The Forgotten Prophecy

Chapter 38

Matthew's feet stepped over the snowy ground. The morning clouds covered the sky, and the forest was casted in grey shadows, the trees bending in the wind. He tightened his coat around his neck and followed the others. He didn't know where they were heading to exactly, only that they were traveling to a so-called Academy.

He had asked the old elf what it was, and he had informed him that it was where the older kids went when they were at the last stage of their training. There they spent a year or two, in order to expand their powers before they eventually completed their course of training. So, basically, they would be visiting a camp full of wild teenagers.

Matthew was a bit nervous about what they would face in a while; he had a feeling that something was off. He looked at the others, but they seemed relaxed and walked on steadily. His eyes fell on Peter beside him who was staring ahead, her long legs treading with confidence.

She had been quite distant lately. Every night, after returning to the city she would speak little and go early to bed, claiming that she was too tired to stay up. He constantly felt her gaze on him when she thought he wasn't paying attention, and once he caught her staring, she would always turn around as if she was embarrassed.

He knew something was going on, like something was keeping her closed up in a shell he couldn't break, but he didn't want to press her, so he chose to give her some space for the time being. He wouldn't wait for long, though, because her coolness was driving him mad and each passing day, he was a step closer to losing his calm.

His train of thought was brought to a halt when the elves slowed down, signaling at them that they had reached their destination. Matthew scanned his surroundings. The dense forest was preventing him from seeing clearly, and he had to squint in order to see a huge building with two storeys and a big yard in the front.

What he expected to be a beehive of loud kids was then an empty building. Its walls were black, burned from fire, the windows broken, and the earth trampled by feet. He immediately understood that the Academy had been raided and carried the marks of a recent attack.

'Woah,' Matthew whispered, shock written on his face. 'What happened here?'

'Dark magic,' the old elf answered grimly.

'I will check if there are any survivors,' Landos rushed forward.

'I hope they had time to flee,' Inerma murmured and followed after him.

Both elves vanished in the building. Matthew feared for the people who had been there, if they had managed to run away or they had gone down along with the facilities. For him it didn't matter if they were elves and they humans; death came for everyone without making any exceptions. 

He turned to Peter and said, his eyes blazing with anger. 'I'll help them search the area.'

He was about to leave and rush to the others, when a small hand swiftly grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. He opened his mouth to protest, but as his gaze flickered to her face his voice caught on his throat. She was looking up at him with such pleading eyes, her normally pink cheeks now pale from fear.

'Please, don't go,' she said in a small voice. 'It might be dangerous.'

Matthew swallowed hard and stared at her, his heart yielding to her. He knew there was no opposing her, nothing was more powerful for him than his need to abide with her. He held her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. Their fingers linked, fitting perfectly together, and Matthew sighed in content. Her touch had a soothing effect on his nerves.

They stayed like that for a while, waiting for the young elves to come back, sharing heat through their bonded hands. Their hearts thumped rapidly in their chests. The old elf stood a few metres away from them and was investigating the remnants of the magic that had been casted. He produced several spells that helped him detect any source of magic around the area and observed the walls of the large structure to determine the damage that had been caused.