Page 37 of Unbroken

It will haunt me forever.

What have I done?

He made me do it.

But it was my hand, my dagger, me.

I stand at the foot of the steps of the massive, black gothic building. The epicenter of HellNight Academy, and watch Marcus sprint up the steps, but he falters, sensing my presence, he turns. I want to call out to him, to run into his arms, but I just stand there silently with the box in my hands.

“Oh God, Bryelle, not you. Please, not you.” His voice is thick with emotion as he makes his way down the steps tentatively. He glances around on high alert, expecting more of us to step out of the trees. There is no one else here but me. I am the messenger.

“Mar-cus,” I force his name out of my mouth, the sound of my voice is foreign to my ears. I would give anything to say more but Michael only allowed me one word.

“Marcus, I am glad it is you who will receive my gift. Fitting, actually. It is fate that you are here in front of the woman I chose for you. The same woman I have now claimed for myself,” Michael speaks through me, and I want to crumble at the look of devastation on Marcus’s face. We never stood a chance. I thought he was dead. Michael called him a failure and I took his punishment.

“I have no will, Marcus,”I want to shout, but my voice goes unheard.

“I’m going to kill you, Michael! For what you did to her!” Marcus bellows, pulling his sword from his back as he advances down the steps and points the sword at me.

“Kill me, I’d rather die than face you,”I say with shame and humiliation, my voice only a whisper inside my head.

“Yes, I will welcome you to try. Or are you going to kill her instead?” Michael pushes my limbs forward, making me step closer until my chest touches the tip of Marcus’s outreached sword.

I gaze into his eyes and find nothing but sorrow. I was supposed to be his.

Marcus drops the sword and steps away from me. “I will come for you, Bryelle. Do you hear me? I am coming for you!” There is so much determination in his voice that I almost believe him. But he has no idea what awaits them.

“Touching. But enough of that,” Michael says as he raises my hands and I offer the box to Marcus.

“Tell Micah, I’ll be waiting for her.” Michael steps back and I fall apart as I watch us back away from Marcus. I feel my soul snap in two. Broken. Destroyed.

“Enjoy the gift,” Michael says as he summons a portal and we back away into the shimmering light, leaving Marcus behind.

* * *

MARCUS

I let my anger fuel me as I stand and watch him leave with her. Well, I am going to free her from his grasp. There was so much I wanted to say to her, but I didn’t want him to hear. There will be time for that when I get her back. I couldn’t stop him, not with him connected to her, so I let him take her back to the lion’s den. I close my eyes against my spiraling thoughts, memories of him using me to fuck her makes me sick to my stomach. I sheath my sword and tuck the box under my arm. I’m tempted to open it, but I think it’s better if I open it with Micah present. I turn sharply and begin to walk back up the stairs as Rodyn and Lyrik join me. Both of them have a look of alarm as they rush over to me.

“Did I just see a portal?” Rodyn asks in concern as he stops me from walking. I want to lash out and knock his hand away, but he doesn’t deserve my misplaced aggression.

“He must have gotten in when whatever allowed Miss Blu to come crashing in brought our barriers down,” Lyrik says in frustration. “Inform Micah, I need to check the wards with Professor Star. I will come back as soon as I can,” he says as he becomes a puff of purple smoke, then vanishes out of sight.

Rodyn gives me a once over. I can assume he’s checking me for injuries, and normally I would appreciate the concern, but I don’t know how to quell my anger. I want to take the fight to them now. I want to free everyone now. I don’t want to wait another night. I feel ineffective from my lack of control of the situation. I went from taking charge to standing in the back of the line and waiting my turn.

“What happened?” Rodyn asks finally.

“He used my girl, well, she was my girlfriend, to bring Micah a gift. Then he left. But this is no gift, and you know that just as well as I do.” I indicate the box underneath my arm as Rodyn uses a key, an Anchor key is what they call it to open the door. Here I was thinking I could walk into the building. I would have been trapped outside until they arrived if Bryelle hadn’t showed up. I can’t think about how strange this place is with my brain elsewhere.

“Yeah, that’s no gift. If anything, it’s meant to make Micah react. So, for both of your sakes whatever is in that box we need to think rationally about. We are not ready to go marching on Caelum Academy in the middle of the night without back up. I know what you’re feeling, you want to protect her, but you’re no good to her if you’re dead. Think about it,” Rodyn says patiently as I follow him through darkened corridors under construction from the destruction the Light Guardians brought to their doors. We climb up three flights of stairs in a blur as I let his words turn over in my head. My body is on autopilot as Rodyn turns a corner and walks us up to large, glass double doors at the end of the hall. With all the rushing around inside, I can only assume this is the hospital.

“Are you ready for this?” Rodyn says, pointing to the box and then facing the chaos of the room before us.

“No. Are any of us ready for any of this?” I counter as I wave my free arm around in a circle, hoping he understands what I mean by the action. By the nod he’s giving me, he gets it.

“Nope, but if I’ve learned anything from the past few weeks, we don’t control shit. We are all going through the motions and hoping for the best. So, I am hoping for the best in all regards.” He reaches out and pats me on the shoulder. This is not the same angry Warlock I met weeks ago. But I guess clearing the air with my sister helped him to get there. Oh yes, and drinking the Devil’s blood. I mean, you can’t make this shit up. This is our lives.

Rodyn opens the door and I follow him in with the box under my arm, feeling like it weighs a ton. Whatever I am holding is a catalyst, the beginning and the end of a battle that started a millennia ago. It is up to us to finish it. No, Rodyn is right, we aren’t prepared tonight, but we have my sister, and she is enough.

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