AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Valencia turned her head and whispered something in the sergeant’s ear. The vampire pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at me. It didn’t take a genius to know what she was talking about. If the stories were true and my mother really had been an acclaimed healer in the field, then the news of her disappearance had to have reached ears I didn’t even know about. Was the vampire one of them? Did she know about my mother’s kidnapping? My heart ached, and I felt the familiar hollowness as all the questions swarmed through me. Not for the first time, I realized just how little I knew of everything. My entire life was wrapped up with a pretty bow I had been afraid to unravel. I need to untie it now. After figuring out how to survive, I had to find out everything.
“I expect you to be on top of your game, Ms. McEntire,” the sergeant spoke, drawing my attention back to her. “You are following in the footsteps of a great medic. I expect nothing less from you now.”
Anger shoved down the confusion that was boiling inside of me. Was she serious? I’d been shoved into my mother’s shadow for so long that this wasn’t a surprise. But did people honestly expect me to be as great as hereverywhere? Apparently freaking so. I gritted my teeth, keeping myself from saying something I knew I’d end up regretting.
The vampire turned, her steps full of grace. Envy prickled in the pit of my stomach, and somewhere below, the anger still heating me up inside. I hated how graceful vampires could be. No tripping over their feet or spilling coffee down their shirts when startled. They moved effortlessly just because they were undead. Which so wasn’t fair.
Ezekial lingered as Valencia turned, following the vampire. His deep eyes met mine, and I felt like he could see into my soul, but that was stupid, wasn’t it?
Get a grip, Azula. You’re here to train; besides, you’ve got a boyfriend. Get a damn grip.I could see myself grabbing my shoulders and shaking myself so hard that my brain rattled inside my head to get it straightened back out. I pulled my gaze away, but not quick enough before I saw the smirk twist his face. It was only a brief look before when I flashed my eyes back to him. He was turning and following the women out, leaving me in the throng of the crowd. When the mess hall was empty of the trio, chatter returned in hushed whispers, and my heart thundered in my ears. Vomit burned my throat, and I was about to let go of whatever little I had eaten for lunch and breakfast, which at the moment I couldn’t recall was.
Swallowing it down, I turned on my heel, and the crowd parted to let me through. With my head held up, I walked through, trying to ignore the sting of tears in the corners of my eyes. I hated it when my mother was brought up. Because then I’d have to relive that one moment of time I wasn’t strong enough, when I had been a coward and unable to save her, to stop the Skeletal’s from taking her. I had vowed after that day that I would never be weak again; up through now, I hadn’t been. I was the best at what I did because I had to be. I didn’t shy away at the sight of blood because that would mean I was a coward. I was good at what I did because if I wasn’t, that would mean I was weak.
I couldn’t be weak. Not if I wanted to become a soldier and find my mother. I had to prove myself to everybody that I was more than just a witch with healing abilities or my mother's legacy. I was more than that, and people had to see it. I needed them to see it. I wanted them to see me as my own person, not my mother’s daughter. But now, I was also categorized as my father’s daughter. There just was no winning for me, was there?
Out in the open, I caught sight of Ezekial once more. This time, however, he was alone, drifting towards the edges of the trees. When he caught sight of me, he jerked his head toward the forest line and turned swiftly on his heel, fully intending to lead me within. Curiosity turned my head over my shoulder, and when I found I hadn’t been followed, I turned and walked towards him, unable to stop myself. Or maybe I was unwilling to stop myself. Maybe whatever all this was, it was enough for me to get my head out of the clouds, even if just momentarily.
At the entrance of the trees, I looked into the depths, reminded once more of the boy who had died in front of my eyes, slipping out of my fingertips like water. He’d pleaded, begged for his life, and I had tried so hard to keep him alive. Even if it was a vision of the future and what was to come, it still left me with an emptiness I couldn’t quite explain. At being reminded of it, the claws scratched inside of me once more, desperate to get out and – well, I wasn’t sure exactly what they wanted of me. But something was there, buried deep. I could feel it, ready to explode. I wasn’t sure I liked it.
