Chapter 158 The Blood on the Floor

Chapter 158 The Blood on the Floor
Cressida's pov

The classroom was warm and the candles were bright and the air was thick with the smell of old parchment and dust and something metallic.

I had never been in this room before and the walls were lined with maps and the desks were arranged in rows and the windows were tall and the view was vast. Wolf History. The class I had been dreading. The class that always seemed to find a way to remind me of everything I was trying to forget. The tapestries on the walls showed scenes of ancient battles and the maps showed territories that had long since changed hands and the air itself felt heavy with the weight of centuries.

Master Theron stood at the front of the room and his voice was dry and his eyes were sharp and his presence was commanding. He was lecturing about the Great Purge and the betrayal and the burning. The words were familiar and the images were vivid and the pain was fresh. The flames and the smoke and the screams. The wolves who turned their backs and the witches who burned and the silence that followed.

I sat in the middle row with my notebook open and my pen still and my eyes fixed on the board. The frost was still there and the cold was still there and the fear was still there. But the numbness was there too. The numbness that had settled over me like a shroud. The numbness that kept me from feeling the weight of everything pressing down on me.

Raven was beside me and her dark curls were wild and her eyes were heavy and her head was nodding. She had not slept well and the exhaustion was etched into her features. Benita was across the aisle and her brown eyes were wide and her attention was absolute. She was taking notes with fierce concentration and her handwriting was neat and her focus was unwavering. Tasha was in the back corner and her silver braids were loose and her expression was flat and her focus was elsewhere. She was filing her nails and pretending not to listen.

Then the argument started.

It came from the back of the room and the voices were low at first and then they rose and then they sharpened. Two wolves. Young and tall and broad. Their faces were flushed and their eyes were bright and their hands were shaking. The tension between them had been building for weeks and the classroom was the breaking point.

"You think you are better than everyone," one of them said. His name was Darian and his jaw was tight and his fists were clenched.

"I do not think I am better." The other wolf was named Kael and his voice was flat and his eyes were cold.

"You act like you are better."

"I act like I am me."

"Same thing."

"It is not the same thing."

"It is the same thing."

The room went quiet and the whispers stopped and the tension thickened. Master Theron looked up from his notes and his eyes were sharp and his voice was flat.

"Is there a problem?"

"No problem," Darian said.

"There is a problem," Kael said.

"There is no problem."

"There is a problem."

"Enough," Master Theron said.

They did not stop.

Darian stood and his chair scraped against the stone and his voice was loud. "You have been running your mouth about me for weeks."

"I have been telling the truth."

"You have been lying."

"I have been telling the truth."

"You have been lying."

"I have been telling the truth."

Kael stood and his chair scraped against the stone and his voice was loud. "You want to settle this?"

"I want to settle this."

Darian lunged and the fight was sudden and brutal and bloody.

The classroom erupted into chaos.

The wolves were locked in combat and their fists were flying and their teeth were bared and their blood was spilling. The students scrambled and the desks overturned and the papers scattered. Screams filled the air and the torches flickered and the shadows danced. The map on the wall was torn and the inkwells were shattered and the floor was slick with spilled ink and blood.

I stood and my hands were shaking and my heart was pounding. The frost was rising and the cold was deepening and the fear was growing. But the numbness was still there. The numbness that kept me rooted to the spot. The numbness that made me watch as the violence unfolded.

"Someone stop them," Raven shouted.

No one moved.

"Someone do something."

No one moved.

The wolves fought and the blood flew and the grunts echoed. Darian was taller and his reach was longer and his punches were heavier. Kael was faster and his movements were sharper and his strikes were precise. They crashed into a desk and the wood splintered and the papers scattered. They rolled across the floor and their bodies were tangled and their rage was absolute.

"Stop," I shouted.

They did not stop.

Darian pinned Kael and his fist connected with the other's face and the crunch was loud and the blood was bright. Kael screamed and his hands flew up and his eyes were wide. The blood dripped from his nose and his lip was split and his face was a mask of crimson.

"Yield," Darian shouted.

"Never," Kael shouted.

Darian raised his fist again and I moved.

I crossed the room and my boots were loud on the stone and my voice was sharp. The frost spread beneath my feet and the temperature dropped and the air grew thin.

"Stop."

Darian looked up and his eyes were wild and his face was bloody and his voice was loud.

"Stay out of this."

"No."

"Stay out of this."

"No."

He stood and his chest was heaving and his hands were shaking and his eyes were bright. Blood dripped from his knuckles and his shirt was torn and his breath was ragged.

"You are not going to stop me."

"I am going to stop you."

"You cannot."

"I can."

He lunged and I moved and the frost rose and the cold deepened and the ice spread. His feet slipped and he fell and the impact was loud and the silence was absolute. The ice crackled beneath him and his breath fogged in the cold air.

I stood over him and my hands were shaking and my voice was steady.

"Enough."

The room was silent and the wolves were still and the tension was thick. The students were frozen in place and the torches flickered and the shadows danced.

Master Theron stepped forward and his voice was steady. "This class is dismissed."

The students filed out and the room was empty and the silence was heavy.

I stood in the middle of the chaos and my hands were shaking and my heart was pounding. The frost was still there and the cold was still there and the fear was still there. The blood was on the floor and the desks were overturned and the papers were scattered.

Raven appeared beside me and her dark curls were wild and her eyes were bright.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I am okay."

"You do not look okay."

"I will be okay."

She reached for my hand and her fingers were warm and her grip was firm.

"Let us get out of here."

I nodded and we walked out of the classroom and the door closed behind us.

The ice melted and the blood dried and the silence remained.