Chapter 8 Assassination attempt
Eloise
I hate school.
Those were words I never thought I'd say because I've always loved learning new things. I'd fantasized about attending a school ever since I knew what it meant. I wanted more than anything to use it to escape my family's estate.
But as I walked the halls of Drakmor, I realized I would take the horrors of my family over this any day.
I clutched my arms tightly around myself and kept my head low as I walked, but it didn't stop the snarls and hateful glances that were thrown my way. No one has come close to me yet, but it was probably because of the huge man walking ahead of me.
Tina had taken me to my room earlier. She gave me new clothes to change into, the academy's dark uniforms for first years, and showed me where to take a shower. She left before I was done and I met this huge man in her stead. He hadn't said a single word to me or tried to attack me, aside sweeping his glance over my body and a slight shake of his head. I hadn't questioned him either.
I had taken a single look at his uniform and realized they were the same as Tina's. He was in his third year.
Maybe Tina had sent him to help me.
It didn't feel like I was in danger as I followed him, I felt safe. It was like a part of me knew he wouldn't hurt me. So when he nudged me towards this corridor, I had followed without argument.
We walked to the end of the corridor and took a sharp turn at the left. The place was narrow and dark, but I could still make out his bulky shape. He flicked his hand and a ball of light appeared.
I squinted my eyes at the sudden brightness. I knew what he had just done. I had read about it multiple times and watched my sister do it too. Faelight. It was one of the basic magic Mae had taught me during one of our training sessions.
Creating a faelight didn't need lots of magic and isn't specific to one kind of supernatural. Every being who had magic inside them could do it. Except me, it seems.
Memories of all my failed attempts rushed into my mind and I grimaced. Every time I had tried to create a faelight, it had been unsuccessful. It was either the faelight was too bright that it encompassed the entire space, or I could barely create a flicker.
Mae hadn't scolded me for it, not like our parents had. She'd simply told me that my magic was unstable because I hadn't shifted yet. I wasn't a full werewolf. She made me soup after that and relished the wonderful experiences of being a full werewolf. It was ironic that she had been the one to take that experience away from me.
I had been too lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed it before it was too late. I walked straight into the man. I took a few steps back, wincing in pain and rubbing my forehead. Whatever armor he wore under was harder than steel. Or maybe it was his scales.
I've read about how dragon scales were almost impenetrable and how some of them were capable of half-shifting. Maybe he had done the same and that was his scales I bumped my head on. But I soon realized how wrong I was when I lifted my head.
Either I had been too distracted by my thoughts that I hadn't noticed it before or I had officially lost my mind in this place, because the man standing before me wasn't the same person I was walking behind.
This person, although still taller than me, was leaner and clad in golden armor. He looked oddly familiar. His face which had held nothing before was now filled with rage and hatred. The sense of safety I had felt dissipated immediately and fear slithered into my spine.
I took a few steps back, preparing to run away from him but my back hit the wall. My brows furrowed. I had been walking behind him, but somehow, we'd switched positions and he had gotten behind me instead. He was currently blocking my only way out.
“It is almost funny how easy it was to trick you. All you wolves are the same, bunch of idiots who think themselves superior, and yet you couldn't see past a simple illusion spell.” He snickered.
My throat bobbed with fear at the harshness of his voice. He had cast an illusion on himself to look like someone else, and I had…fell for it. I had followed him into this narrow corner where he could hurt me. Or worse, kill me.
I was such an idiot.
My brain scrambled through all the defense moves I have learned, but none of them seem to be enough for escaping him. The fear in me intensified at the thought. The man seemed to notice my fear as his grin widened.
“Let me go.” I said, willing my voice to be strong, but it came out as a whimper instead.
“Pathetic.” He laughed maniacally before he stopped abruptly, his gaze hardened with contempt.
The faelight above his head glowed brighter as if fueled by his rage.
“I am going to carve you from the inside out and watch you plead for your life. You will beg for mercy that I will not grant. I will give you a slow, painful death, just like your precious Alpha did to her.” he sneered, his face twisted with hatred.
He took slow deliberate steps towards me, his figure looming and intimidating. My bones weakened with fear and I could no longer keep it from my face. I wasn't just going to stand and let him kill me. I was trained in combat. Maybe not as highly as this man but it was training regardless.
I willed the fear away and focused on my new found hope. I had to save myself because no one was going to save me. No one.
The realization hardened my resolve. I didn't give myself the chance to second guess, I rushed towards me and pushed me as hard as I could with my strength. He stumbled back a few steps, giving me the opening I needed to make the run for it.
An animalistic growl came out of him, promising me of the torture I'd go through if he caught up to me. I wasn't going to let that happen. I had to be fast but it was getting harder to do in the thick darkness. I summoned a faelight and prayed silently that I didn't mess up the spell.
Fortunately, I managed to create one, but unfortunately, it was way too bright that it temporarily blinded me. I didn't stop running but the brightness slowed me down.
I had almost made it out of the narrow corridor when I was yanked back by my hair. I let out a painful yell as it felt like my scalp was on fire. I fell backwards, my back hitting the ground hard.
“Bitch.” he roared.
He pulled me up by my hair and dragged me against the wall. He flipped me hard, my back digging hard into the rough surface. He gripped my throat hard, cutting off my air supply.
I grabbed his arm and tried to pull it away as I choked but his grip only tightened.
“Do you know what Christopher did to the dragons he captured?” he said in a low voice.
Christopher? Why was he mentioning Christopher?
I couldn't ponder on the question as my eyes watered. My head felt light. I was sure I would die if he squeezed a little bit harder.
“Answer me!” He growled, smoke emitting from his nose.
“I d..o..n’t k.n..ow.” I choked out.
“Oh, but you do.” He cocked his head to the side. “You begged Lord Byron to take you back to Christopher. Are you part of his inner circle? Or perhaps, his mate?” his grip tightened as he said the last word.
The knowledge of where I'd first seen him suddenly became clear. He was a royal guard at the Dragon Keep. He was the guard who had come to summon the Shadowborn Heir when he was interrogating me in the dungeons. That was where he had heard me talk of Christopher.
I shook my head and tried to tell him that he was mistaken. I had never seen Christopher before in my life. But I had a feeling he wouldn't believe me. There was nothing that could prove my innocence.
“I’m going to hunt all of you down and kill you one by one for taking her away from me.” His voice shook with grief and anger.
“But I will start with you.” He unsheathed a dagger and raised it, no doubt aiming for my heart.
I closed my eyes, patiently waiting for death. The voice in my head that was usually whispering hope had gone silent. I had no last words to say. My life hasn't been a great one. I sucked in a breath and held.
But the sting of the dagger never came. Instead, his hand loosened around my neck and the dagger fell. The man fell to the floor, his eyes frozen in death.
I felt him before I saw him. The tendrils of shadows swirling around, making the corner darker than it was.
“I left for five minutes and you almost died. Do you have no idea how to keep yourself alive, Little Wolf?” he scoffed in irritation.