Page 4 of Unbroken

“What about the students? The enchantments are down. Half the Academy is outside the interdimensional bubble. The entire campus is unstable and exposed to the outside world. Thank the stars above we are secluded here or we would have a very serious problem with Humans on our hands,” Professor Maverick’s yell is heard above the chorus of voices erupting around the room. Like me, he has been given a secondary job. He’s in charge of Academy security until we can get the enchantments back in place.

“It’s not just the risk of exposure we need to worry about. The very environment has been compromised. In the past two weeks the flora and fauna have begun to wilt and die. Especially the black dahlias, red poppies, and white lily flowers. Without the enchantments and wards in place HellNight Academy is hemorrhaging magic,” Professor Greenleaf, a white Witch who teaches herbology, chimes in as they all begin to talk at once again.

I pinch the bridge of my nose with one hand, whilst drumming my fingers on the table with the other. My headache is getting stronger and stronger by the minute, my limbs are shaky and weak, and my power wants to rebel and take matters into its own hands, eager and waiting to lash out in order to strengthen me.

I’ve listened to the board members drone on around me for what feels like hours as they debate the best course of action for the Academy going forward. Every day for the past two weeks my attention has been pulled away from my unconscious Mate to the matters of HellNight Academy and everything in between.

After what happened in the clearing the night of the battle, all of us closest to Micah were on edge. The minute our bonds and Tethers disappeared, Micah began to breathe again, to our relief, but my meus amor hasn’t opened her eyes yet. She’s laying in her bed, in the tower Bishop gave her and her Tethers while they stay in the Underworld. She’s like a fairytale princess waiting on her prince to kiss her awake. Literally. Ty tries every day, yet she remains in a peaceful sleep, and there is nothing any of us can do about it.

Her brother, Marcus, lives, but it is touch and go as his body heals slowly from the Angel Fire that Micah blasted him with to break his connection to Michael. He should be dead from the hit he took but Bishop thinks his connection to Michael at the time helped him survive it somehow. His Enochian tattoos magically rearranged themselves before our eyes, all the letters were broken down his arms. Now they’re dull when once they glowed bright blue. He remains in and out of consciousness, rambling about the Archangel Uriel and saving some Light Guardian by the name of Bryelle.

Esme has spent every day with Sam in tow, scouring Bishop’s labyrinthine styled library, searching for answers, anything to help, but has come up with nothing.

Rodyn, Ty, and Trys are growing more and more unstable by the day. Rook and I have come to the conclusion that Micah is the glue that’s been holding them together from the moment they arrived in the Underworld. Without her, they are spiraling, their violent outbursts are to the detriment of Bishop’s house staff as their uncontrollable magic plagues the castle. You can only imagine what two powerful Necromancers and their Dark Warlock triplet can do with their powers unleashed. Lots of poor dead Demons and Imps. The entire situation is an utter shitshow, and without Micah giving us direction, purpose, a reason to fight, things are unravelling fast. Including me.

“None of this would have happened if that thing hadn’t arrived here at the Academy. I knew the moment she stepped through those doors she would cause a problem. Our beloved school is left in ruins because of Lucretia’s power hungry need to have a Nephilim under her control!” Nelson Monroe shouts, slamming his hand on the table, bringing my focus back to the room.

I hold my hand up to stop anyone else from speaking. I am so tired of listening to his incessant bullshit. Every word that falls from his lips is negatively tied to Micah, and somehow, she is to blame for all of it. “Nelson, this has nothing to do with Miss Jones and you know it. She didn’t invite Michael and his Light Guardians into HellNight Academy. If I’m not mistaken, you were all about using the Nephilim to your benefit until she affected you personally. I won’t sit here and let—”

“Of course you would take her side! She is your fated Mate. Did you forget that your precious Nephilim murdered my poor Sasha? She shouldn’t have been allowed to be here.” He sneers, after his spit sprayed across the table toward Mary Stubbs, who subtly had a magical shield up blocking his spittle flying out of his mouth.

“You know what, Nelson? Why are you even here? Your daughter no longer attends this Academy. Your services to the board are no longer needed. Furthermore, with regards to Miss Monroe’s murder, as you so describe it, she was killed by a Demon from the Underworld. She knew the risk when she challenged Micah, just like every other student who attends here. Your daughter punched above her weight and got herself killed in the process. She was no match for Micah Jones. My Mate tried to show her mercy, which was more than she deserved,” I reply as he scoffs and jumps to his feet in anger. I remain in my seat impassively, unaffected by his tantrum, my head is pounding but I try to ignore it as I focus on the livid Warlock in front of me.

