Instead, I see Nike among the injured masked people. He bends low to the next victim, whispers something in their ear, and then waits for their response. After he nods, he stabs his sword into their heart. I swear, the second he does it, my own heart skips a beat as if I was just stabbed.
I’m horrified, but I can’t look away from the terrifying scene. Blood spills out of all the bodies, running in streams down the quad. The already red snow turns darker and it has a chilling effect.
“Do you ever listen, Eury?” Ari scolds me and twists my neck around so I’m not looking anymore. I cower into his chest, my body shaking with fear and utter disgust.
As the adrenaline leaves my body, the pain starts flooding in in long swells. My eye stings, my ribs prick, and my leg throbs. I know I’ve been hit a lot, and at the time, it didn’t really hurt, but now it’s unbearable. I whimper as the pain gets worse as each second passes. Ari must hear me struggle, because he bends down towards me, looking me up and down.
“Are you all right, Eury?” I shake my head back and forth. I’m not okay. How could I be? Ari effortlessly cradles me in his arms.
“Why did he do that?” I tuck myself into him and cling onto his neck like it’s home.
“He can get the truth out of people. Apparently, they deserved death. Nike doesn’t kill for no reason. They deserved it. They killed people, too,” Ari says. “It’s over now. You’re safe, baby.” He rocks me back and forth, rubbing my back in soothing circles as he walks us towards shelter.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
bandaging the broken
“What is going on here?” Ari asks as he storms into the administration building. I’m still cradled in his arms like a baby, but his voice pulls me back to reality. My leg is pounding through my entire body, so I know the second he puts me down, I’ll collapse. I can tell by the looks the teachers give me that I’m not welcome here, but there’s no way I’m leaving. I’m with Ari and I’m staying—for good.
“Who’s this?” a teacher I don’t recognize asks, pointing his eyes in my direction with disdain.
“She’s with me.” Ari looks down at me admiringly. “What is going on?” Ari asks again, making an emphasis on each syllable. His voice is harsh and angry and even takes me off guard.
“We’ve been attacked by demons,” Professor Nike announces. “None of the attackers in the courtyard had any useful information. They apparently didn’t know who was commanding the attack.”
“Why?” another teacher asks. It’s strange, but all of the teachers seem more scared than the kids lingering outside. They must know something more than us. That thought frightens me since I know absolutely nothing.
“Anyone have a theory?” Professor Nike asks as he paces in the back of the room.
“I saw Hermes here,” I whisper, remembering his face and how I was unable to tell what side he was on. If I had to bet now, he’s on the attacking side. I mean, he works for the devil and all, but he was nice to me before. If he wants me, he could have taken me in Hell, so it must be for a different reason.
“What, baby?” Ari asks softly, making me blush at the moniker in public.
“Hermes. He was here.” I look up to Ari, meeting his cloudy green eyes.
“What’s she saying?” a male teacher asks, looking at me with mean eyes as if I’m nothing but a nuisance to him.
“I said, Hermes was here,” I speak loudly and with more authority.
“What do you mean he was here?” Professor Onassis cuts through the whispering. I didn’t even realize she was in the room until now. She’s so small and frail that I didn’t see her lurking in the throng of teachers. She smiles at me reassuringly, but I can tell she doesn’t quite believe me.
“I saw Hermes. He was wearing the same dark clothes as the demons, but I couldn’t tell which side he was fighting for,” I explain to the room of my elders.
“How do you know it was him?” Professor Elytis asks me, his eyes soft since he knows me from class. At least someone is giving my theory merit.
“I’ve met him before. I’m sure it was him.” I make an emphasis on it so they know I’m not lying. “He wasn’t wearing a mask.” I make Ari put me down on the ground so I’m standing on my own. I don’t want to seem childlike in a room of old gods who are far more superior to me.
The instant my feet touch the wood floor, my legs wobble, making me stumble forward. Ari catches me as if he expected it. So I stand on one leg, using Ari as my crutch. Even though it pains me, I feel more like an adult, standing among the teachers. Ari looks down at me, nodding his head admiringly at my braveness.
