Chapter 19 CHAPTER 19
ALIRA'S POV
Is it just me or does food taste extremely delicious after you've been hungry for a long time?
Or maybe I'm just trying to deny the fact that this man was perfect in every way except his rotten attitude.
Every time I found myself getting angry, he'd cut me off with something… overwhelmingly kind.
I'm a simple girl. Food works magic for my mood, and he added this balm that was magically healing my foot, giving me a chance to actually survive this place.
He'd given me an hour to wait for it to work, but there was no way to measure time around me. I didn't remember the last time I was with my phone; and here I was thinking I had an addiction to the device. It just turned out I didn't have much happening in my life.
Now that I was in some sort of dramatic epoch, I could barely remember what was pissing me off yesterday.
I didn't want him to come back here and meet me. I didn't know why he'd bring me in here, somewhere so… personal.
But I felt like I was intruding on his privacy, taking advantage of his reluctant kindness after crashing into his world and begging for a chance to hide in it.
So I tested the foot and it was less painful than before. I even felt stronger.
The herbs in it must be truly magical.
Like most things in this place.
I could see why they were proud of their world. They'd successfully merged strength and ease in a commendable way.
Just because they had magic didn't mean that their human forms were weak and soft. And neither did they try to be prideful and refuse the help of the magic when needed.
It was a synergy that made their world—the little I'd seen anyway—functional.
I slowly stood up, checking again to be sure I wasn't imagining the absence of pain in my leg. Sure, there was discomfort somewhere there, but I could walk without feeling like I was about to collapse.
I picked up the plate and took it to the kitchen I'd seen him work in, admiring the wooden and steel mix of furniture and clean aesthetics.
The hint of black was still consistent with his office, a sign that this place truly belonged to Principal Draco even though he didn't leave any personal effects in sight.
I washed the plate, cleaned up after myself, and walked back out, still limping to avoid putting too much pressure on my healing foot.
I didn't know where he went, but I wanted to leave before he got back. I wouldn't want to be in his presence longer than necessary.
He confused me and I didn't want that.
I headed toward the door and then remembered how their security system worked here.
"God dammit," I seethed, pushing it, hoping it would budge, but it was no use.
My DNA wasn't even in any of the systems, so I knew I was stuck in here until he returned.
I pushed it again, just out of sheer stubbornness, and to my excitement and shock, it began opening.
I stepped back as the door opened inward, ready to go back to finding where to hide when my breath got stuck in my throat.
"And where are you going? Why don't you listen to instructions?"
Of course. What was I thinking? The door couldn't open for me.
The male stood before me, sweaty, half-naked, and breathing heavily like he'd just run a marathon.
He could run one in me if he wasn't so…
Fucking hell, I have to get my shit together.
And that was when I heard his words in my head and it riled me up, just what I needed.
"Back to my classes, sir," I mumbled, hating how he made me feel so small.
I was done with this teacher-student interaction years before now, and yet, I kept acting like a teenager.
"You can resume fully tomorrow. Go back and rest."
He passed by me and tried to shut the door, but I quickly reached out to keep it open.
"No," I let out, and forced myself to look him in the eye.
Blue eyes that bled power and ice, sending fear and excitement through me.
Yes, he's the Principal of this place and he might even be a few centuries older than me—crazy, I know—but he wasn't my father. I'd never had one of those anyway, so he would have to treat me like a grown adult and not some toddler.
"What?"
"I appreciate your help, sir. But I have to head back. I already succeeded in making everyone pissed off with my weakness. If I run away every day I get injured, I'll have a reputation worse than the one I already have."
"So fucking stubborn," he breathed, pushing a hand through those curls, and I couldn't help kicking myself in my head so I could concentrate on the other angry feeling I needed to get my way. "And you think people's opinion of you is more important than your injured foot? You realize if you put too much pressure on it, you'll infect it and be bedridden for another two or three days?"
You don't say.
"I'll take the chance, sir," I replied, biting the inside of my cheeks to stop myself from smiling triumphantly.
I walked out from under his armpit which was holding the door, and got outside.
"And how do you intend to get back to the academy grounds? On said foot?"
"Will you miss your horse too much if I get on it?"
He laughed.
Fuck, that sound.
A dimple appeared on his right cheek, the small fact making him look like a totally different person.
"You really believe you can ride my horse?" he asked after he calmed down from his sexy laugh, eyes twinkling.
Gosh, I really needed to leave this realm soon. Why did I think of his…
"Yes," I croaked out, my voice foreign even to my own ears.
"Styx looks small compared to other Steeds," he explained, "but she has no competition in endurance and stubbornness. We've been through too much and she's loyal to only me. So if you really think you can just go and get atop her, be my guest. I'm done offering my help when you don't want it."
And he slammed the door in my face.
I blinked in shock and… well, I did deserve that.
I got his point. The journey here had seemed short because I'd spent most of it trying to figure out if I was feeling his dick harden behind me or if I was imagining it. And also, the crazier part, having to control myself so I didn't leak out so much wetness that the innocent horse got wet too.
But it was clear I wouldn't know my way back and even if I did, it was too far away from the main campus.
I needed to stay close by, hiding meant that I would need to eat and this place seemed quite deserted.
I walked toward the back gates. I just wanted to try and see where things went.
Or wait, no.
That's not it.
That inner compass that had helped me the first night I'd crawled out of that ocean was back, and it was definitely guiding me to the Steed stall.
I've done crazier things, so I just went along with it.
What's the worst that can happen?