Page 38 of Blood Legacy (Eternal Descent (MistHallow Academy) #1)

38

DANTE

It hits without warning. One moment, I’m walking alongside Gaida to reach Luke’s office, the next, a wave of pure anguish slams into me with enough force to drive me to my knees.

The pain isn’t physical. It ripples through the emotional landscape of MistHallow like a tsunami, drowning out the usual background hum of supernatural creature’s emotions. Bonds snap. One after another after another, like violin strings pulled too tight.

“What’s happening?” Felix grabs my arm, steadying me as I rise.

“Ellie!” Gaida’s voice cuts through the haze, the panic in her voice, registering somewhere deep inside.

Ellie, a fellow fourth-year has collapsed in the courtyard, her body convulsing as her sire bond shatters. Before anyone can reach her, she lunges at the nearest student, fangs bared.

More screams erupt from multiple directions. The walls vibrate with distress as the sound of breaking glass and splintering wood echoes through the campus.

A wail of MistHallow’s emergency siren fills the air, informing students to lock themselves down. But we do the opposite.

We reach the courtyard in time to see two professors wrestling Ellie to the ground. Her eyes blaze with feral hunger, all trace of humanity gone. Three more students lie twisted on the grass, their bonds visibly unravelling.

The sight stops me cold. I shouldn’t be able to see the bonds at all, let alone watch them dissolving like golden threads unspooling into nothingness.

“The dining hall.” Felix points toward the sounds of fighting and screaming, growing louder from that direction as more professors descend on the courtyard. As we run, I feel another presence entering MistHallow. Ancient. Powerful. His emotions seep through the walls like smoke before slamming shut, and it slips away.

The dining hall doors hang broken off their hinges. Inside, chaos reigns. Tables lie overturned, food scattered across the floor. A group of fourth-years form a defensive circle around younger students as two more ferals stalk the perimeter, searching for weakness.

I glance at Gaida. Golden threads of energy snake around her like living things. Her face is one of terror as whatever the Blood Rights are doing, it’s without her consent.

“Fight it,” I growl, gripping her arms roughly enough to bruise her arm.

But the sharp bite of pain anchors her. Her gaze flicks to mine, and she nods, breathing erratically as she tries to calm herself.

The ancient presence grows stronger, and now I recognise it. The same energy I felt moments ago, only this time, it’s not trying to shut me out.

“They’re here for her.” The realisation hits with brutal clarity. “They’ve been waiting for this.”

Windows shatter as several hooded figures break through. We’re surrounded, caught between feral students and something far worse.

“What the fuck is this?” Felix mutters and we crowd Gaida between us to protect her from whatever the fuck these things are. No doubt they belong to The Equilibrium and also no doubt, they are here for her.

“Why make all this fuss?” Gaida mutters, sounding more like herself as we back up. “Dad could’ve just called me home and kept me there.”

She has a point.

Felix and I exchange a glance. Whatever this is, goes above Aurelius Aragon.

And that in itself, is frightening as fuck.

A feral student I recognise as James Thoroughgood from Theoretical Magick, lunges for the defensive circle. Felix snaps off a rapid fire of magickal bolts that hurt but don’t kill. James backs off, hissing and snarling as Gaida gulps loudly.

“I didn’t mean to do any of this.”

“We know, but we are here now, and we have to deal with it,” I mutter.

Two of the hooded figures move closer, using the distraction of the feral to focus on Gaida. One raises its hands, power gathering like storm clouds. Before it can strike, Luke Blackthorn materialises between us, his own power flaring bright enough to hurt my eyes.

“Touch her,” he snarls, “and I’ll show you exactly why that would be your last mistake.”

The figure laughs, the sound like rocks grinding together. “Luke Blackthorn. We will go through you.”

“Try it,” he spits out and unleashes enough magickal energy to blast the two creatures back the way they came, only this time, through the stone walls. Their howls of pain make me wince, but I’m also slightly wary. That is some power our Headmaster has.

But where two are dispelled, more pour through the windows. The temperature plummets as ice crystals form on every surface. Luke is practically rabid now. Through the chaos, I spot Professor Harlow watching from a doorway, her expression hungry and triumphant.

Luke turns to us, his eyes blazing with fury and power. “Get her out of here,” he commands. “I’ll hold them off.”

I grab Gaida’s arm, but she resists. “I can’t leave,” she protests. “This is my fault. I have to fix it.”

“There’s no fixing this right now,” I growl, forcibly pulling her towards the exit. “We need to get you somewhere safe.”

As we move, I feel Gaida’s emotions shift. Guilt gives way to determination and then to an instinctual, archaic power that makes my skin crawl.

“No,” she says, her voice eerily calm. “I’m not running.”

“Go now,” Luke says, in a tone so icy, it chills me to my core.

I’m not disobeying him, and neither is Felix, by the looks of it. With grim determination, I pick Gaida up and fling her over my shoulder, darting for the exit while Felix blasts back anyone who comes within a ten-foot radius.

“Put me down!” Gaida shrieks, kicking out. It’s almost comical, if the circumstances weren’t so dire.

