12. Rhys

Chapter 12

Rhys

I have no idea what it is about that Angel, but she pisses me off. I hate all angels, so it shouldn't be surprising, but for the most part, I can stay clear of them and there is no issue. Until her. Arabella. The damn Angel is everywhere that I am, and it's tiring. I haven't told Phoenix since he has some weird obsession with her, but I am going to get her to leave, well, more force her to leave. I figure if I make her life miserable enough, she will want to leave this place. The problem is, now she can't leave until I figure out her connection to Lucifer.

My uncle told me to keep an eye out for an angel to arrive at the academy who would have Lucifer's powers. Every member of my family has been told the same story by him. When I was younger, I let it go in one ear and out the other, never to think of it again. I never believed what he said to be true, but of course like in all things, he always seems to be right.

I wonder just how mad he would be if I scared her off and forced her to leave this place and return to the Angel realm. Sure, she would be in danger there, but she wouldn't be my problem anymore. No one would need to know. The only other person at this school who knows of the warning I received is Phoenix because he received a similar one.

Everyone believes he is my brother. No one knows that he isn't blood-related. His parents were close with mine and my mother took him in when he was born. We were raised together, and no one has been the wiser.

"Rhys, why are we waiting out here?" Phoenix questions from beside me. I had told him to go ahead and I would meet him at combat, but of course, he didn't listen to me. No, my brother leans against the side of the main building beside me, asking me why we are here every two seconds. Well, it seems like it's been every two seconds. He has only asked me twice in the fifteen minutes we've waited.

"You don't need to wait for me. I told you that already, Nix," I sigh, shaking my head. I'm not really annoyed by him but I'd also rather not explain myself to him right now. He didn't see what Arabella did in Psychic Magic yesterday. His back was to her, and it was his turn to practice when she did it. I'm the only person who caught it because I know the signs to look for. I probably should have told him what I saw yesterday, but I wanted more proof before I told him. I didn't need him running off trying to talk to her or tell her any sort of information.

"Considering this is out of the ordinary for you, and you have been more broody today than any other day. No, I think I'll stay right here and see what you are about to do." Phoenix turns and continues to watch as the other students exit into the garden area, much to my dismay.

Just when I'm about to give up and go to class, I see her. Arabella walks out of the conservatory's glass doors with her little Angel friend beside her. I think her friend's name starts with an I, but I honestly don't know or care. She's of no consequence to me. With them together and talking, Arabella is less likely to question me following behind her. Stalking her through the woods to combat class. Since I have Phoenix with me, I wait until they are almost out of sight before pushing off against the wall and heading in the same direction. I'm not close enough to listen to their conversation as planned, but this will have to do for now.

"So we just stood there until you decided you had enough?" my brother asks from beside me as we walk. I sense a hit of amusement in his tone as he questions me.

"Do you have to know everything?" I sigh. I shouldn't be annoyed with him. He didn't do anything wrong. I've spent my whole life watching out for him and protecting him. I always told him his heart was too soft for a fallen angel.

"Not particularly. However, you are acting weirder than normal today. So, yeah," he pauses and looks at me. "I need to know this."

"I just wanted to see if I was right about something," I answer, covering up my real reason. "I was wrong. So we can leave it at that and go about our day."

He continues to look at me out of the corner of his eye but nods and lets the subject drop for now. We walk in silence to the changing rooms and switch into our combat gear before joining everyone else in the arena. Despite how much I don't want them to be, my thoughts are stuck on Arabella. Eventually, she will cave and show her powers. That is when I will confront her again. She has to know who she is and what powers she has. And I want to know how she got those powers. Then she can go on her way, far away from me and my family.

"You lied to me," Phoenix accuses as we leave class and walk back to get some lunch.

"Lied to you?" I roll my eyes. "I did no such thing." Was I watching Arabella all through class? Yes. I wanted to find out if she would mistakenly use Lucifer's power of emotional manipulation again, but it didn't appear as if she did. During class, she was paired with her little friend Isis, and they would not stop talking. I doubt Arabella would have had an opening to use the power if she had wanted to.

"You were staring at Arabella during the whole class," he accuses. "We also started walking to class when she and Isis walked past us. At the same time, you told me that you were wrong about something and refused to say anything further. So, what do you want with Arabella?"

"I don't want anything to do with her, and neither should you," I growl. "She is a stuck-up angel, just like all the rest of them. I was watching her because she is horrible at fighting. Nothing more." Usually, my brother just listens to what I say and then drops it. The fact that he is pushing me about Arabella makes me wonder if there is something more there with him. We aren't together all the time. If he were to seek her out for any reason, then I wouldn't know about it. However, that would be a problem for all of us. I won't let her hurt him, and that is exactly what will happen if she is around.