“How dare you? I have given everything to this Academy, my daughter, my—’

“Oh, shut up, Nelson! You have other children. Sasha was not a child, and she knew what was required of her when she threw down the challenge. Enough already, we’ve more pressing matters to attend to,” another board member, Thomas Moor, interrupts, clearly as irritated as I am about Nelson’s constant bickering. To our relief, Nelson Monroe huffs in outrage as the entire table stares back at him with equal parts annoyance and frustration until he finally snaps his fingers and dissipates from the concealed room where we hold our meet in. Well hallelujah.

“I agree with Thomas,” another board member presses on, as if Nelson was never here and we hadn’t spent most of the morning glued to these seats. “Has anyone heard from Headmistress Larrieux? It’s been two weeks and she is yet to show her face. Have you found any trace of her, Lyrik?”

If I could groan out loud in frustration I would, but instead I sit up straight, smooth the lapels on my suit jacket, and place my hands on the table in front of me. I force a polite smile in the Witch’s direction. “As you know, we haven’t heard from or seen Headmistress Larrieux since her message to the students right before the enchantment and wards collapsed. We checked the underground catacombs and came up empty. She is officially missing,” I say with concern, but honestly, I’m not surprised.

Yes, I want to find out what happened to her. It's not like Lucretia to disappear, she loves the limelight too much. The fact she didn’t stay and fight alongside everyone else is telling. To think when she first took over the job she had so much promise, but she literally changed after a couple of months in the position. The Academy became darker, crueler, more sinister with the initiation of the HellNight cull once the sun had set. The Academy wasn’t always like this, and if I had my way things would change for the better. This should be a place of education, not a place to come to die.

“We’ve lost so many students. The Witches Council are calling for an inquiry, the Wolf Coalition is in an uproar over the loss of most of the Edgewood pack and a few other smaller packs within the Academy, and the Vampire Covens are demanding answers. The Supernatural community is not going to want their children to return if we don’t rebuild as fast as we can. We need to reassure them—”

I hold up my hand once more to the speaker’s annoyance. I’ve had about all I can take and keeping myself composed is exhausting. “My apologies, Celeste, we are talking in circles. We are doing all we can to work through the ruins that are now the grounds of HellNight Academy. All classes have been cancelled, students have been sent home to their parents, and those that don’t have a home to return to are being protected in the Quads. We are short staffed because like you and mostly everyone else in this room, we fought to protect what students we could. We’ve lost valuable professors and staff because no one came to our aid. So, I don’t care who’s upset. I didn’t see or hear from any of those Witch Councils, Wolf Coalitions, and Vampire Covens in our time of need, not one of them lifted a finger or used magic to help us in any way. The lot of them can fuck right off,” I say as a few professors hum in agreement while Celeste stares at me with disdain, her mouth parts in shock. I am not usually so quick tempered, but I am running on fumes, and I am running out of time. Ineedto feed.

“Caelum Academy has gone too far. We need to take the fight—”

I slam my hands down and rise from my seat. “You know what? You want to take the fight to Michael and the Archangels, go right ahead. It’s the least you could do, but don’t expect us to risk any more lives! We’ve spilled enough blood.”

Celeste pulls away from the table as everyone focuses on her. No one here is going to come to her defense. I want to laugh. She’s all boast and no action, all of them. They are just fine sitting on their Supernatural high horses, letting the children fight their battles. Not on my watch.

“This meeting is over. We’ve rehashed this enough. If you will excuse me, there are indeed more important matters to attend to,” I say calmly, trying to keep myself in check. I can almost feel myself fraying, this suit I am wearing is being picked apart one thread at a time. I will not break here, not in front of these people. I keep my head high, and I watch them all leave the room, some vanish before they stand.

Blowing out a loud breath, I wipe my hands over my face. My fatigue is evident as I slowly stand from my chair. “You don’t look so good, Lyrik.” Professor Maverick lingers as the last of the board leaves.

I lean against the table, taking slow breaths as I look up at him. “I’m fine, Beaux. I just need to go and check on Micah.” It’s weird calling him by his first name but all formalities between us have flown out the window.

“Still nothing?” he asks solemnly. I know he means well, but right now, I need to get as far away from everyone as I can. I think by the looks of me right now, he gets it.

“I can only hope she wakes soon. I have a feeling that none of this is over yet,” I reply as my heart rate begins to spike as the purple tendrils of my magic unfurl, pouring out of my finger. My body is struggling, starving from my lack of essence, my physical form is barely holding itself together. I’m not going to make it.

Maverick nods and walks backwards, watching me, brows knitted together in concern. “Well, I am going to shift and patrol the grounds. If anything comes up, I will be in touch,” he says as he takes one last look at me and walks out the secret door of the boardroom.

“Lyrik.” I don’t look up; I know Rook’s been here the entire meeting.

“Shade,” I reply, taking another deep breath, the sweat on my brow drips down on the table as I try to pull my magic back in.

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