15. Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

MICAI'S POV

I stretch my arms above me, my body feeling more rested than I thought it would after waking up from that horrible memory.

I turn around, remembering Annex, and am met with a small note where Annex had been.

Red, I'm grabbing us some food.

Stay in bed and keep it warm for me. Or keep dreaming about me.

Whatever you prefer.

~A

A small chuckle leaves my lips as I get up and head toward the shower, flipping on the old faucet and jumping in.

It was still early, and Annex would probably be gone a while. The bed was still warm on his side, so he must have just recently left.

I wash up, scrubbing myself quickly and getting dressed before scribbling a small note in case he returns while I'm gone.

I head out, making my way towards the main building. I wanted to check the interview times and ask how long they would be.

However, as I approach the reception, Mr. Heinley spots me, halting me in my tracks as he calls out my name.

"Ms. Bane. Perfect ." He gestures toward the first-level classrooms as I raise a brow.

"You were coming for the interview, yes? Well, the representatives have set up earlier than we anticipated and want to start. And since you're already here…" He gives me a small smile, a sense of urgency bleeding through his expression. "You might as well be first."

I glance up toward the clock on the reception wall. 8:35 am .

Maybe I had enough time before Annex came back to get my interview done and over with?

"Let's go, Ms. Bane," Mr. Heinley states, his voice sounding a little more rushed as we walk. "We can't keep them waiting."

He fixes the patterned brown tie around his neck, loosening it as he takes a quick breath before straightening it back again and twisting toward me. I give him a nod before making my way beside him.

He leads me down the long corridor before turning right at the last room. It opens into a large, spacious classroom, where most of the usual student tables and chairs are neatly pressed against the back wall. A giant table with three chairs on one side sits at the front of the room, with one small chair in front.

Immediately, I'm drawn to the figures sitting in those three seats; the figure to my left is a man wearing all-black. His hair is as dark as his suit and slicked back. His skin is a pale white shade and a stark contrast to the rest of him. His dark brown eyes flicker my way before quickly turning away in disinterest, a look of annoyance taking over his features. He ignores my presence as I make my way over.

A deep chuckle rumbles from the figure to the far right, his large beard and bulky frame moving with his slight laughter. His brown shoulder-length hair frames his masculine-looking features, light flecks of caramel tones running through both his beard and hair.

He has a rugged sort of beauty to him, yet his heavy patched leather coat makes him look like he crawled out from the forest and could wrestle a bear with ease. And for fun.

His hazel-brown eyes turn my way, catching my gaze as a softer look forms in them—a complete contrast to the other male representative.

A woman is sitting between the two men, her hair as black as night and slicked in waves to one side—t he female representative from the hall.

She's wearing a tight black dress with a small white belt, the fabric fitting her lithe figure like a glove. Her eyes meet mine before slightly narrowing and calling to someone from the corner of the room.

I'm shuffled forward by Mr. Heinley and into the small seat in front of them as we begin.

"Micai, third year…" the woman states as she glances at a big stack of papers in front of her. "And your specialty is…"

Her eyes skim the paper before flicking her gaze back to the figure she called, whom I now recognise as Mr. Finch. He scurries forward at her beckoning, whispering something hurriedly in her ear before being shooed away again.

"You're Micai Bane . The eldest daughter of Greere Bane, I see." Her expression is one I've seen many times before as she stares at me. "The one without any magic or ability."

She sighs, pushing the papers in her hand away.

"Let's make this quick, then. Recant your whereabouts on the night of the attack—who you were with, what you did, what you saw, and so on." She waves her hand, a dull tone taking over her voice as a slightly bothered look forms in her gaze toward me.

"Her statement won't be of much use." The pale, black-haired man calls. "What could she have possibly done other than run and hide?"

He looks at me, disdain dripping from his features. "She's too weak—"

"Verod," the large bear of a man barks. "Don't speak so horribly to a child." He spins my way, his features softening. "Strength and true power don't always come in the same forms."

Verod scoffs. "There's no power in her case."

"Let's hurry this up. We have many more students to see and can't waste time, " the woman calls before sighing.

"Imelda, it's—" Begins the bulky man before she raises her hand to shush him, his eyes instantly glaring at the tiny hand positioned in front of him.

"We cannot waste valuable time." She waves her hand again while looking at me before turning toward her papers. "Begin… Ms. Bane ."

A light scoff leaves my lips, my gaze hardening toward the two assholes in front of me. Clearly, they had already made up their minds.

Fine. You think I'm weak and helpless? Then I'll tell you what you want to hear. It works for me anyway. There's no need to draw unnecessary attention to myself.

