124

124

CALLAN

Two hours. 

That was how long it took before I was able to calm down and return to her ward. And within those two hours, I had walked through almost every single corridor of the hospital like a ghost, avoiding the eyes of the guards and ignoring their acknowledgements. 

Everything that served to make up the backdrop was just drowned out by the pounding in my skull. I couldn't stop replaying everything in my head over and over again. 

I remembered the sparks, the smoke coming out of the cracked plaster, the way her body convulsed and the white how in her eyes, coupled by the look of sheer terror on her face when it dawned on her what had happened. But not just that, I also remembered the way Magnus had spoken to me in the surveillance room like he didn't trust me any longer, like he was starting to suspect I would turn against him. 

I didn't worry about that though, because I had never even thought about it. But the tension remained. I'd been on the edge several times in these past few years, but this? This felt like I was on fire inside. 

Walking back to Ariadne's ward felt like walking towards a cliff that I knew would crumble beneath me. 

As soon as I finally got to the hallway, outside the room where she had been transferred to, I stopped at the door, hearing the faint sounds of the nurses speaking from inside the room. I needed to get in there and be with her, or those nurses might bombard her to the point of stressing her.

She needed to be alone and I had to make sure nobody knew a thing about what happened here. When I walked in, she was already in bed. 

She'd been hooked to another monitor, which was beeping louder and faster than the one inside the room where she had been transferred from. I guessed it was because of the effect that power had on her body. She looked kinda smaller, as if the bed was swallowing her whole. 

The two nurses were standing around her bed, fussing with blankets and checking the monitors every now and then, like crows pecking at scraps. 

I grabbed the chair beside the door and carried it with me, not stopping until I got beside her bed. 

Then I dropped into it, and looked at her. Her eyes were on me already, and I could still see how scared she was. She was still mortified of what she had done. 

"Leave us." I ordered the two ladies. 

One of them stiffened, then they quickly whinged glanced before the other one shook her head and replied. "We were told by the Alpha to stay with her until the doctor comes back." 

My head snapped towards them. What was it with every single personnel in here telling me that they were under orders by my brother to not do exactly what I asked them to do. 

"I won't repeat myself." I dropped my tone to a low, crisp command and that was all it took. 

The both of them exchanged another look, but it was a terrified one this time. Then they quickly scrambled out, their flat shoes squeaking against the tile floor. Good. As soon as the door clicked shut behind them on their way out, I turned to her. 

I pushed the seat closer to her bed and rested my elbows on the free side of the significantly bigger bed. Her breathing was somewhat shallow and she had this weak look in her eyes that caused a painful tug in my heart. But she gave me a faint nod and said. 

"You're back," she whispered, voice rough. 

"I had to leave." Then I lowered my voice and spoke to her. "I went to get the footage of what happened so I could destroy it. I couldn't let my brother see it." 

Swallowing, I finally asked the pressing question. "What happened while I was away?" 

Her lips parted slowly, and then the hesitation started to flicker across her face. Her voice was low as she responded. 

"Your brother came." 

A bad feeling ran slithered through my gut. 

"What did he say?" 

"He said he was going to question me. But before that he had the doctor run some tests on me. And right after…he... questioned me. Asked me what happened here." 

My heart was already pounding now. "And what did you tell him?" 

I hadn't intended for the words to come out that sharp, but at that moment I couldn't help it at all. Her eyes flicked over behind me as she stared into space as if she was thinking about it,  and then back to. 

"I told him I had no idea. Told him I dint know what happened, that it must have been an attack or something." 

She paused for a moment and then looked at the ceiling this time. 

"But Callan... he didn't believe me. I could see it in his eyes. I wasn't convincing enough." 

I let out a long breath, dragging my hand over my face. This was very good news. The relief rushed over me like I had been drenched in cold water. 

She hadn't confessed. She hadn't slipped. That was something. I took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before I told her. 

"You did the right thing. Listen to me carefully. Whatever happens, whatever he says to you, I want you to keep your mouth shut. You don't tell him a damn thing. Every. Do you understand?" 

She gave a slow nod while biting her lip. "I understand." 

"Good." I leaned back in the chair, hands already clenching into a fist. "I destroyed the footage and confiscated the cameras so you don't have anything to worry about. He doesn't have proof but he was there too. He met me while I was destroying the cameras so he knows that something is up. That's why he didn't believe you when you told him you didn't know what happened. I'm guessing he's going to start digging, so you know the drill. Make sure you don't do anything that's going to raise his interests. I know he won't leave you alone but lay low, keep your head down." 

For the first time that night, I saw the relief cross her face. And then it softened. 

"You... you really did that? You actually got rid of it?" 

"Yeah," I affirmed. She let out a loud shaky sigh, as if I had just lifted a hundred pounds off her. 

We were in silence for the next few seconds, save for the beep of the machines above her head. That's when I leaned closer towards her, lowering my voice again until I was speaking in a whisper now. 

"Now tell me, Ariadne. What the hell actually happened in there because you still haven't explained to me how you did that?" 

Her eyes darted away, and her throat tightened as she swallowed her. 

When she finally looked back at her, she sounded bitter, almost defiant. 

"I'd be lying if I told you I knew I could shoot fucking thunderbolts out of my hand. I'm still trying to wrap my head around what happened there. It's a miracle I'm still alive because if that really happened, it should have ripped me apart. I felt the force before it hit the wall. There was a lot of pain I'm my chest." 

She wasn't alone. My mind was also scrambling to process what she had just said. Then, in yet another whisper, I asked. 

"Has this...has this ever happened before?" 

Her answer was simple, but it hit really hard. "No." 

I finally leaned back, still trying to piece everything together even after I had failed time and time again. 

She wasn't lying because I had witnessed it myself. When it first happened, my first thought was that I had been hit, and that I was going to die. 

But when I saw how her eyes suddenly went white and the crack on the wall, I felt relieved but I was still utterly petrified. 

I knew she wasn't lying. But how the hell could something like that just happen? I was pulled out of my reverie when her voice slipped into my head. 

"Before I woke up from the poisoning, Callan... I had a vision. A prophecy, maybe." 

I frowned and leaned forward. "What do you mean?" 

"I heard a voice," she whispered, before her eyes suddenly went distant. "And the voice said to me that it was the Moon Goddess who was speaking to me. Then she said something about me. That I had a destiny and no matter what, there was no way I was going to be able to escape from it. The whole thing was just short and strange and as much as I'm trying not to believe it, I think it's true because it pretty much aligns with everything that's going on in my life right now. First it was superhuman punch, then very sharp hearing, and now magical-like powers. I really don't know what to think about this."