Chapter 46 Cross the Line
Kane's POV
Something snapped in my head at that moment.
Blood boiled like molten lava in my veins, pounding violently against my temples. The roaring in my ears swallowed every sound in the cafeteria.
These people were rummaging through my space. They might touch places where Evelyn had been—my territory, marked with her scent, with traces of us both.
More importantly, that jewelry box.
Those were the fire opal pieces Evelyn wore last night. Even though she insisted on returning them, they still held her warmth and scent.
Absolutely no one else could touch them.
Absolutely not.
"Kane?"
Evelyn's voice doused the rage burning inside me. I snapped back to reality and looked at her.
She still held her fork, eyes cutting between my face and the floor, lips slightly parted, as if waiting for an explanation.
I couldn't scare her.
Looking the way I did right now would terrify her. I couldn't let her follow me to face those filthy pieces of trash.
I tried to choke down the fury, forcing deep breaths, but it barely helped. The rage still burned, gnawing at my insides.
"Stay here."
My tone came out cold and harsh. I stood up and left as quickly as a bird taking flight.
"Kane, where are you going?" Evelyn's voice came from behind me. From the corner of my eye, I saw her push up from her seat as if to follow.
"Don't move!"
I growled, violence bleeding into my voice. Evelyn froze. I couldn't afford to comfort her.
"I... I need to handle something."
I couldn't look at her after that—afraid I'd want to stay by her side and keep her warm. I turned and rushed out of the cafeteria.
From the cafeteria to the Starflame Tower dormitory, every step carried my fury. Wind tore past my ears. I reached my room in just a few minutes.
The nauseating smell—laced with body odor, malice, and destructive intent—was so thick it was suffocating, clawing at my last shred of reason.
The door was ajar.
The security wards on my room, which should have been ironclad, was torn through by brute force. The closer I got, the stronger that awful smell became.
My room—the place where I'd been with Evelyn just this morning—was trashed, like a tornado had ripped through it.
Ancient books ripped from the shelves, badly damaged. Dark-colored sheets lay on the floor, pillows shredded. The wardrobe and shoe cabinet caved in, with one door hanging crooked, about to fall off.
And in the middle of that wreckage, three guys in gray robes huddled around my desk, brazenly picking through my personal belongings.
One of them held that delicate wooden jewelry box, working his filthy fingers under the lid, trying to pry it open.
"So this is the good stuff he was hiding? Doesn't look that special!"
"What do you know? I heard these fire opals are worth a fortune—enough for us to live it up for years."
"Don't you think that girl's an idiot? She actually gave them back to him. So stupid. He doesn't want them anyway, so we'll just keep them for him. Free stuff—why not?"
The boy holding the box flashed a greasy grin, his eyes crawling over it as his hands worked the surface.
That was it. Every emotion I'd been holding down for so long tore loose.
"You're dead!"
The growl clawed up from deep in my throat, carrying the ancient rage of my bloodline—the kind that burns everything to ash.
I didn't bother with the door. I dumped every ounce of magic into my legs and drove my foot through the door blocking my way.
With a thunderous crash, the heavy door exploded inward, sending countless sharp wooden splinters tearing into the room like a deadly rainstorm.
Those three never had a chance to react—they collapsed to the floor, screaming like their courage had been ripped right out of them.
I didn't give them any chance to catch their breath or beg for mercy. I burst into the room.
So fast that in their horrified eyes, I was just a blur.
"Ahhh..."
"Help... help!"
Screams tore through the room. Something inside me broke free. That familiar burning sensation spread from my spine to my fingertips, the pain sharpening everything.
My fingertips shot out and hardened, transforming into dark gold claws, hard as diamonds, catching a cold light. At the same time, something spread fast across my neck, slowly covering it—it felt like feathers.
This was the battle form that the Phoenix Clan only awakened in extreme rage—when their bloodline went feral. It was synonymous with slaughter.
"Phoenix... it's Phoenix form! He's actually a Phoenix!"
One of the boys in gray robes screamed, his voice cracking, soaked in the despair of a man who knew exactly what I was. He wanted to transform, but his legs wouldn't cooperate.
I held nothing back, didn't even bother with incantations. My claws slashed through the air like wind blades shattering everything they threw at me.
The two who tried to resist or escape—I snatched them one-handed like discarding trash and slammed them hard against the solid wall.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the wall. They dropped like puppets with their strings cut, blood spraying from their mouths, unable to get up again.
The one left standing was the ringleader who'd been holding the jewelry box.
His hand shook so bad the precious jewelry box fell. I strode toward him, my dark gold claws shooting out to grip his throat, and lifted his entire body off the ground.
"Help..."
His feet churned uselessly in the air, his hands desperately clawing at my arm, trying to pry open my iron grip. His nails drew blood, scratching ragged marks into my skin.
But before the Phoenix's absolute power, his struggle was nothing.
"Who gave you permission to touch her things?"
My voice dropped—low and deep, with a metallic grinding quality, each word carrying coldness.
"That... that was..."
His face turned bright red, his eyeballs bulging from lack of oxygen, the whites shot through with burst vessels, his eyes full of pure terror—not just because he was scared of me, but because he was staring at his own death.
I didn't care who he was. My gaze fell on the open jewelry box lying at his feet.
Evelyn had worn those.
Those belonged to her.
"You think you're worthy to look at them? Worthy to touch them?"
My grip tightened. My sharp nails sank into his rough skin, hot blood flowing down between my fingers, dripping onto the floor.
"Help... help..."
He made weak, dying pleas for mercy, but to me, he was already as good as dead.
"Weren't you all so arrogant just now? Didn't you say you'd 'keep them' for me?"
I laughed coldly, looking down at these worthless insects.
"Since you like digging through other people's things so much, then leave something behind in exchange."
I clenched. His fragile throat bones let out a satisfying crack against my palm. Death had its arms around him now.
In this moment, I stopped pretending.
Anyone who dared touch Evelyn's things—I would break their bones and burn them to ashes.
They had to pay the price.