For the next ten minutes, I recant the details of the night, keeping everything to the bare minimum and leaving out any parts of me fighting. I also leave out anything that happened after Creed arrived, just telling them I hid in the forest like they wanted.

Since they assumed I would turn tail and hide because I was ‘weak', they can continue to believe that.

Imelda dismisses me as soon as I finish, with Verod murmuring something about ‘useless information' . Marcus gives me a sympathetic smile, his eyes softening as I leave the room.

I make my way out and quickly down the corridor, hoping I catch Annex trying to creep in through my window or picking the lock on my door.

A small grin tilts my lips at the thought.

I'm walking through the main door and hit into someone, quickly steadying myself before a hand reaches out toward me.

I glance up into two familiar eyes—Knox's.

"Micai," he calls, his hands retracting back to his sides as his eyes watch me. "What are you doing here, Micai?"

Not ‘ Are you okay' or ‘Sorry for knocking into you' …asshole. And why the hell did I have to answer any of his questions?

Why waste my time and energy on him when Annex could be waiting for me?

I turn to leave, but his hand stops me, a gentle grip on my arm I could easily break away from, but his next words have me hesitating.

"I'm sorry…" His brows knit together, his eyes wincing as if in pain while his other hand reaches toward his head. "I…I—"

"Knox."

Her strangely rigid tone sends an eerie chill through me when she called his name. Her presence instantly adds to my already growing annoyance over the representatives and the interview.

Seria passes me, ignoring me completely as she slides beside Knox, her hand reaching for his cheek as he lets go of my arm and slightly stumbles back a step before she manages to catch him.

My eyes narrow at his pale complexion and weak disposition.

"Is your headache still bothering you?" Her hand brushes down his cheek before tenderly pushing his hair from his face, his eyes appearing almost dazed as he watches her.

And in that instant, I remember Ezra's words from the other night.

Was she doing something to Knox? And using that strange ‘energy' Ezra mentioned before? Why had he looked as if he was in pain before and now like he was dazed around her?

More questions flit around my mind as my brows pinch together before I watch her movements more closely.

A beat passes between them before he straightens himself, his gaze strangely clearer as he wraps an arm around her.

She beams up at him, her sickly sweet smile nauseating and turning my stomach.

Did she heal him? Was that a part of her strange ability?

But then, why couldn't I feel or hear anything? If she were chanting or casting, I would have spotted it straight away. It also doesn't fit in with Ezra's description of the feel of her energy; something like healing shouldn't make someone feel ‘uncomfortable'. Why would she have even tried to use that on Ezra in the first place?

Seria's voice pulls me back from my darkening thoughts as I glance toward Knox. He didn't seem to be in any sort of pain or acting odder than usual.

"You should let me brew you something to help. I'll even make it your favourite flavour." She leans in, placing a kiss on his lips as he grins.

My gaze narrows at the two of them acting all lovey in front of me.

I roll my eyes, turning away, not willing to watch them any longer and allow the bile to build in my throat. I take a few steps before two large frames block my exit.

Kane and Anders meet my gaze as I feel my features harden. I know we share this academy, but I was thoroughly sick and tired of bumping into these assholes and seeing their faces so regularly.

Why the hell did I have to meet them right after that shitty interview?

A heavy sigh falls from my lips. Annex could be waiting with some crispy bacon or a stack of fluffy pancakes. I couldn't waste my precious time on dickheads like these.

I shove my way past them just as Anders opens his mouth. I cut him off as I knock into their shoulders while passing, adding a little extra strength that sends them stumbling.

I see Xander walking through the door, his eyes instantly narrowing toward me. He flicks his gaze behind me, probably checking on his delicate flower, before noticing Kane and Anders and going rigid.

He stops at the door frame, blocking me from leaving.

"What the hell did you do now?" he grits out.

I peer back toward Kane and Anders, noticing Seria's arm wrapped around Kane's bicep and clasping at Anders' arm while Knox stands behind her, all of their gazes on me.

I turn back toward Xander, taking a step closer and getting mere inches from his face.

"I believe I made myself clear last time…" My tone sounds dark and hollow as I continue, "Do I need to borrow a blade to finish what I started before?"

His eyes widen for a split second before a scoff leaves his lips. His features pinch together as a mocking glare bleeds through his expression.

"You were only able to act that way because of those two around you…" He leans down closer, his breath brushing against my cheek, his eyes glinting pure vitriol hate. "You're nothing without—"

I move quickly, pushing a little more strength into my knee as it connects with his groin. His eyes widen, the words dying on his tongue as his face scrunches up, turning a paler shade.

