Page 47 of Monsters Within (The Creatures We Crave 1)
I said that not only for their benefit, but for my own, to try to convince my brain of that. I knew deep down it was true, as I still felt an overwhelming sense of safety here, but that was hard to remember when jaws the size of my face loomed in front of me.
It also didn’t help that the professor who stood alone, seeming bored as hell, smirked when I said they wouldn’t hurt us, revealing a set of fangs that had my pulse steadily ramping up.
The next professor to approach us had silver hair that hung to his shoulders and matched the shade of his skin. He was clearly a fan of the color black like me, with the darkness of his outfit matching his eyes.
Despite the somewhat cold appearance, he didn’t make me nervous. Something about him gave off a wise and elevated energy, similar to Estrid. He gave us each a small smile and requested that we return to a line and each hold one hand out, palm facing up.
Despite my insistence that no one would harm us, the guys remained in their monster forms, putting their huge hands tipped with claws out for him as I extended mine.
“I’m an unblessed witch,” he explained as he hovered his hand over my own after quickly passing by Elwin and Lucien on my right. A probing feeling encompassed me, immediately causing my body to fight. That same coiled energy reared its head at the intrusion, but I didn’t try to control it this time, curious to see what it would do. What better place to let go than with professors who trained magical students?
Letting it flow, I shivered as the energy shot from my chest, down my arm and to my palm that was beneath his. Purple flames shot up, licking at his skin, making me gasp.
“Shit!” he exclaimed, jumping back and rubbing his hand against his slacks. “You aren’t a witch, but you definitely pack a punch with whatever you hold inside of you.”
Shaking my hand out as if it really was on fire, I breathed a sigh of relief when it flickered out the moment his probing stopped. Did purple flames really just come out of my hand? Damn, that was cool as hell.
He didn’t bother to test Kylo, probably assuming it would be much the same as the other two. Instead, he trailed back towards Estrid, passing her without a word despite the look they seemed to exchange and was then gone, seeming to almost disappear into thin air. I didn’t fully understand what an ‘unblessed’ witch was but despite the name, he seemed incredibly powerful.
“Professor Saggia, if you will.”
A pale woman with dark ebony hair and crystal blue eyes stepped forward before disappearing into a whirl of shadows. She blinked out of existence, reappearing directly in front of me before letting the shadows go to reveal her once more.
It was the closest resemblance I’d seen to my monsters’ forms, and hope sparked in my chest that someone here would be able to give us answers. While she didn’t have any tangible arms like them or a glowing chest, the way she moved and the drifting of shadows around her was similar.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she offered kindly, holding her hand out.
Shaking it, I couldn’t help but ask, “Are you the same as Kylo, Elwin, and Lucien?”
Squeezing my hand before she dropped it, her eyes scanned over them as she walked up and down the line, pursing her lips as she examined their different features. “Hmmm,” she murmured. “They aren’t the exact same as the wraiths I’ve encountered in Hell, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t be a hybrid of some kind.”
From the books I’d read, Hell was once separated into six different Houses, each containing a different species, and they revered pure bloodlines above all else. That is, until the new queen of hell had taken over, winning a war and uniting a hidden hybrid kingdom with the one she had taken over.
Rumor had it that she had outlawed anyone who defied her call for peace and unity, claiming they would no longer be separated by bloodline or species, uniting them all under the term 'demon.’
I’d admired her just from what I’d read. She sounded powerful, yet kind and compassionate. A true role model for everyone, human and supernatural alike.
Turning back to Estrid, Professor Saggia offered, “I’d like to accept them into my sector. The men display wraith qualities, and I sense a vast source of energy within Alexandra, like King Finias in a way. She also has the typical white hair that they are known to have predominantly, so perhaps a dark elf hybrid?”
A dark elf? I mean, I suppose she was correct about my appearance, but dark elves were said to use runes and have an affinity with nature. I had no qualms with staying inside my dorm all the time, but perhaps that was more because of my disdain for those outside of it.
When I’d entered the demon sector, I’d immediately taken to the landscape in awe, so maybe she was onto something.
I couldn’t help but bounce up and down slightly in my excitement as I glanced at my monsters. “This is amazing,” I whispered. “We might finally get answers and find others like us.”
“Before you sign off on that, Estrid,” an annoyingly high-pitched voice called out, “I’d like to test her for the demigod sector.”
It was the woman who’d sneered at me.
“Don’t be excited just yet,” Kylo whispered, ducking his head towards mine. “Her soul is completely engulfed with envy and pride. It flared brightly when Estrid mentioned how powerful you are, and it hasn’t dimmed since.”
A part of me was shocked at why a professor at a prestigious school like this would feel such a way towards me, but the other part of me wasn’t surprised. The energy she had exuded in her posture and her facial expressions gave her away.
“I think that’s a splendid idea, Professor Helen,” Estrid agreed, but her tone lacked her usual warmth, further making the hair on the back of my neck stand up in alarm.
So, this woman was a professor in the demigod sector and was named Helen, which didn’t sound like a last name to me. Something was pulling at my mind, trying to put the pieces together, but it was evading me.
The way she raised her chin and looked down upon me with her glowering hazel eyes pissed me off. Her hips swayed in an over-exaggerated way as she walked towards Kylo in her white dress that accented her tanned skin and golden hair. A seductive smile tilted her lips up with all of her focus now on him.
