects, and I huff in agreement as movement beside me catches my attention.
“What’s this about fucking? I thought you were just going to kiss me better, Petal?” Rion declares, louder than necessary, as Thorne shakes his head while taking the seat across from him.
Before I can reply to Rion’s brazen antics, Thorne clears his throat, leveling me with a stare.
“I think they’re trying to kill you,” he states, and I gulp, unable to deny the fact, but definitely not self-centered enough to believe that it’s their only motive. I don’t get to express anything, though, as another voice sounds from behind me.
“Or make your powers appear.”
My pulse quickens with panic as the familiar voice washes over me, but I keep my head down, refusing to look at Kael. But pretending he’s not there doesn’t eradicate the warmth of his body heat behind me.
Dammit.
My cell phone vibrates in my pocket, making me frown as I move to retrieve it from my pocket.
Everyone with my number is here. A brick hits my stomach as a text sits idle on the screen.
Pressing my thumb against it, I’m not surprised when it comes from an unknown source, but it still doesn’t stop the shiver running down my spine.
Unknown: Are you ready to come home now, Little Weapon? Just say the word, and I can put an end to it all.