Page 140 of The Blackened Blade

The beast runs along under my skin, a feeling of familiarity as I near the shelter.

It had definitely been tampered with. The containment spells were gone and the shed was still wide open, with no creatures to be seen.

It's cordoned off with restrictive spells, probably from the academy's staff, but I brush past it. I feel a small static prickle against my skin, but there wasn’t much that could hold my beast or its power back.

I head into the shelter and look for anything off or unusual.

The stench instantly hits me. Whatever had been in here was foul. My beast growls beneath me in agreement. But whatever it was, it was well gone.

The space is darkly lit with no magical fuse or electricity of any sort running through it, only the glow of the sun from outside putting any sort of light into the shelter.

I narrow my eyes, my beast's abilities allowing me to see even in the darkest of places and showing me it almost as clear as day.

I look around, and other than a few broken ropes in the centre of the floor, I see nothing unusual.

I pick up the ropes, my beast pushing me forward. I bring them to my nose, hoping to pick up someone's scent, maybe one of the people behind all this but instead am met with a slightly familiar scent. A sweet floral scent instantly tickles my nose and wraps itself around me.

I take another deep inhale wondering if my senses have gone haywire. Why would she have been here? And in these ropes?

Then I notice some dried blood on them…a tremor makes its way through my body as the beast rolls under my skin. A dark growl floods my ears and rings in my head before I shake him off, reminding myself she had been with Ezra and Annex all week.

She was fine.

If she had been hurt or in any danger, they would have said so.

I place the ropes down and leave the shelter, trying to shake the thoughts from my head and the growing growling noises ringing in my ears.

But why would she have even been here? Only the sixth year students were allowed around here for training. But that was definitely her scent…

Another tremor works its way down my body, his voice growing louder inside me. I make it outside, the cold evening breeze hitting me as I take a slow deep breath.

I wouldn’t allow him to take control. I take a deep breath again, pushing him down and to the back of me. There was no threat, not here or to any of my brothers.Or her.

My mind goes back to the shelter, running through the images of the frayed rope and then to Micai.

She was a complete mystery to me. How could something so small be so resilient and fearless?

Others can’t even meet our eyes, but she faced us head on, meeting our gazes and glares with her own. And for some strange reason her presence seemed to calm some part of me.

The beast didn’t roar beneath me and there was no feeling of bloodlust or rage when she was near. He would listen to her, watching attentively behind me, his interest piqued and thirst for carnage calmed. That, in itself, was more terrifying than anything else, for me…and for her.

What did he want with her? What was he planning, and whyher?

I had tried to stay away from her, keeping as much distance as I could. But I found myself slowly edging nearer and before I knew it, my eyes would unconsciously search for her; for her scent, her voice, and those deep blue eyes that would stray my way when she thinks I’m not looking.

But she didn’t know about the monster dwelling inside of me.One that watches her too intently.

I should keep away from her.

She could get hurt because of me. She would be no exception to his carnage or cruelty. Only another innocent casualty.

I had to keep my distance before she found out what I was and before she got hurt.

I know that I should, that Ineededto, but the peace her presence gives me…I hadn’t felt this way in years. Even after my beast has his‘fun’and when he's calm and placated, there is no peace or reprieve. I wake up in the forest wondering whose or what blood I’m covered in. Only riddled with guilt and questions as to what he's done…to whatwe’vedone now.

But with her,Micai, it all fades away. Her scent, her voice, her smile, they do something to me that nothing and no-one else ever could…

Her soft smiles and gentle laughs make my breath catch in my throat, while my eyes watch and wait for each new expression she gives me. There's this sweet scent and warmth that flows around her and calls to me, pulling me a little closer each day.

---