I shoved my stuff into my backpack. “I hate this.”
“It’ll be all right.” Tye squeezed my shoulder. Of all my guards, his was the most comforting presence. He was a huge, imposing man, but he didn’t use his size to try to intimidate me. He was more of a gentle giant.
As soon as I hung my bag on my shoulder, we walked out of the classroom and into the hall. The dragons encircled me, a solid mass of muscle surrounding me. I felt dwarfed by them. Tye led the way outside. Cash and Arianna stood on either side of me, and Malcolm guarded me from behind.
When we stepped outside, Tye stopped so quickly that I ran into his back. “Sorry, I can’t see around you.”
He leaned to the side a little. All of the Nephilim stood in a half-circle, blocking our escape. I looked around, wondering where the human students were and hoping they were safe from whatever was about to happen.
“They’re behind us, too.” Malcolm’s voice edged closer to his dragon’s than I’d heard for a while.
I put my hand on Tye’s arm, nudging him to the side. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” I widened my stance, ready for a fight. “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
The dark Nephilim from the side street in Althea tapped his head. “We have seen instances where you fall to darkness.”
“Have you seen instances where I don’t?” I shook my head, unable to believe his response. “I saw the world burn because of Nefarious and Mavros, but it didn’t.” I took a step closer, knowing the dragons would protect me and not wanting the Nephilim to see me as weak. “I saw myself as Draconian’s protégée, but I wasn’t.”
“We have seen many paths that you may follow, but we cannot leave the fate of the world to chance.” He stretched his hand toward me.
“Yeah … that’s not a good answer.” I rubbed my hand down my arm. “I’ve already saved the world twice, so it’s a good thing you didn’t try to imprison me earlier.” My chest tightened, and a heavy weight dropped into my stomach. I couldn’t believe they’d seen multiple futures and still believed the worst. “None of the other creatures of light are trying to capture me, so why are you?”
Malcolm stepped up behind me, close enough that I could feel his breath ruffle my hair.
“We”—Diana waved her arm, encompassing all of the Nephilim gathered around us—“are the ones who fight the evils of this world. We are the ones who will battle you when you fall to darkness. We have a higher stake in this than any of the other creatures.” More Nephilim arrived on campus every day, and I wondered how many of them would have to be here before they challenged the dragons, or if that time was now.
“If you fight the evils of this world, where were you when I battled Nefarious, Draconian, and Mavros?” I clenched my teeth, feeling anger and hatred bubble up inside of me. These righteous creatures had allowed an inexperienced teenager to fight their battles for them. “Why didn’t you free the dragons?”
A Nephilim I’d never seen before spoke up. A black tattoo ran down the left side of his face from his scalp, disappearing under his overly tight shirt. “We cannot fight every battle. We must choose the ones that will help those who deserve it the most.”
Rage simmered in the dragons surrounding me, and that same anger flared inside of me. “Who makes that choice?”
He shook his head like I was an imbecile. “We do.”
“So, the dragons didn’t deserve your help?” I clenched my fists, trying not to show my outrage.
“Most of them are not noble creatures.” Diana crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t truly trust your guardians. Do you?”
My lips curled with disgust. “Whether they’re noble or not, they were being controlled by a madman who used them against his enemies.”
“It’s time for you to join us.” She stepped forward, stretching her hand out to me.
“No.” I slid my hand into Malcolm’s just in case somebody tried to take my powers away from me. Be ready to teleport away if we need to, I thought to all of the dragons. “If you’re so righteous and noble, isn’t it your responsibility to help everyone, regardless of their worth?”
Cash tilted his head, looking at me like he was seeing me for the first time.
The dark Nephilim from Althea clenched his hands at his sides. I remembered him reaching into his coat last time I’d seen him, and I wondered if he was fighting the urge to go for whatever weapon he had hidden there. “Do not pretend to understand the world when you cannot fathom your own intentions.”
“I understand my intentions just fine. Thank you.” I shook my head and hoped he could see my disgust with him and his kind. Then I whispered, “Now.” My dragon guardians and I teleported to my room.
I pulled my hand out of Malcolm’s grip and walked to the window. “I can’t believe they want to imprison me based on one potential outcome.”
“Did you mean what you said?” Cash’s posture was less rigid than normal, and he rubbed the back of his neck.
“I always mean what I say.” My gut tightened. I didn’t want to argue with him right now. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with his aggression or hatred. “Which part?”
He opened his mouth, then shook his head. “About the dragons. About helping everyone, regardless of their worth.”
“Yes.” I huffed out an impatient laugh. “Haven’t you seen me try to help Mavros? Didn’t you notice that I tried to spare Draconian?” Once again, I felt the blade slice through his flesh, piercing his chest. I would never rid my soul of the stain of his death, but I would live the best life I could in the hopes of eventually wiping my slate clean.
“I—” his voice caught “—I gotta go.” He walked out into the hall.
I
