Chapter 12 CHAPTER 12
The academy rose before me like something out of a fever dream; stone buildings carved directly into the mountain face, connected by bridges that seemed to float without support. Towers reached toward the sky where I could see shadows circling.
I took in the large compound, no, that word was inadequate for the massive space that held buildings ranging from one storey to one that towered above everything else and went as high as the gates.
The mountain still towered above everything else but they'd somehow managed to build on top and into it, and if you weren't looking close enough, you wouldn't even notice the small windows opening from different angles of the stone wall.
“Walk faster!” The guard scolded me, forcing me to pick up speed instead of gawking at everything.
That was hard, there were paths winding towards different places that I wanted to explore, and from my perspective in real estate, I was itching to know about their history, the how of these structures.
In a magical realm, it was incredible what they achieved without it. I half expected everything to be magically suspended or something but while things like lighting were magically powered, they still put the hard work where necessary. If magic failed today, they wouldn't collapse.
The entire place was silent and considering I'd come in the middle of the night, that made much sense.
Except for the guards patrolling in calm, controlled paces, the whole place was still.
The guard before me turned towards one of the buildings, this one was probably a fortress turned into an admin block but then, almost every building here looked like it could protect you from a wide array of bad things.
I was hoping it would do that for me too.
He opened the thick, black doors that I couldn't decipher the material they were made of, and entered into a foyer and I walked behind him as he began climbing a pair of stairs that worsened my condition the longer the journey went.
I was breathless when he finally got to a door that had a tag on it, made of the same thick, undecipherable material. It wasn't wood, or metal, that much was certain.
Principal Ashthorne, the sign read and I assumed this was the same person Gerund spoke about, the title was consistent.
The guard knocked and stepped back.
I'd expected to be given somewhere to stay for the night and be taken to see the principal in the morning but for some reason, it seemed the man worked overnight.
Can I refer to these people as men? The ones I'd seen so far looked like they belonged in a science fiction movie but still, they walked with the same pride and gait human men possessed and I wasn't about to worsen my headache by wondering what else they could be called.
“Enter,” a thick voice rumbled from inside, sending shivers across my skin.
Nerves. They were my friends in this journey, although this one felt different, intense.
The guard pushed the door open and with the way his muscles rippled, I knew it wasn't easy.
But instead of him walking in ahead of me, he stood aside for me to walk in first.
I hesitated, but I wasn't in the position to protest anything, so I did as gestured, padding naked feet into the plush rug that covered the large office.
The most consistent thing about the room was black.
The material the table was made of, the seat he was on, hunched over some file, the rolling fan mounted by the wall, the thick curtains behind him, and even the clothes on the man's body.
Message gotten, he wasn't to be messed with.
“You can leave, Garut,” he spoke up again, not even raising his head.
The guard bowed still, even though the person he was bowing to wasn't seeing him and he walked away, shutting the door behind me.
My heart thundered louder as it was just us two, me standing in pain and anticipation and him, reading whatever was so damn important.
My fear gradually morphed to irritation, fuelled by the exhaustion in my bones.
“Can I sit down at least while you finish with what you're doing?” I let out, my body shaking from fear once again after the words had left my mouth.
I really needed to get a grip on my anger issues, although it would be nice if he didn't keep me standing here unnecessarily.
His silence made my mind race with possibilities, all terrible and some, fine, most of them ending with him throwing me out of those large windows behind him.
Finally, he looked up, and my jaw dropped.
He was beautiful.
No, handsome, masculine, haunting.
His skin was a beautiful brown shade that shone clearer the longer I stared at his face. It was like my vision was getting clearer as I now had something to look at, to be obsessed with.
The most thrilling part of his lean, muscled form that pierced through my body and mind was his eyes.
A haunting ice blue that was looking at me with slight… amusement?
“Did no one teach you about patience where you're coming from?” He finally asked me, mad proceeded to lean back, crossing his hands across his chest.
Those hands were…
‘Alira snap out of it,’ I scolded myself. Getting somewhere to lie down for the night and probably the next week or so was more important than ogling the fine specimen before me.
“I've been on the road the entire day and it's been harrowing sir,” I answered, “I was hoping to stay here for a bit before heading back. I promise not to be a bother,” I finished, hoping he could feel pity for me.
“You earthlings are always so entitled, making demands –”
“No I'm not –”
“Don't you dare interrupt me again!” He commanded, not increasing the volume of his voice, but they carried more weight than any yell I've ever suffered through.
I shook, from exhaustion and the terror his anger poured into my body.
“Where are you from?” He asked again, his voice not as icy but still not encouraging warm hugs and sunshine.
“U-utah in the United States,” I stuttered, my voice a pitiful sound even to my own ears.
“And what are you doing in Drakkonia?”
“My Mum passed away recently and –”
“I don't care about your sob story Miss, what is your mission in our realm?”
The room grew colder and I couldn't help hugging myself tighter.
“Someone is trying to kill me, I discovered here by chance and I'm hoping to keep my head down for a bit. I'll be out of your hair soon, I promise. I won't be in the way, you'll barely know I'm here,” I begged.
Silence reigned as he mulled over my plea, and I hated how I couldn't read him. He was like an ice figure, stoic.
Suddenly, he stood up and picked keys from a hanger on the large shelf beside his wide desk.
“You have a week,” he said as he walked towards me, “figure your shit out by then. Follow me.”
I obeyed, grateful for the chance, and I stepped back so he could open the door.
I had to force myself to ignore the way his hand so close to my eyes made me feel, the way his smell made me feel.
He walked out into the corridor and I followed, running to match his long strides.
He finally got to a door that was different from the others, this one clearly metal, strong too as everything in here.
When he finished turning the key, he pushed the door open.
I was about to walk in when I felt his hand lift my hair up.
I froze.
“You're… how did you get this mark?”
“What mark?” I looked at him in frustration.
“You have a dragon bond mark on your neck. You're not human.”
Say what now?