Recalling the lecture calmed me slightly, like gripping onto the knowledge provided a moment of order in the quickly unfolding chaos. It also alerted me to Selene’s very real fraying of control. She had never behaved aggressively towards any of the Royal Guard.
Rylan was still, almost limp, and he looked away. “My apologies, Your Royal Highness, for startling Lady Flores,” he spoke calmly. His voice did not waver, but he did not attempt to move or lift his eyes. “How may I be of assistance, Ma’am?” he continued.
“Ma’am,” I said and reached out, taking hold of her upper arm with my free hand. “It’s Rylan,” I said softly when Selene only bared her teeth further in response. “He’s our friend,” I reminded her.
I watched as her eyes shifted to me briefly and back to Rylan. There was a moment of intense silence. Selene’s hand around Rylan’s throat clenched tighter before she slowly released him.
“A car, immediately,” she finally spoke as she dropped her arm. “We leave for Ardens. Every member of my Royal Guard is to depart with me. Every Borealis servant is to return home tonight. Every Ardens student and servant is to return home tonight. Make arrangements. Anyone still here in the morning will be treated as a traitor. No one shall speculate on the reason for their departure from Sanguis Academy. Any talk of thematter shall be an act of treason. The only reason they shall be given is that I am no longer a student of Sanguis Academy, and the Academy is to lose its Royal patronage,” Selene commanded.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Rylan replied and left, vanishing much like he had appeared.
“Ma’am?” I asked, my voice cracking. What was happening?
Selene turned to me and lifted her hand to my face, carefully wiping away a tear. I was unaware that I was crying. “Do not fret, pet. I will keep you safe.”
6. Some People Have no Survival Instinct.
Persephone Flores
I grabbed hold of Selene’s wrist.
“Stop,” I said, my voice weaker than I had anticipated, but I cleared my throat and continued. “What’s going on, Selene? You can’t just demand that we and everyone else leave the Academy without explanation. Why are you so scared?” I asked, my voice growing stronger as I gathered myself.
“Is it not obvious?” she asked in return, opening her palm and taking my face in her hand.
“No! No, it’s not obvious! So tell me,” I replied, trying desperately to control my frustration. I wasn’t sure if I was trembling from an overdose of fear and adrenaline or if it was a natural reaction to how cold I physically felt. My winter coat was useless.
“Damn, Percy, I knew you were a little innocent, but really, you can’t think of any reason why your vampire should be concerned for your safety?”
I turned at Heidi’s arrival. She stood in the hallway at the top of the stairs landing, which led to our rooms open door.
“Heidi, what are you doing here?” Selene growled out, releasing me from her hold, and I stumbled back, gripping the arm of the sofa once again for support, aware that my breaths were laboured—like I’d spent the night at sea during a storm in an old boat, trying not to sink, without a moment of peace from one catastrophe to the next.
“Stupid questions all around, then. Firstly, I’m here because—why wouldn’t I be? The confirmation of Percy’s novel abilityand your little show with that crow, which you didn’t even tell me about,”—Heidi held her hand to her chest in mock hurt— “is all anyone can talk about. Of course, in such circumstances, I would come to the aid of my friends—"
“I do not require your assistance,” Selene interjected. Heidi's response was to raise one eyebrow in areally, now?type of gesture. What was Heidi doing? Did she not know the danger she was in? I tried to give Heidi a look that I hoped conveyed that now wasn’t the time for her personal brand of personality.
‘How tame is our beloved bloodsucker right now?’Heidi asked me telepathically. That was when I noticed that she had not made any effort to approach us.
‘Looks like she’s guarding you pretty well,’she continued, and I was aware of how Selene stood half-turned towards me, blocking me from Heidi’s view.
‘She attacked Rylan…after calling for him,’I told her.‘It’s not safe. What is going on, Heidi? What novel ability? You said my magic was Flores?’
Heidi’s mention of the confirmation of my novel ability simply reinforced that Selene was correct—Heidi had indeed lied to President Minerva about my magic the previous day. The death I wielded was new, and not some lesser-known ability of Flores.
“Enough of your silent conversations!” Selene hissed, her voice dangerously low.
“Sorry, Selene, I was just inquiring on the probability that I might find myself exsanguinated if I were to approach,” Heidi replied nonchalantly, somehow acknowledging the danger while remaining unfazed by it at the same time.
My heart jumped into my throat. Heidi wasn’t a vampire like Rylan—she could be seriously injured, so easily, if Selene lost control again.
“You are permitted,” Selene ground out. It wasn’t a particularly reassuring response.
“Well, with an invitation likethat, I’m simply filled with comfort,” Heidi replied, waving her hand dismissively as she began to walk towards us.
I couldn’t help but smile, ever so slightly amused by her antics despite the situation. Heidi being—well, Heidi—in a situation that felt so tense and critical, lessened the tension in my stomach.
I felt safer with her being here. Not that I thought Selene would hurt me. Well, I hoped she wouldn’t—or at least, I wanted to believe she wouldn’t.
