Chapter 93: I Wanna Help Her

Skylar

Every single inch of distance I closed was shadowed by the memory of Katarina placing her sigil on me.

"Notavi eam meis viribus..."

Once that spell was uttered, a black light shot straight into my forehead. The pain was absolute agony.

Sigils erupted all down my arms, burning like fire. Dad and Mum spent the next three years trying to suppress them.

The end result? Iven went into hiding, leaving me feeling like I wasn’t even a proper she-wolf anymore.

Dad’s soft whisper echoed through our mind-link—reminding me that he and Mum would always protect me until I turned 18.

Katya slumped limply in the iron chair. Her face, which had been wearing a fake smirk just moments ago, was now dead pale. Her dull eyes looked up at me with a faint glimmer of genuine remorse.

I stood there in front of her, waiting for her to make a move, even though I knew how hard that would be for her after having her mana completely drained.

"Skylar..." she rasped out, her voice raspy and breathless.

Hearing her speak wasn't enough to snap me out of it. I stayed completely frozen, though my wolf instincts were on high alert.

Katya reached out a trembling hand, her fingers raised weakly.

"Come closer... please. I... I can only manage a whisper."

I hesitated. Doubt crept up like a thorn in my chest. But then I glanced over at Professor Rowland nearby—he gave me a reassuring nod.

His grim expression radiated a silent, unwavering strength. He might be strict, but he’d never let any harm come to me while I was at Sentient Sync.

“Hear her out, Miss McKirby. Katya’s just an innocent girl who died at the wrong time,” he said, his tone laced with dark irony.

Taking a deep breath, I closed the gap until my face was only inches from hers. The sharp stench of vampire blood and burnt mana hit my wolf senses instantly.

Summoning what little strength she had left, Katya leaned in right next to my ear. "I’m so sorry, Skylar..." she whimpered, her voice trembling as a soft sob escaped her. "I’m so sorry for everything I did to you. I really am..."

Hearing the raw sincerity in her voice brought a sudden surge of warmth to my chest. That pain wasn't an act anymore. Yesterday, Elroth might have called her a master actress, but the agony in her voice right now was far too real, far too pure to fake.

"I forgive you, Katya," I whispered softly, trying to soothe her trembling frame.

Suddenly, Katya’s breath hitched. Her grip on my arm tightened in a knee-jerk reflex.

"Help me, Skylar..." she sobbed in a quiet, desperate whisper. "Please save me... from Katarina..."

My whole body went rigid. A ice-cold chill shot down my spine straight to my toes. The faint, dull ache in my wrists flared up all over again.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my breath catching in my throat.

"She’s... she’s close," Katya whispered, her eyes wide with sheer terror. Her lips trembled violently as she forced out the next words: "Katarina... she’s already inside Equilibrium..."

Before I could even process that horrific truth, Katya’s eyelids snapped shut. The vampire girl’s head fell back, every bit of life draining out of her in a split second.

"Katya!" the female vampire screeched at the top of her lungs.

Quick, heavy footsteps echoed through the room. I scrambled back a few paces as Professor Varkesh reacted instantly. Without wasting a moment, the stern-faced professor scooped Katya’s limp body into his arms.

“She’s just fainted. Professor Varkesh will take care of her, there's no need to worry.” Headmaster Fischer held back the female vampire who was trying to rush after Katya.

Dad stepped over and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, letting his calming Alpha aura wash over me. But the burning curiosity and deep concern in my chest was impossible to bottle up.

I believed Katya now. Her tears, her terror, and the sheer agony in her voice were proof enough that she was just another victim of Katarina’s dark magic.

As Professor Varkesh hurried out of the Headmaster’s office, I turned straight to Dad.

“Dad, Katarina is behind all of this. Katya begged me for help,” I explained, falling into step beside them.

"Kai, walk Skylar down to the infirmary," Dad ordered firmly, turning to Uncle Kai. "I need to have a word with Headmaster Fischer and Katya’s adoptive parents first."

"Understood, Alpha Seth," Uncle Kai replied tersely. His steady pace quickly matched mine as we moved down the cold stone corridors of the academy.

“Looks like it’s my turn to play babysitter to the little vampire, then,” Uncle Kai remarked beside me with typical vampire grace.

“Oh, pipe down, Uncle. Katya’s sick,” I snapped defensively.

“So you’re not terrified of her anymore?”

“No. Because she’s just as much a victim of Katarina as I am.”

We followed Professor Varkesh all the way to the Equilibrium infirmary. The room hit us with the rich, heavy scent of freshly brewed herbal remedies.

Madam Duncan immediately met us with a grave look the moment she saw Professor Varkesh carrying Katya in, setting aside a steaming cauldron bubbling away in the corner.

"Get her onto a bed, now!" Madam Duncan commanded sharply.

Professor Varkesh laid Katya down with care. Adjusting his robes, he quickly filled her in on what had just gone down in the Headmaster's office.

“Was she having seizures, Professor Varkesh?” she asked, her brow furrowing.

“No, just weak and her voice was barely a whisper.”

“Right, I see.”

Without missing a beat, she reached into her healer's robes and pulled out a small vial of shimmering red liquid. Working quickly, Madam Duncan supported Katya's head and slowly poured the potion into the unconscious girl's mouth.

Katya swallowed purely on instinct, her eyes still squeezed shut. The deathly pale tone of her skin slowly flushed with a bit of colour, though her breathing remained faint.

Madam Duncan let out a long sigh and turned around to face us.

"This potion has stabilized her core energy after that massive shock. But when she wakes up, her reaction could be quite violent," Madam Duncan warned, glancing at the empty vial in her hand. "Someone needs to stay with her. The second she opens her eyes, they must give her another dose of this exact potion to stop a fit from taking hold."

She looked between Uncle Kai and me, handing over a matching vial of the potion.

"I need to pop over to the medical lab for a moment to brew a fresh batch for our stock."

Hearing that, I stepped forward without a second thought. The fear that had paralyzed me earlier was completely gone, replaced by a fierce resolve to protect someone who was being preyed upon.

"I'll watch over Katya, Madam Duncan," I said firmly. "I'll make sure she drinks the potion the moment she wakes up."

Madam Duncan eyed me intently for a couple of seconds before giving a slow nod. "Very well, Miss McKirby. I'm placing her in your hands."

“Are you sure you can handle this, Miss McKirby?” Professor Varkesh asked.

“Yes, Professor. You heard her back there yourself—she was begging for my help, wasn't she?”