Blood + Tears (all 15)

Chapter 19

Amara rose inside me, wanting to tear her apart. Unfortunately, I knew that I would be caught if I did that so I settled for the next best thing. I unleashed my hold on my power. The abundance of mana unleashed made everyone flinch, even Luke's head flew back a little bit. Silas staggered behind me before acclimating to the amount of power released to be able to stay upright. Those of red, black, orange, and silver ranks in the hallway fell to the floor under the pressure, including one of my main tormentors when I was younger.

My older sister looked at me with wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and hate. Suddenly, I reined in my powers, and mostly everyone collapsed against the wall or others. Wide eyes stared at each other then at me.

"Ms. Armani," Mr. Blackbourne stepped up behind me. "Are you okay?"

Marie seemed to shake herself out of her state when he spoke. Her face turned red as she screeched. "Is SHE okay?!!! What about me? She made me like this."

Mr. Blackbourne looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Oh, I didn't notice you there." He looked at the students around still frozen then at Marie with a cold look. "If you're on the floor, that means that you are not strong enough to resist her powers."

I looked at Mr. Blackbourne in surprise. I didn't know that he would stand up for me. He always seemed closed off and didn't seem to like me. Sure, he acted towards me with the usual kindness a person should, but I never felt that he would like to have me as a friend. I guess that even I can be wrong.

Since he was giving me an out, I decided that I should do something. Making my expression fall into a timid expression, I sniffled. "I'm sorry. I had a battle earlier, and when you suddenly came around the corner, I was shocked and let my power loose."

Marie snarled, making her almost make me look at her in disgust. She sneered at Mr. Blackbourne. "I don't care who you are but you clearly screwing this slut. And you. You bitch, you did that on purpose."

Gabriel unleashed his hold on his mana. It wasn't as powerful as mine but even the ranks lower than gold flinched. Gabriel stepped forward, and he was angry. His hair had turned into a blood red, and his eyes were as hot as flame which he pointed at Marie. I looked at him in a new light. This was the first time I saw the princely side of him, and it shocked me how different he seemed. "How dare you act in such a disrespectful to my chosen knights."

Her eyes went wide before she scrambled into a proper curtsy. "Forgive me, Prince Gabriel. I did not see you."

He sneered. "Obvious. What is your name and your relation to Ms. Armani?"

Marie looked at how the Prince was standing next to me and forced a smile onto her face. "I am Marie Sorenson, daughter of Baron Sorenson. Sang is my younger sister who ran away when we were young."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Sister?"

Marie smirked at me. "Yes, she has a mental illness. When she was fifteen, she ran away. We have been searching for her for years. I thank you, Prince Gabriel, for finding her and returning her to her family."

"Thank me?" Gabriel asked in confusion. "For what?"

Marie looked at him in awkwardness. "Um...for returning her?"

Gabriel looked at me. "You do not have any evidence that she is your sister. Even if she was, she does not have the obligation to return since I have chosen her as one my knights."

My older sister looked at him with her mouth hanging open. "But.."

His face seemed to become colder. "Did I say anything that was not part of the law? The fourth king proclaimed that his personal knights did not have an obligation to their families to prevent families who either were cruel or had abandoned them from leeching off the personal protectors of the king."

He ignored Marie and turned towards me. "Ms. Armani, are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yes, but I don't know why she is claiming that I am family. I've never had a sister or a mother before, and I don't know my father either. I don't know why she's claiming to be blood related when I know we aren't."

And all of that was correct. When I freed myself from their abuse, Amara released some information that shook my very core. When that bastard that I called father told me that the person who was my mother wasn't my mother, he didn't even tell me that he wasn't my blood father. I might have lived there for over a decade, but they weren't my family. I know that a family shouldn't do the things that they did to me.

Gabriel's seafoam green eyes stared into me as if he was trying to see the truth. I knew that he could see the truthfulness in my eyes and also the anger and sadness. He nodded before turning back to Marie. "I believe that Ms. Armani is telling the truth. I don't know who you are, but if you intend to fight with my knight, now that you have to answer not only to her but also to me."

With that, he started to walk past Marie who had a look of disbelief on her face. As we passed, she yelled something that made everyone freeze. Her voice seemed to echo in the hallway. "She's dangerous! Sang! I'll tell them your secret."

I froze, looking at the fourteen men in front of me. They slowly looked back at Marie then at me. The other students in the hallway were still on the floor, and when Marie yelled, they stared wide-eyed at me.

Suddenly Luke started to laugh. It wasn't the happy or joyful laughter I was used to from him, but laughter that caused shivers to run down your spine. I looked at him to see his chocolate brown eyes shift into dark blue as black started to dye his blonde hair. Marie shivered as she came face-to-face with a dark fae.

Kearn smiled like he was predator and his prey was Marie. He walked towards her slowly, and I felt his mana. It wasn't as explosive as mine or fluid like Gabriel's, but it was slow and silent like a shadow. He bent at his waist, making sure that they were looking in each other's eyes. "I don't care who you are or what your so-called secret is, but I warn you not to piss me off. All of us have our secrets, even you who-" He whispered so that only she could hear. Whatever he said made her eyes go wide with fear. Kearn pulled back. "If you do so, know that I will come after you and not many know how to stop a dark fae. Got it?" He smiled brightly.

Marie nodded before scrambling away. In an instant, Kearn was gone, and Luke was back. He was yawning and blinked at me. "What did I miss?"

Nathan chuckled before hooking an arm around his neck and started to pull him down the hallway. "Nothing much. Our next class starts in a few."

I watched as everyone started to act like normal. Even the students around us were trying to act normally but I could tell that they were keeping an eye on us. A person stepped beside, and I looked into green irises. "Let's go, Pookie!"

He started to skip after the others, almost tripping but caught himself before continuing. I chuckled. How can a doctor be so clumsy?

I started to walk. The others were talking behind us when I noticed that Mr. Blackbourne was right beside me and looking at me. I looked at him, biting my lip. "I didn't expect you to defend me. Thank you, Mr. Blackbourne."

His millimeter smile came to his face, and his steel gray eyes melted slightly. "My pleasure, Ms. Armani." We were silent before his hand touched my arm. I looked at him in surprise. "I know that you think that I don't like you nor want you in this team. At first, it was true. I thought that you were a nuisance or an unneeded part to the team, but now I know that Prince Coleman obviously sees something in you, and I am starting to see it. Whatever secret you may have, you can come to one of us. We can help you."

I smiled at him wryly. "I don't think you can help. No one helped me then so why should I think I can get help now?"

Mr. Blackbourne stopped, making me pause. His lips were pulled into a frown but I could see the emotions in his eyes. They were searching mine yet also telling me that he too had his own secrets and sad past behind those gray eyes. "You didn't have anyone back then, but right now, you do. You have us. I just hope you can trust us, dove."