Page 20 of Rejected Darkness

"Was I ever your friend?" The question escapes me before I can think it through. I hope I'm not wrong and he was my friend.

"Really, Bella?" he asks exasperated. His eyes flash with anger before he catches himself and takes a minute to breathe. "Of course, you're my friend. You are my best friend. I'm trying to look out for you and do what's best for you."

"Aren't you best for me? The Divine seems to think so." I am determined to get him to tell me why he didn't claim me at the ceremony. I deserve better than that. It's exactly why I was okay with Maverick rejecting me, or well, one of the reasons. Iwon't change myself to be someone I'm not. If you can't accept me, then that is a you problem. I always thought that Warrick accepted me how I am, but I'm starting to think that was wrong. I must be a shit judge of character then.

"This isn't about us right now, Bella. I'm trying to do what is best for you. Right now, you need to get through the academy and be free. After, we can talk about what happened at the mating ceremony and what the future holds, but right now, we can't," he sighs, shaking his head. If it wasn't for his eyes giving away just how much this is killing him, I would be calling bullshit and demanding answers. A part of me still wants to, but for today, I'll give him this, only because I'm tired.

"Fine, for today, you can have it your way. But we will be talking about this, Warrick. It's not fair to either of us. You are my best friend, and I have missed you like no other. It's not the same not seeing you every day like we used to." Burying my feelings on the subject, I smile at him and let him know we are good for today. "What all have I missed at home?"

"Oh boy, Aeris has not been the same since your mating ceremony. Honestly, you should be happy that you're here, and I would suggest maybe not going straight back to Aeris just yet when you are done." Warrick continues to fill me in on the happenings back home for the next thirty minutes of our mentoring session while I talk about classes and what it's been like learning beside the Fallen. I leave out anything with the journal or the questioning thoughts I'm having, not wanting to alarm him just yet. He also promises we will work on my magic next time we meet and discuss where I'm having problems. I'm not sure I want to do that, but I'd also rather it be him helping me than, let's say, Rhys. That Fallen is a dick.

"Be happy you got to sleep in today," Isis groans as she drops into the seat across from me in the cafeteria. Harper follows her lead, taking the seat next to her, but in a much less dramatic way. "This morning was rough with a capital R!"

"Oh boy, what happened now?" Knowing Isis, it could be anything that caused her to wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Either way, I'm sure it will be better than how my morning started.

"You mean what didn't happen," she groans dramatically. "First, my alarm doesn't go off." She holds up one finger and then lifts a second. "Next, I couldn't find the textbooks or homework I needed anywhere in my room."

"It was sitting on the coffee table where she left it the night before," Harper chuckles around the cup of coffee in her hand.

"You," she points at Harper, "hush it!" Harper just rolls her eyes and waves her hand in a please continue fashion. "Miss Thing, over here, didn't help me find it until we were almost late, and she took pity on me. Fourth, the hallways were so filled I still walked in late to class! Like my Divine, why do so many students need to attend this damn school?"

"Wow, that does sound like a rough day," I agree, knowing it's better to give her the answer she is looking for so I don't get scolded in the same fashion Harper just did. "I'm sorry it was a hard morning. Hopefully, the afternoon will get better. You don't have any more classes, right?"

"I wasn't supposed to," she sighs, "but supposedly, we got a new Angel mentor in, and he is now meeting with all of us. I did hear that he is pretty hot, though, and some other angels think he's single, so maybeee it won't be so bad if I can have a hot guyto stare at as he talks to me about the goals I need to meet," Isis pauses for a moment before her eyes widen and she begins to stare me down. "WAIT! You had mentorship this morning, you must have seen him! Is he hot?"

Without conscious thought, a low growl slips out of me when she mentions others saying how hot Warrick is and that others are interested in him. Before I can try to cover up my reaction or come up with some sort of explanation to give them, I feel something hit my chair from the side and knock it out from right underneath me. My chin slams into the table’s edge before I hit the floor with a thud.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" I snarl, turning to see who the hell ran into my chair. Looking up, I see Rhys standing beside me, smiling down at me.

"How's the floor, Princess? I think I see a dirty spot just beside you. Maybe you should get a rag and clean that," he snarks before laughing and walking right past me. Phoenix follows right behind him and only gives me a small apologetic smile before following his leader.

"Assholes," I snarl under my breath as I push myself up from the floor. By the time I'm up and righting my chair so I can retake a seat, Isis is finally calming down and trying to shrug out of Harper's hold on her. I'm honestly surprised she could hold her back, Isis is a force to be reckoned with, and I wouldn't want to try to hold her back.

"One day that Fallen will get what's coming to him. I can't believe you just accepted it. Why didn't you fight back?" Isis questions, disappointed.

"He's not worth it, especially in the middle of the school cafeteria. I'll pay him back but not like this where it just benefits him. No, I'll find a way to hit him where it hurts." I turn to look at where the Fallen chose to sit before sighing and turning back to my friends. "Are you two done eating?" I'd rather just get out ofhere now, but I don't want to leave without my friends. We have just enough time to explore the gardens and talk for a bit before afternoon classes resume.

"Yeah, I'm not going to finish this. I lost my appetite after that asshole," Isis slams her fork down on her plate and pushes the tray away from her.

"Same, let's head outside for a bit, and then Arabella can tell us why she growled at the mention of the new mentor," Harper winks as she rises from her seat.

Damn. I was hoping they would ignore that after everything but I guess not. "That is a long story," I sigh, "but I'll give you a condensed version before classes start. Tonight, we can have a girl's night, and I'll tell you everything."

"Deal," they state in chorus as we get up and leave the room.

Chapter 11

Arabella

"Tell me how you did that?" Rhys snarls, grabbing my bicep tightly while I try to gather my items at the end of Psychic Magic class. I try to shake out of his hold, but it doesn't work. If anything, it makes him grip my arm tighter, and I know I'm going to end up with a bruise from it now.

"Did what?" I shake my head, not understanding what he is talking about. It doesn't make sense. All I did was practice our magic, which the teacher asked us to do. I chose to try using dream walking, which did not go as planned. I couldn't do it at all. I didn't think it was one of my powers; I had never had it before, but it was worth a shot.

"You manipulated Temperance's emotions, and then you pushed your own emotions onto her," he whispers in my ear. I can barely focus on what he said with his body so close to mine. I don’t want to react to him. If anything, I feel repulsed by him, but my body betrays me, and enjoys him being pressed up against my back. I wish my body would get the memo that Rhys is bad for us. The last thing I want is to be affected like this by a damn fallen angel, especially one that is an asshole like him. "That power only belongs to one person, Lucifer. How did you do it?"

"I don't know," I answer with clenched teeth. I don't like what he is assuming. I didn't do anything, at least not intentionally. I know what power he is talking about, though. I remember reading about it in the journal. The journal I'm just now realizing would belong to Lucifer or someone related to him if the power he's talking about is something only Lucifer can do. It takes everything in me not to let my body react to my thoughts and what I just realized. If I have the same power as Lucifer, then that would mean I'm somehow related to Lucifer, which is impossible.

Secrets. There are way too many secrets surrounding me. I don't like it. It's overwhelming, and knowing that someone in my family has lied to me, to all of us, is making me panic. None of this should be possible. It shouldn't be possible if everything I learned in Angel history is true.

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