Glancing in both directions, I raced down the steps before stopping by the cell door. Making sure she was indeed gone, I opened it and slipped inside. Trudging down the steps, I flicked the light on only to hear a screech and hissing. My eyes opened wide when I saw a phoenix get to its feet and fall forward in its makeshift nest. Letting out a breath, I realized it couldn’t fly.
I glanced at the steps leading up. How did she get it down here without it ripping her to pieces? The bloody thing couldn’t fly but looked like it was tempted to attack me as it continued to hiss. I noticed bloody bandages wrapping its body, and my mind wandered to Aleera’s words last night.
“I wasn’t running,” she said, and I chewed my lip, wondering if she was telling the truth. Darius came out before I could get her to answer again but then why would she be trying to open the door? Darius said he’d caught her tampering with the wards. With one last glance, I rushed back upstairs, wanting away from this creepy-ass bird. I hated phoenixes.Bloody vicious bastards.
Pulling my phone back out, I decided to call Darius to let him know when I stopped. He would kill it; I had no doubt that he would. He hated them. His father was a right prick, and when he was a boy, he used to lock him in cages with the damn things and let them attack him.
Though he was a good father, as long as Darius did as he was told, his punishments were cruel and uncalled for. I would never understand how he idolized his father the way he did. Darius always thought he was a great father when I could think of plenty of things his father had done that were either just cruel or outright wrong. I put my phone away and glanced at the door.
I could set it free, but someone else would kill it, and I also had the issue of it trying to attack me if I grabbed it. I pondered what to do when I decided to open up this chat thing Kalen had with Aleera.
Chapter 48
Aleera
The classes droned on,and I wasn’t looking forward to being in the sun for the rest of the day. Although, for once, I actually made it around the obstacle course. I was pretty proud of myself, yet the cramping was becoming ridiculous.
Lycus called out to me and waved me over. Moving off the course, I made my way over to him. For some reason, he decided to run the obstacle course.
“Did they give you any shit after I left?” Lycus asked me.
“No,” I told him.
He nodded. “Good, go to lunch then. After, you can take the rest of the day off.”
“Really?” I asked excitedly, and he nodded.
“Just stay out of trouble and away from Darius and watch Kalen for me,” he said, and I nodded before realizing he wanted me to go back to their room.
Sulking, I headed back inside and to the mess hall. I felt queasy lining up for lunch, yet no one said anything to me, and I moved to a table closest to the door up the back so I had a quick escapeif needed. One thing became apparent, though. They all feared Lycus because not one of them approached me, and they let me eat. It wasn’t until I got up that one of them spoke.
“She is getting up.” Satish smiled while also getting up, and I recognized Lycus’s error. He said not to mess with me while I was eating. That wasn’t going to stop them when I wasn’t. Satish’s leering smile made me gulp. The man was huge and just as intimidating as Zac and Deacon in his black-ops uniform. How they all wore those uniforms in this heat was beyond me.
Cursing, I sat back down and nibbled the corner of the other half of my sandwich. Satish and Zac growled, sitting back down and glaring at me. Once again, I waited for the siren and the voices to fade before getting up. I was expecting them to be waiting outside to torture me but clearly, being late for Darius’s class scared them from wanting to get revenge.
Quickly looking around before I ducked down to the cells, I was excited that I could give Ryze some extra food today. I hoped I could keep this up because he would be fully healed in no time if he was getting the proper amount of food required.
I was scratching his belly as he leaned on his good wing when I heard the door open. Ryze hissed, and I grabbed his beak to quiet him.
Fear wrapped around my throat, and my skin itched as I listened to footsteps coming down. I got to my feet, trying to hide Ryze with my body, when Tobias appeared.
“I thought I would find you here. Interesting pet you keep, Aleera,” Tobias said, sauntering closer. I stepped back, and Ryze hissed.
“Darius will kill your pet if he finds it,” Tobias said, looking around me. I stepped in front of his gaze, blocking his view of Ryze.
Tobias clicked his tongue. “I saw you come down here this morning.”
Tears welled in my eyes because Ryze was all I had, and I knew he would hurt him. Tobias stepped down the last step with his hands behind his back.
“Please, don’t hurt him,” I whispered.
“Him? How do you know it’s a male?” Tobias asked, tilting his head as he watched me.
“It’s the beak. Females have red beaks. His beak is black,” I answered, which seemed to surprise him.
“You like birds?” he asked, stepping closer, and I turned quickly, plucking Ryze off his nest and tucking him under my arm. Tobias stared at Ryze, and the phoenix hissed at him. I grabbed his beak, trying to quiet him, and moved further back into the cell when I noticed that Tobias still had his hands behind his back.
“I will put him in the forest. You don’t have to hurt him,” I told Tobias. Ryze hissed, and I glanced down at him. “Shh, Ryze…” I whispered.