“Not a chance, ma reine . Blackthorn’s orders,” I mutter, tightening my grip as we race through corridors now filled with panicking students and staff trying to maintain order.

Behind us, the sounds of battle intensify. The clash of magick against magick, the snarls of feral vampires. Luke’s power crashes through MistHallow, ancient and terrible.

Felix leads us through a series of hallways that seem to lead us to Blackthorn’s office.

“Is this a good idea?” I growl, as Gaida thrashes around.

“It is a place of power, and it’s guarded,” he says, pointing at the Gargoyles perched outside the door.

They turn their old, stony heads towards us. “You will protect Gaida Aragon,” Felix states.

“We will,” the right Gargoyle grits out and the door swings open, allowing us entry. As soon as we pass, it slams shut, magickal locks clicking into place.

“Damn you!” Gaida screams at me and kicks out so hard, she catches me in the balls.

“Fuck,” I groan, letting her slide down as I double over.

“Shit,” she stammers, trying not to laugh as Felix, with no such qualms, lets out a loud guffaw. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I croak. “Didn’t want kids anyway.”

“Really?” she asks, crinkling her nose up. “I want kids. Lots of them. Only you can give them to me.”

“Gods,” I choke out and drop to my knees. “ Ma reine , what are you saying?”

“I think she was quite clear,” Felix says, between laughs. “You are her baby daddy. Congrats.”

I glare at him, searching for signs of jealousy or envy, but there is only amusement. “Bastard,” I snarl and then breathe in deeply. “Can we talk about this, at least?” I ask Gaida, trying to remain calm. This is sudden. Too sudden. Chillingly so.

“When you know, you know,” she says, arms folded as she glares down at me.

I blink up at her, caught completely off guard by this sudden declaration. “Are you being totally serious right now?”

“Yes. Do you seriously not want kids?”

“Well, no. I mean, I hadn’t really thought about?—”

“Now, really isn’t the time for this,” Felix warns as something slams into the door, shaking it dangerously. Yelps and the sounds of stone scraping against stone reveal the Gargoyles are doing their job, defending the door. Then silence.

“That’s not good,” Felix murmurs, moving closer to Gaida.

I rise to my feet, shaking off the lingering pain. “We need a plan beyond hiding in Luke’s office.”

We turn to the window as light flashes over the courtyard. As one, we move towards it, the subject of kids firmly on the back burner.

“We’re trapped,” Gaida murmurs as the grounds are flooded with more hooded vampires.

“How did they even get in?” I ask, running a hand through my hair, slightly agitated by all the evil and dark thoughts hitting me, drowning out anything else.

“Founder blood,” Gaida mutters. “Maybe my dad is more involved with this than we think.”

“But what you said makes sense,” Felix mutters. “Why go to all this trouble?”

“Unless they need me to do something specific,” Gaida says, her voice dropping. “Something I can only do here, at MistHallow.”

I scan the grounds again, watching hooded figures moving like spectres. “Like what?”

A tremor runs through the building, and we hear the sound of stone cracking. The Gargoyles won’t hold forever.

“We need weapons,” Felix says, looking around Luke’s office. His eyes land on an ornate cabinet against the far wall. “There.”

I follow his gaze and move toward it. He mutters an unlocking spell. The cabinet doors swing open to reveal an arsenal of ancient weapons: silver daggers, spelled crossbows, and vials of substances I don’t recognise, and I’m not sure I want to.

“Jackpot,” Felix murmurs, grabbing a dagger that glows with dark energy.

I snatch up a stake that is wickedly sharp and grip it tightly.

Gaida approaches the cabinet slowly, her hand reaching out to touch a slender silver sword with runes etched along its blade. The moment her fingers make contact, the runes flash golden.

She spins when the door crashes open, and two figures rush in, one of them pulled back by a stony hand. The shrieking is cut off suddenly.

“Come willingly, and no one else needs to get hurt,” the remaining arsehole says.

I dive in front of Gaida as he approaches. “No,” I say, shaking my head.

“Pureblood,” he hisses, and I sense the stab of fear.

Taking advantage of the momentary lapse of attack, I lunge forward, ready to slam the stake into the chest of this creepy vampire when a figure materialises behind the hooded vampire and grips the back of his neck with a sinister smile.

“Allow me,” he says, his voice smooth and devoid of any definable accent.

I lower the stake as the newcomer tightens his hand and crushes the neck of the intruder but doesn’t stop there. He keeps crushing until there is nothing left of his neck, and the head lolls forward before he bursts into a cloud of ash. I step back, coughing slightly as beheaded vamp dust sticks to the back of my throat.

“Unholy fuck,” Felix mutters and grabs Gaida, pushing her behind him.

“You could say that again,” I say, staring at this vampire, clearly, who radiates centuries of existence far beyond anything I have come across before. “Who the fuck are you?” I ask.

The vampire smiles, a more friendly one this time, and brushes off his otherwise immaculate suit. “I am here to help,” he says and spins around to annihilate the flood of attackers with his bare hands as they pour into the office, their one final, deadly mistake.