Still, I stepped over the threshold of the forest lining and let the darkness of it swallow me whole. The birds chirping from above greeted me, and calm swept through my body. I almost felt like I was about to sag to the ground and let it take me under. I was probably about to, but knowing better than to let that happen, I took another step forward and one extra. I walked forward until a thick tree trunk blocked my path and rose high into the sky. The canopy of leaves above hid just how high it rose. They were black from the night, and it sent a shiver down my spine. I had to cross my arms to keep from shaking. Maybe it was a little fear twisting through me.
“You are a strange one, you know. Full of more power than you could possibly imagine or that you might even be able to tap into.” Ezekial’s cool voice swept over me, sending chills through every inch of my flesh and to my bone.
I sucked in a breath as the iciness of his words curled through me.
“You’d be perfect.”
“Perfect?” I echoed, my voice cracking, but it was a whisper. I feared disturbing whatever lay in the thicket of the darkness around me.
“Yes.” He hesitated before continuing. “Step forward.”
I obeyed, and the darkness washed away momentarily, leaving me in a clearing with Ezekial standing just feet in front of me. It was only the two of us. He stepped forward and swooped down, spindly fingers clasping my chin before tilting my head back. My heart raced, thundering against my ribcage. I knew I should’ve stopped him, but I just couldn’t get my mouth to form the words. To be honest, a little part of me, a small voice in the very back of my brain, didn’t want me to stop him. I’d only ever been kissed by one boy. I had only ever had one boyfriend. One who wanted to settle down, marry, and have kids. Everything that I didn’t want. This man in front of me didn’t seem to want any of that. He didn’t ooze any desires to just sit, take whatever life handed him, and knit it together.
But even as our lips met and I didn’t instantly pull back, the regret and guilt crashed through me like a tsunami, wreaking havoc in every direction it hit and drowning out any other senses besides the need to fight through and survive. I yanked away, staggered back, and turned to run back. His fingers wrapped around my wrist and jerked me to a stop, and he spun me around, but it wasn’t for a second kiss. Instead, he pushed me against the tree trunk, his arm pressing into my throat to block my voice and airway, trapping me.
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Isquirmed beneath his hold, my fingers grappling at his hands to try and free myself, but it was no use. He had a tight hold on me. I gasped for breath, ragged and sharp in my lungs. Red dots flashed before my vision, and the edges grew dark, threatening to make me pass out. Ezekial pressed his face close to mine once more but kept his lips inches from mine this time. My heart thundered, racing erratically, but I couldn’t tell if it was adrenaline coursing through my veins or because of how close he was. He really was a handsome guy. Sharp features, sallow cheeks, but a built frame. His hair was the kind of floppy that a girl like me wanted to run her fingers through. It curled at the bottom of his ears. And the blue, greyest of eyes I’d ever seen up close.
“Sorry for the sudden attack, Azula,” a familiar voice spoke, a dark frame appearing behind Ezekial.
The man released me, and I collapsed to the ground, sputtering for air, and bent over, my fingers clutching at my neck. I blinked rapidly, squeezing my eyes shut to try and get my bearings back in place.
“It was a bit dramatic, if you ask me,” Valencia sighed, and I could just hear the shaking of her head. “We’ve talked about this, Ezekial,” she chastised, but there was a playful tone to her voice.
I grimaced as I drew my eyes up to the pair, not daring to leave my spot on the ground. If I had to fight them both, trying to stand and doing so now would only result in my own demise. I was in no shape until my head stopped feeling full of fish swimming about.
“What do you want with me?” I croaked out.
Valencia swooped down so I could make out her face, but in the depths of the forest, we were all shrouded in the arms of darkness. “Not exactly with you, but with someone. Your mother.”
I blinked. “My mother?” I shook my head. “I don’t know anything about her. She – she was taken when I was little. I saw her taken.”
Fingers clutched my chin and thrust my head back, forcing my eyes to look up into dark, glittering eyes. “You know more than you’re letting on, and I know it,” she breathed, her teeth clenched. “Where is her book?”
I grimaced as her talon-like nails dug into my skin. “Book?” I echoed, truly not knowing what she was talking about.
Valencia sighed heavily, irritation flaring through the sound. “Her book. Her grimoire. Where is it?”