He bends forward, falling as I pull my knee back and slide to the side, evading the crumpling of his large frame to the tiled floor below us.

A pained grunt falls from his lips as Anders and Kane rush to his side, trying to help him.

His hand falls toward his crotch to cup his— hopefully —crushed balls.

"I didn't need any help doing that," I call as Kane glares daggers at me.

I grin back at him, a genuine feeling of glee stretching my lips as I watch Xander writhe on the floor in pain.

Who knew revenge could make me feel this happy . I should do it a lot more.

"Micai!" Seria shouts, crouching down beside Xander and cupping his ashen face. "How could you hurt Xander like this? Even at the Winter Ball, you took things too far—"

"Funny…" I call, cutting her off and relishing her darkening expression. "I don't think I went far enough. If I had, he wouldn't be running his mouth so easily."

Seria opens her mouth as Kane pulls himself up, taking a step toward me. A darker glare encompasses his features as he nears me.

But just as soon as he reaches for me, a hand pushes out from behind, shoving Kane back with a force so strong it sends him tumbling toward Knox before knocking them both down.

Two sets of scents envelope me before I see them; a soft honey and lavender scent, and a smoky-caramel smell that instantly has me relaxing.

I gaze up into Annex's blue eyes as Ezra passes me, surprise widening my eyes that it had been Ezra's hand that had shoved Kane and not Annex's.

The psycho in question wraps his arms around me as Ezra opens his mouth.

"I'm getting tired of you assholes not getting the message." Ezra's cold tone sends a shiver down my spine as Annex softly chuckles behind me.

Ezra's expression darkens, a look I've never seen before blanketing his features as he glares down at them all.

Kane tries to pull himself up, but Ezra stalks over, placing his foot on his back and forcing him back onto the tiled floor.

Knox tries to pull Ezra away, but one hit to the torso causes him to tumble backward and join Kane.

My brows meet my hairline. How was Ezra this strong?

"The next time you come near Micai…I'll slice you into sashimi before feeding you to the sea."

He pulls his foot back, bending down toward them as his hand grabs a chunk of Kane's hair. He pulls his head from the ground, lifting it up to face him.

"Don't fuck with my woman again, or I'll tear you limb from limb until there's nothing left. Micai is not someone you or anyone else can mess with in this academy. If you fuck with her, you fuck with us." He pushes Kane's face back into the ground, the force of it causing the tile to crack slightly as a pained moan leaves Kane's lips.

Ezra pulls himself up as he fixes his jacket, glancing at each of them like they're a speck of dirt beneath him.

"If you go around talking shit, or so much as look at Micai…I'll personally rip your tongue out and staple it to your damn head."

"I love it when you talk dirty, Ez." Annex tugs me closer, kissing my shoulder before reluctantly pulling away and heading toward Ezra.

He prowls around Xander, Anders flinching and taking a step back while pulling Seria behind him.

Annex crouches beside Xander's head, his feet near his face as he leans down, whispering something I can't quite make out into his ear.

A tremor works its way into Xander's hands as Annex continues to whisper to him. Our eyes meet, a wicked grin stretching his lips as he pats Xander's shoulder and pulls himself up.

Ezra quirks a brow, a question in his gaze as he peers back toward a trembling Xander. Annex just shakes his head. "Another time."

They both turn my way, the dark glares and heavy mood fading from them instantly as my eyes meet each of theirs. Their grins widen as they approach me, just as I feel a presence at my back.

I whip around and meet Mallyn's grey gaze, a curious look working its way into his gaze as he stares behind me. "Everything okay?"

I nod, feeling Ezra and Annex come behind me, a small smile tracing my lips as the three of them surround me.

"I know one thing that would make it even better…" Annex says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as we leave the main building.

I raise a brow in question.

"Getting out of this shithole for a while."

I glance toward Mallyn and Annex. "Don't you have your interviews today?"

"Fuck ‘em," Annex spits out, annoyance pulling at his features. "If they wanna question me, they have to catch me first." He grins, some amusing dark thought probably crossing his demented mind with his own words.

"It's fine." Mallyn hands me a brown paper bag. The smell of fresh meat and cheese instantly hits me and makes my stomach growl.

A blush coats my cheeks as Mallyn's lips tilt upward.

"Let's eat on the way. And then grab you some dessert."

I gaze between the three boys, all watching and grinning my way.

Threats and dessert?

A girl could get used to this kind of pampering.