“Well, let’s go down there and kill them all!” a teacher yells, making the others whisper and converse amongst themselves. The whole room erupts in an uproar of hysteria and plan-making. I glance up at Ari who looks pensive as he takes in the entire situation, and then his face changes, becoming severe.
“Shut up!” Ari yells to the group. They quiet immediately, obeying him. “Why would they attack us here…now?” Ari tries to piece it together. He tries to be the smart one, the responsible one in the group.
“What’s changed?” someone asks from the back of the room.
“Me,” I whisper to myself, thinking it has to be my fault. My mom knew the attack was coming. Why didn’t she warn the teachers or help us with the demons. “It’s me,” I speak up.
“No, it’s not you, Eury.” Ari pulls me to his side and wraps his arm around my shoulders protectively, but I know what he really means—shut the hell up.
“It has to be. I’m the only change recently,” I realize. My heart drops like it’s sitting on the tower of terror without wearing a seatbelt.
“I think she’s right, dear.” Professor Onassis’ voice is full of emotion. Her eyes are drawn together in thought. She refuses to make eye contact with me, but I know she pities me.
“Shit,” Ari mutters to himself, running his strong hand through his dark hair as he understands.
“My mother was here. She knew the attack was coming,” I tell the group of teachers. They look at me as if they’re trying to decide whether to off me right here and right now as a sacrifice.
“I think I read about this,” Professor Onassis says under her breath, but I hear her soft voice. “Give me some time.” Professor Onassis pushes past the teachers and runs out of the room like a crazy person. Some teachers stay behind, but after Professor Onassis leaves, most disperse. Ari whisks me out of the room, helping me walk as I hobble around.
We round a corner towards the stairs, and when we get away from the teachers, Ari lifts me into his arms. The realization that this is all my fault weighs heavy on my mind. I lean against Ari and let him control me. My brain can’t even handle a simple decision right now. I’m fully dependent on him.
Ari brings me straight into the bathroom of my dorm room and has me sit on the tiled counter top. I’m in my gym clothes, but he quickly rips them off so I’m left only in my sports bra and running shorts. I look straight ahead at Ari, because I don’t dare glance back at myself. I’m nervous to see my condition. I do see the purple and green bruise on the front of my thigh that’s swelling quickly and ugly and it terrifies me.
The bruise is the size of Ari’s hand and the shape of a shoe. He lightly brushes his fingers against it, and I wince. After giving me a reassuring smile, he focuses on my face, cleaning my wounds. My left eye and cheek throb like something’s inside, trying to break free from my skin. Ari places an ice pack over my cheek, and I hiss at the coldness. I wither. “You could have warned me,” I groan, but he still holds it there, refusing to let go.
“You’re going to swell.” He fixes a few more things on my shoulder and neck and then helps me back into my room. Before I lie down, he has me sit on the bed and wraps a thick ace bandage around my stomach. It pinches like a hundred stinging bees, making my heart speed with worry. I gasp and try to catch my breath.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers as he tries to slowly bandage me.
&nbs
p; “Just do it fast.” I want to get the pain over with instead of drawing it out. He finishes up like I asked and then plants a wet kiss on my forehead.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you.” Regret is all I hear in his voice.
“You protected me.” I give him a small smile—the biggest I can form, which isn’t much. I have to grind my teeth to hide the pain.
“Ryder, are you in here?” A voice calls from the hallway. Kara storms in, bandaged from head to toe. She runs right in front of me and stops next to Ari. “Are you guys okay?” she asks me, but before I can answer, Ari speaks up.
“She has some broken ribs, her leg is messed up, and I put stitches under her eye. She’s okay, though.” He looks down at me and brings my hand up to his mouth, kissing the top softly. “I have to go figure out what to do next. Take care of each other.” Ari says to the two of us in leaving.
“Okay,” I moan, raspy and broken.
“Don’t leave this room. I’ll be back soon.” He comes back to my side and kisses me square on the lips. I reach a hand up and pull him into me, wanting to kiss him forever, but he pulls back and winks at me before leaving.
