Chapter 68 Outed

Chapter 68 Outed
Kaelie dropped from the pillar like a falling rock, her black talons aimed straight for Ravelyn’s face. Because of course she did. "Would this day include a single second of peace?"

Lucius didn’t hesitate. He stepped right into her path, his silver blade swinging upward in a blinding arc of holy light. The metal collided with her jagged claws with a deafening screech that sent bright silver sparks flying across the pavilion. The shockwave of the hit actually cracked the marble floor beneath their boots.

"I told you to stay behind me," Lucius gritted out, his voice completely stripping away his usual polite, robotic saint persona.

He didn't just parry the hit; he shoved Kaelie back with a brutal, fierce burst of celestial energy. The raw, protective fury rolling off him was completely uncharacteristic for the academy's golden boy. He kept one arm half-extended behind him, completely shielding Ravelyn from any secondary strike like some overprotective bodyguard.

Across the pavilion, Seraphine’s jaw practically hit the floor.

She was standing near the closing exit doors, her perfect, glowing face twisting into an ugly, horrified mask of pure jealousy. Her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides, her manicured nails digging into her palms. Lucius had never looked at her like that. He had never thrown himself into the line of fire to protect her with that kind of desperate, terrifying intensity. And over Ravelyn, of all people? Absolutely tragic.

"Lucius, what are you doing?!" Seraphine shrieked over the blaring sirens, her voice completely losing its smooth, practiced purr. "Leave her! The sector is locking down! We need to go!"

Lucius didn't even look back at her. He completely ignored her, his bright blue eyes fixed entirely on the corrupted thing wearing Kaelie's skin.

Kieran materialized out of the shadows right beside them, his dark broadsword dripping with heavy, suffocating pressure. But as he glanced sideways and saw the way Lucius was fiercely hovering over Ravelyn, Kieran's expression went incredibly dark. A sharp, ugly flash of jealousy crossed his features, his jaw clenching so tight the muscles ticked. Great. A literal zombie apocalypse was happening, and the two highest-tier boys in the room were having a toxic masculine standoff.

"I don't need your help protecting what's mine, celestial prince," Kieran snarled, his voice dropping into a dangerous, competitive growl. He stepped further forward, deliberately trying to crowd Lucius out of the defensive space. "Get out of my way."

"She isn't anyone's property, Kieran," Lucius shot back flatly, not breaking his battle stance for a single second. "And right now, you're a distraction."

"Am I?" Kieran snapped, his shadow mana flaring aggressively around his boots like an angry vortex.

"Both of you shut up!" Ravelyn hissed from behind them, clutching her bruised ribs. "She's moving again, you idiots!"

Kaelie had flipped gracefully through the air from Lucius's push, landing on all fours on a pile of shattered stone. Her uniform sleeve was torn completely open, revealing more of those pulsing, sickening black veins winding up her gray arms. She sniffed the air, her head snapping backward with another loud, mechanical crack.

But she didn't look at the Nocturnis Fan in Ravelyn's hands. She didn't even glance at the unique weapon.

Instead, a wild, manic look took over her dead eyes. She stared directly at the hot, bright red blood dripping from the deep slash on Ravelyn's cheek.

"The fans?" Kaelie suddenly let out a loud, screeching laugh that sounded like tearing metal. "You actually think I care about those worthless pieces of old obsidian?"

Ravelyn blinked, her heart doing a violent flip. "Wait, excuse me? What?"

"I don't want the weapons, you stupid girl," Kaelie hissed, her voice vibrating the very floorboards beneath their feet. She raised a trembling, clawed hand and pointed it straight at the blood smear on Ravelyn's face. "I want that. I want what's hiding inside your veins!"

Before Kieran or Lucius could lunge forward, Kaelie opened her mouth and let out a high-pitched, agonizing shriek.

The sound wave was a physical force, coated in thick, oily corruption. It slammed into the trio like a freight train, shattering the protective celestial barrier Lucius had set up and throwing both boys backward. Kieran hit the ground rolling, cursing loudly as his shadows scattered, while Lucius skidded across the marble, his silver sword sparking against the stone as he tried to stabilize himself.

Fantastic. The boys were down. The path was completely clear.

Kaelie blurred, appearing right in front of Ravelyn in the blink of an eye. She didn't strike out with her talons this time. Instead, she grabbed Ravelyn by the throat with a vice-like grip, pinning her violently against the solid stone pedestal behind her.

Ravelyn gasped, the air completely cut off as she struggled against the suffocating hold. She brought the obsidian fans up, trying to slash at Kaelie's wrists, but Kaelie didn't care about the pain. She just squeezed tighter, her face inches away, her breath smelling heavily of copper and rotting flowers.

"They lied to us!" Kaelie yelled, her voice echoing through the entire colossal labyrinth of the vault, loud enough to cut right through the screaming automated alarms.

The remaining students who were scrambling toward the closing iron doors stopped in their tracks, turning back in pure horror. Seraphine froze, her eyes widening as she strained to hear.

"They told us you were just a dirty shadow wraith!" Kaelie screamed, her sadistic grin stretching so wide her grey skin began to tear at the corners of her mouth. "A pathetic little dark hybrid! But the master smelled it the moment you spilled your blood in the lower levels! The dark core isn't a wraith line!"

"Let... go..." Ravelyn choked out, her vision beginning to blur around the edges as she beat the handles of the fans against Kaelie's rigid arms.