Draeyer Academy (Rewrite)

Chapter 36-Egg

To old readers: You know what's gonna happen the next few chapters based on the title.

To new readers: ...enjoy.

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"Do you know what happened to Alec earlier?" Uncle Donovan asked from behind him.

"What happened?" Gael leaned into the balustrade, watching the twins and Alec from the balcony of the sitting room.

He had sensed that something was wrong when Alec had refused to look at him again. The kiddo must be angry at him for trying to hide his condition. On top of that, the twins, along with their parents Edrik and Zandria had glared at him. He was used to receiving those glares every time he overused his sentiral ability, but it seemed they were angrier and more worried than usual.

Gael did not turn to the old man but continued to watch the twins drag Alec into their shenanigans. They were on the poolside after Solana forcibly had the other two change into bathing suits. They had set up numerous floaties and dumped them on the water.

Solana said something, and Knox looked like he had given up. Alec meanwhile vehemently shook his head at whatever she said. The blonde twin just smirked and said something again, causing Alec to narrow his eyes and clench his jaw. It was the same look he got whenever Gael provoked him to do some extra paperwork in the office.

A moment later, his brother ran, throwing himself into the pool. Using the floaties as stepping stones, he managed to walk a few steps before he fell into the water with a big splash. When he resurfaced, he swam back to where he started for a second attempt. Solana laughed loudly and Knox gave Alec a look of pity.

It seemed Solana wanted them to do the walk-on-water challenge that Gael used to play with them when they were younger. Knowing Alec's physical capabilities, he'll eventually succeed.

"He had a panic attack."

Gael turned, eyes going wide at what he heard. "What?"

"Amara said that Alec had frozen and was not responding to her, so she called down the hall for help," Uncle Donovan said. "When we entered, he was leaning on the bedpost, clutching his chest, and having a hard time breathing. The twins immediately embraced him and we tried to calm him down."

Gael felt worry consuming him slowly. "Did he say anything?"

Donovan shook his head. "He did not say anything and Zandria distracted him with tea and stories about the twins and you."

He ran his hand through his hair, trying to think of a cause for Alec's distress. It did not take him long to remember something written in Alec's file.

Alen Arden. Alec's older brother who raised him since he was a baby.

The man had died after being infected by the Red Boils during the epidemic that swept through Friosan. Patients who suffered from the disease would remain bedridden from the first day to their last, which lasted a month on average. Blood would flow from their orifices and red boils would appear on their skin. From what he could remember, no one could help these people and it took months to create a cure. Many people were left to watch helplessly as their family members died.

Alec would have been around 10 when it happened.

Gael wanted to punch himself. In the last few months, Alec gained Crimson and treated the drae like family, only to lose him soon after. Now, Alec was starting to accept him as his family, but what did Gael do? He ignored Amara's warnings like always and proceeded to get bloody and unconscious. Although he wasn't in critical condition, Gael might have briefly reminded Alec of a terrible time in his life.