Page 45 of Validus Vale Academy 1
I'm fifty percent terrified, but also fifty percent annoyed. I let the annoyed side take over, as Ido nothave time for this bullshit—my guys need me. Whatever vile bullshit Manu thinks he’s goingto get up to is not going to happen. I put my hands on the pathway and curl my toes under, ready to spring up and run, run, run.
Manu leans closer, and I smell the alcohol and weed smoke on his breath. “Wanna have a good time, little girl?” he says. I try to leap up, but he suddenly pulls my hair tightly into his grasp. “Or do you want a bad time, dud? Either is fine by me.”
My eyes water with pain. Come on, Theo! Fight!
I try to swing a fist towards his groin, but my knuckles just meet solid thigh—he doesn’t even flinch. “Fuck, dud, you’re pathetic. You haven't awoken, have you? That means anything could happen to you…and you’d never be able to stop it.”
Shit, no, no, no. I’m still on my knees, held in place by his grasp that is currently tearing strands from my scalp. Still, I maneuver myself so that one foot is on the ground, and my kneeling becomes a half-squat. On the count of five, I’ll push off and run—even if hunks of my hair get left behind in his fist.
One…two…three…
I prepare myself for launch, but it’s too late. “Stay still,” he commands. “Be silent.” The power in Manu’s voice smashes down my feeble attempts at a mental defence. My body is frozen. I’m screaming in my mind, but not a sound leaves my mouth.
“That’s better,” he chuckles. “Now I won’t have to listen to your complaints. I’ll even make you say you liked it.”
Fuck. Panic builds up in my chest, but I have no way to express it. He trails his hand down my cheek, pulling my bottom lip down as he inserts his thumb inside my mouth. I fought Cosmo’s commands. I can fight this; Ihaveto fight this.
Manu leans closer. “Having fun yet? Ready to suck on something way bigger?” He removes his thumb with a wet plop.
If I don’t move, I’m wholly and utterly fucked. With every molecule in my body, I work on freeing myself from Manu’s spellas he drags me further back into the shadows. A fire is building in my chest, but I have so little strength left in the tank. I think I used it all, defying Cosmo.
“Take your top off—let’s see those lil’ bitty titties,” he commands.
To my horror, my traitorous fingers move to my shirt. Please don’t do this, I beg them.
“You may not have magic in ya,” Manu is laughing maniacally, “but you’ll soon have something else, and remember—Never tell anyone about this.”
I’m undoing all the buttons of my academy blouse, completely unable to stop myself. Oh, Gods, help me please. Please.
“What the fuck?” A voice filled with pure fury roars from somewhere close. The next second, a figure grabs Manu, and I hear a thud, snap, and scream. “My fucking nose…” Another blow cuts off Manu’s howls, then his body drops to the floor. I twist my head to see a figure in black kicking Manu with heavy, unforgiving blows.
As suddenly as the attack started, it stops; the night becoming shockingly quiet. My ragged breathing is loud, and I’m close to a total breakdown.
“Wilson…Theo...” Professor Feniks drops beside me, and I bury myself in his warmth. He cradles me, and the panic begins to subside. “Are you OK, rakas? Did he hurt you?”
“No, no. You, h-he.” My voice catches.
The Professor's hands tighten around me. “You’re safe now,” he says, and I believe his words. Something tells me he’d go to extremes to make sure anyone he cared about was protected. “Let’s go to the health center,” Feniks says. “Then I’ll go talk to Dean Crankshawe.”
NO!My brain screams at me, and I know it’s because of Manu’s Elite command. I don’t know what to do. Ican’tsayanything. “Wait,” I croak. Suddenly, I’m sobbing and I can’t stop. Professor Feniks strokes my back. “It’s alright, Wilson, it’s alright.” He gently helps me up, then steers me across the lawn, and within minutes we’re in the privacy of a walled gazebo.
After he parks me on a bench, Professor Feniks crouches in front of me. “I’m so fucking sorry. I should have been faster. What do you need? Talk to me, you can tell me anything.”
Talk to him? Doesn’t he realize it’s impossible? And anyway, what would I say? That I’d been at the complete mercy of not one, but two Elites tonight? Forced to my knees, not once, but twice?
Or that I’d just discovered the two loves of my life hadn’t abandoned me, but instead vanished into thin air? I’ve been compelled not to speak about any of it.
The professor wipes tears off my face with his thumb and looks at me with a steady gaze. “Wilson?”
Drawing a breath, I straighten slightly, pulling further back from his warmth. “I d-don’t know what to do,” I croak, and isn’t that the Gods honest truth?
“OK, then let me help you,” he replies, taking a seat on the bench next to me and lighting a cigarette. “We’ll do whatever you want; you have control right now.”
Amazingly, that’s exactly what I need to hear. That I have some agency and that I’m not just at the mercy of every Elite’s whims.
“Want one?” he asks, offering me his packet.
“No, thanks,” I reply, “it’s a gross habit.”