Once Ari is gone, Kara asks, “Are you really okay?”
“No,” I whimper honestly. I look over at her and catch sight of her black eye and cut lip. I pat the bed next to me so she can sit since she’s not in prime condition either. But before she sits, she locks our door so nobody can bother us.
“It was so horrible,” Kara cries as she crawls into bed with me. I lean back against my pillow, but it burns to be propped up. I tug the pillow out and lie flat on the bed so my leg doesn’t ache and my head feels better, but the position only makes my ribs protest. Kara takes the wall and lies on her side so her arm, which looks broken in a bunch of places, is up on top of her instead of under, where it would be crushed—again.
“I think it’s my fault.” I can barely hold my composure together.
“Don’t say that. It’s okay.” She comforts me, reaching her good hand out to me.
“Thanks.” I teeter on the edge of consciousness, but the dark wins over. I fall and fall fast, but with the welcomed darkness, the pain dissipates.
I know I’m in a dream the second my eye lids flutter open. It’s foggy but I know exactly where I am since I’ve been here before. Ari’s living room is nearly identical to the one I’ve been in a couple times before. I glance around, trying to find the subtle differences.
The room looks emptier than its real life counterpart. His coffee table is free of books, making me think school isn’t in session anymore or he hasn’t moved in yet. The beige throw blanket that hangs against the back of his couch is missing, making it seem bare and unwelcoming.
I shake my head as I leave the room in search of Ari. He’s probably why I’m in this vision, after all. I check the bathroom, kitchen, and foyer, and it’s clear he’s not on the bottom level. So I take the steps two at a time up towards his room. Before I get to his bedroom, I check the library, my eyes growing instantly at the destruction before me.
The study is completely ransacked. A full bookcase has fallen over, the books strewn about in disarray—some with their pages torn out, shredded into tiny pieces. I frown as I bend over to pick up one of the broken books. It’s a journal. The inside is hand-written in a manly cursive—Ari’s.
I flip through the book when a heavy thump comes from the next room. Startled, I drop the book, making another crashing noise. I tremble to myself, hoping that nobody can see or hear me in this dream. I turn out of the study and head for his bedroom so I can find him. When I open the door, I can barely comprehend what I see.
First it’s just all ass—Ari’s ass. It’s up in the air as he mauls into a girl underneath him. The girl moans out emphatically—a loving, pleasurable moan that brings bile up my throat. Ari places his hand over her mouth to shut her up, and my attention returns to the nasty sex. She squirms beneath him, but he continues beating into her—thrust after thrust.
“Shut up,” he tells the girl between breaths—pounding and pounding.
“Come on, baby,” she mutters as his hand leaves her mouth. Her voice betrays her identity. The recognition helps push me forward, and I rush to their side. I lean forward and slam my fist into her face, but of course in this dream, I’m invisible, so the punch doesn’t even sway her.
“God, I love you,” she screams, mid thrust.
“Stop!” I yell, reaching to Ari and pulling him off of Magdelina. It doesn’t move him, and instead, he continues railing her—pump after pump, moan after moan. Tears flood out of my eyes, wanting to get free from this nightmare. This feels like the longest dream ever, and I hate it. I turn so I can’t see their rough sex, but the noises haunt me.
I plug my ears with my fingers, but the noises still penetrate. I hum to mute the noise, but it doesn’t work either. I hate this dream. I hate Ari, and I most definitely hate Magdelina. I’m too upset to even consider this is a past dream. Instead, I’m filled with agony and hatred.
I can tell Ari finishes when the smacking of skin-on-skin stops and the room quiets. Someone stands, and I turn, readying myself to see what happens next. I have to be here for a reason—other than to watch Ari get it on with another girl.
Ari faces me in all of his naked glory, his growing limp appendage in full view. Even though he was just screwing Magdelina, the sight of him is instantly arousing. I shake my head, forcing my need for him out of my mind. I don’t want my first time seeing him to be like this. It isn’t fair. It isn’t right.