"Just lay off of her, Rhys," Phoenix pleads beside me. "She hasn't done anything wrong. She is stuck here at the academy just like the rest of us."

"I'll make you a deal." I stop walking to look at him fully. I need him to know that I'm serious about this. "I'll lay off Arabella if you stay away from her."

"You can't ask that of me, Rhys," Phoenix pleads. "I am my own person. I can have my own friends."

"This is exactly why I'm warning you about her," I sigh, shaking my head. "She is already changing you. We are a team, and she is coming between us. Can't you see that?"

"I see you being an asshole," Phoenix retorts. "I know you are trying to protect me. It's what you have always done, and I'm thankful for it. But it doesn't mean that you are always right. Not all Angels are bad."

"Phoenix," I pause, placing my hands on his shoulders. "Brother, please hear me. Angels are all bad. We wouldn't be living the life that we live if they weren't bad. They call the Fallen a disgrace, but in reality, they are the disgrace. I will always protect you. Not because anyone has asked me to but because you are my brother, blood or not. Stay away from Arabella, I won't tell you again."

Before he can say anything in return, I resume walking, this time going in the opposite direction of him. I don't need food from the cafeteria. We have some back in the dorm that I can eat and just get to Angel Law afterward. Right now, I need to be far away from Phoenix and even further away from Arabella. Never in my life has Phoenix ever disagreed with my decision. He has always had my back. That fucking Angel is coming in and ruining everything. I take back my second plan of figuring out what she knows. I'm going back to the first plan and finding a way to get her out of this school and out of my life immediately.

The question now is how. What will make her angry enough to leave? She hardly reacted when I kicked her chair out from underneath her in the cafeteria. She was pissed but took the beating I gave her in combat class earlier this week. Maybe if I fuck with her in psychic magic, she will start to get the hint that she isn't safe or wanted her. If that doesn't work, I can work on getting her placed in multiple detentions. Those detentions would be sure to get her father's attention. He left her at the mercy of the school in the hope she would become what he wanted, or at least that's the rumor I heard on the upper levels of the administration building amongst the council members when I was walking around waiting for my mentorship meeting. If she were to get into enough trouble, he would have every reason to pull her out of school and force her to return to Aeris, far away from here.

My thoughts are running a million miles a second as I conjure idea after idea of how to get Arabella into enough trouble that her father forces her to leave when I notice one of the guards of the school on the same path back to the dorms as I am. It wouldn't be unusual, except I know for a fact this guard only works at the school's front gates. On occasion, I've heard he will pick up shifts in the werewolf section as well, but it isn't often. The wolf always gave me the creeps, but he never gave me any issues coming and going from the school, so I didn't put him on my radar much. Seeing him in the area of the Angel dorms, though, now he is on my radar. What the hell would he be doing over here?

"Hey, Guard Noah," I call out, jogging to catch up to him. I slow when I reach his side and match my footsteps to his. "How are you doing on this fine day?"

"Fallen," he calls out coldly as he looks at me, then looks back ahead.

"Wow, such a cold greeting from you today. Usually, I get to have a good day when I walk past you at the gate," I smile sweetly. His eyebrows raise in question at me but still, he remains silent. Damnit. I need him talking to me to figure out why he is over here. I don't like it. Or I suppose I can just flat out ask him what I want to know and see if he will answer me. It will probably piss him off, but less so than the stupid small talk bullshit I started with. "What brings you to this neck of the woods? I didn't know you were working in the Angel sector now. I thought you were just the front gate and the wolves."

Guard Noah finally stops walking and turns to look at me. He's pissed, and I have a feeling he's about to tell me off for my questions; I just hope he's polite about it. "You are a student at this school. I don't and never will answer to you in any shape or form. What I am and am not doing in the Angel sector is none of your business. Now, be on your way before I report you to Councilwoman Talia." He turns to walk away from me, this time returning in the direction we just came before I can answer him.

That definitely didn't go the way I had planned, but I'll still take it as a win. It got him out of the Angel sector and back to the main part of the school. Now, I have another worry to add to my list. First, deal with Arabella. Second, deal with Guard Noah. In that exact order. Whatever the guard is up to is something that can wait until after I get Arabella out of this school. If I play my cards right, maybe I can do two birds, one stone and get the guard to help me get Arabella out of this school. A few reports of her sneaking out should help lay the foundation.

With that plan in place, I enter the Angel dorms, heading up to my room to grab some food that has never tasted so good in my life. Arabella is about to see what happens when she pisses off a fallen angel. Little hint, she isn't going to be the winner of this game. I am.