Chapter 41 #3
“There, it's all right,” I said, sending a wave of power into her that healed all her injuries. And there were many. Adele's frightened eyes widened as she felt the cuts closing.
I stood up feeling nauseous, my head spinning.
Zion stared at us with concern, and around us, several people watched the scene.
I felt the bond lurking in the corner of my mind and silently asked him not to ask now.
I didn't know if he'd listen, but he gave me space and helped Adele up.
I turned to face the Yonserian, but she was withdrawn and ignoring me.
Still, I took a step toward her, but when she closed her eyes and shrank back, I gave up.
Zion blew his whistle, ordering everyone to resume training, and soon the students fell back into their rhythm, though a bit reluctant after what had happened.
To avoid giving the gossips more fuel, I shoved my hands in my pockets, hiding the trembling from curious eyes.
Adele walked away, and when I moved to take another step toward her, her eyes met mine—cold and full of hatred.
I simply couldn't... I couldn't deal with this.
I turned my back on the class and ran off without thinking or looking back.
My legs faltered so badly I could barely keep my balance as I fled from training and headed toward the edge of the forest. My heart raced, pounding as if screaming in protest, and my feet stumbled aimlessly among the stones.
I couldn't see properly because tears blurred everything.
Before I knew it, I was near the cliff—the place I always came when I felt shattered.
The monumental landscape and the drop below made me feel like just a grain of dust in the universe. I took a deep breath.
“Kyller?” I heard Zion calling me from among the trees. I wrapped my arms around myself as the wind roared around me. “What happened?”
“I... I need time to organize my thoughts,” I replied, still in shock.
His gaze hardened and his hands clenched into fists.
“What happened?” He approached slowly.
With trembling hands, I wiped the tears from my eyes.
“I'm still trying to process it. I don't know if I can trust what I think is happening. I don't know if the marks mean what I'm thinking.”
Zion clenched his fists and the shadows began to stir.
“What did you discover?” His voice was that of a commander—someone accustomed to dealing with things like this. I took a deep breath, allowing myself to remember what I had seen.
“Cuts,” I said, still horrified. “Bites and cuts all over her back, buttocks, and thighs.
They were healing, but there were so many they couldn't heal completely.
I could see the scars—I know how to recognize healed tissue because my whole body is like that.
The sensation is different from skin that's never scarred. There are regeneration marks everywhere. There are also...” I didn't know how to say this; it was too much for my mind to handle.
“There are lacerations on her private parts.”
Zion's expression was that of someone about to commit an atrocity.
“You're telling me Adele has marks from torture and rape?” The shadows stirred around him, as if disturbed.
“I don't know, Zion,” I continued, still in shock. “I could be wrong—I'm not sure that's what it is. But the bites... bites like those are evidence of violence. Fae only bite to intimidate or subjugate someone. That can't be some kind of fetish.”
He stared at me, revolted.
“Are you sure they're fae bites? They could be from a gorgon.”
“No!” I shook my head. “I've studied gorgon bite marks. They're different—their fangs leave thin punctures and don't tear up the surrounding tissue. Those bites are from a fae, because the tissue around them is lacerated and bruised.”
“I'll contact Serguei and see what he can find out.”
“No!” I reached out toward him, stopping him from doing whatever he was thinking of doing.
“No. Wait. We don't know what's happening, and I'd rather talk to her before we expose her to a situation like that. Serguei is...” I ran my hands over my face to wipe away the tears.
“He's tactless, and I think it's better not to embarrass Adele before we know what's going on.”
Zion looked ready to tear down an entire house, and I trembled with revulsion at what I'd seen on the Yonserian's skin.
I remembered a lake, colorful stones, and slaves bathing.
I remembered Armiris's face when the soldier dragged her away.
I remembered my hands trembling with fear.
Now it wasn't fear anymore, but hatred. Hatred and a twisted need for justice.
I saw Zion approaching me carefully. Even shaken by what he'd just discovered, he still showed concern for me, as if trying to reach a frightened animal.
Then I realized I was standing at the edge of the precipice.
I turned back toward him, and he relaxed his shoulders a bit as he approached.
“You're going to talk to her? Do you think that's a good idea?” he asked. His concern was understandable. Adele wouldn't take kindly to a conversation like that, especially with me.
“I need to try. I need to hear her out first—tell her she can trust us, that we won't tell anyone and we'll find whoever did this. If there is someone.”
I didn't even know what to think. My head was spinning. Zion placed his fingers under my chin and lifted my face toward him. Our eyes locked like magnets.
“I trust you. Talk to her, and then we'll decide what to do,” he said quietly. “I'll end training early today. I'll have the students practice with weapons. Is that okay?”
“Yes,” I whispered sadly, remembering that Adele was still in the woods. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “I'll be fine—please, don't worry about me. Just pretend nothing happened. I'll stay here a bit longer to pull myself together.”
I stepped away from his touch so he could head back, but Zion didn't move.
He stared at the precipice behind me, his gaze fixed on the view, worried and hollow.
He stood at the edge, where I'd been countless times, as if reliving a memory.
Watching him, I understood. And when I understood, my heart clenched again, but there was no time to talk about that now.
“Shall we?” I asked quietly, drawing his attention. He seemed to wake from his trance, then turned to me, his gaze returning to normal. I approached and pulled him toward the woods. Zion followed with firm steps, then pulled me close and shadow-walked us to where the students were having class.
He ended the obstacle course and led us on a short run to the target practice field.
Kiara ran at my side, happy to be free, and I tried not to steal glances at Adele, but I couldn't take my eyes off her back, off the trails of bites there.
I remembered the time I'd smelled blood on her and wanted to smack my own forehead for missing it—for not paying attention not only to the blood, but also to the dark circles and pale skin...
All of that had been caused by someone. I kept imagining who had done that kind of damage and why she hadn't asked for help.
I couldn't make myself look away. I wanted to talk to her, but I knew I'd be rejected.
So I just ran and tried not to think about it, pretended nothing had happened, even as my thoughts kept circling back to what I'd seen.
When we arrived at the target practice lanes, I noticed she was watching me too, her gaze throwing daggers.
I wanted to talk to her, but I knew this wasn't the right time.
I'd wait until the end of the day. I grabbed a bow, nocked an arrow, and went to compete with my friends, trying not to show any interest in the Yonserian.
Throughout the entire training session, I mentally rehearsed my approach, but when Zion blew the whistle signaling that training was over, the students became a chaotic mass of bodies eager to leave, and I fell behind. Adele was nowhere to be found.