I look to Magdelina, hoping to squash my lust, and she looks down right pissed. Ari leans down on the bed and whispers something into Magdelina’s ear that makes her slap him clear across the face. I flinch back. It’s then that I feel the falling. My body trembles, and my knees wobble, making me trip head first in the sweat-soaked sex bed. I shut my eyes and wish to be back in my dorm.
“Oh my god!” I cry out when I wake up in the light of my dorm room. Kara’s lying next to me in the bed, her arm draped over my stomach. She sits up with a worried expression on her face, but when she does, she pushes on one of my ribs. I gasp in pain as the air gets pushed out of my lungs, but try not to let her know just how painful it is. She looks down at me, questioning what’s going on.
“What happened? Did you have a bad dream?” She knows about my visions and dreams, so I know that’s what she’s assuming.
“You could say that. I saw Magdelina and Ari having sex,” I reveal to her, frowning at just the thought of it. I want to go throw up, but I know it won’t make the images go away, so I push it back down.
“You’re kidding me.” She leans back against the wall, still on the bed next to me as she cradles her arm.
“I wish I was,” I tell her, hating what I just saw—the image of his bare ass and his love making engrained in my brain.
“Oh my god.” She covers her face with her hands. We snuggle together, and strangely, it’s nice. I’ve never been a big shower of emotions, but this is comforting—especially after everything we’ve been through.
“We have to get up soon, huh?” I want to stay in bed, just one day, but I know we have to move.
“We should have been up like twenty minutes ago. We’re going to be late,” she says as I look up at the clock, confirming what she’s said.
“We slept all day?”
“I guess so. Ari never came back for us.” She finally gets up from the bed and stretches like a tired cat, but I can tell that it tortures her to move. She’s stiff, and her face looks drawn together in pain.
“I can’t face him right now,” I say, thinking of how I might see him at the student center. The image is too new. It’s all I’ll be able to see.
“You’ll be fine. I’ll be there with you. Let’s go.” She retreats to the bathroom and locks herself in. I hear some grunting and moaning, and I know she’s having trouble getting ready for the day.
I sit on my bed and try to move my body around. Everything hurts
, and I’m scared to move, for fear of breaking something. I touch my face, where the stitches are, and it’s still store.
As I wait, I watch the snow fall out my dorm window. It’s beautiful and magical. You would never guess that we were under attack by demons and their blood covered the ground just a day ago.
A knock sounds at the door, and after maneuvering myself off the bed in a way that won’t hurt my thigh, I open it. It’s Ari. Just his face right in front of me sends vibrations up and down my body.
“Hey,” I say, standing awkwardly in the doorway.
“Hey, I just wanted to check in.” He smiles at me, and more waves of lust travel around me. But I can’t pay attention to them because I’m hurt.
“Oh, I’m fine. We’re going to get food, though, so I kind of have to get ready.”
“Sure.” He nods, but his eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Let me just check your stitches.” He steps forward, but I don’t budge. Looking at his hand just reminds me of my vision, and it makes my heart clench.
He checks out my cuts and bruises in silence. His fingers trail on my bare skin and shockwaves vibrate through me. But I ignore them. After seeing him with Magdelina, it’s only upped my desire towards him.
“I’ll see you later?” I try to be friendly, but I just need him out of my space. It’s killing me to have him touch me when all I can picture is him screwing another girl.
“Yeah…” he answers and then turns to leave. I’m about to shut the door, when he pushes past it and envelops me in a hug. Surprised, I stand still.
He tucks his head into my shoulder, and his arms clench me tight without hurting me. He breathes me in, and a moment later, he’s gone. I watch him retreat down the hallway in confusion and then shut my door. I lean my back against it, sighing out in relief.
Kara comes out from the bathroom. “Who was that?”
“Ari came by.” I tell her and retreat to the bathroom as fast as possible to take a comforting shower. I can barely get all my clothes off, but this shower is about the only thing motivating me to get up and eat.
The Curse of Betrayal (A Curse Books) Page 18