✨ A Little Bit of Magic || READER X RAY || The Promised Neverland

✨ Chapter Fifty Three

I braced for impact, clenching my teeth. A strangely deep hum emanated from my chest, no giant crash, or stab, or slap. Just a weird tingle, a chill, running down my spine.

I opened my eyes and turned around. She'd walked right past me. No. Not past me. Through me. And that killing glare she'd had- That was directed towards Ray, standing silent at the other side of the room. 

"You little brat!" She hissed, slapping from across the face. The black haired boy bit his lip tightly, not letting a single whimper or grunt escape his mouth. From where I was, I could already see the beginning of what would've been a bad, visible bruise. His pale cheek was painted a bright, irritated red, tears welling up in Ray's dark gray eyes. That painfully suffocating feeling started to pressure me again, stopping any movements I wanted to make. 

"I told you not to hang around her, Ray!" I pulled my hand back, laxing that world weighing force. I guess I'll just listen. As uncomfortable as this floor may be. 

"I told you the consequences of following her around!" 

"What, loving her? Is that the consequence? A normal, human feeling?"

I gulped nervously. This felt like something I shouldn't be hearing. The air in the room grew denser by the second, an unsettling feeling rising from the pit of my stomach. I'd never seen the Headmistress so uncomposed, so... so angry. And she'd even slap Ray that hard? Her own son? Who was this girl Isabella had told him to stay away from? Why was she so important? It seemed that none of my questions were ones that would be getting answers soon. 

Isabella grimaced, pulling a guilt-tripping, pitiful face I'd seen many times before. I almost gagged. "So you'd give him up? You'd give up your own father for this girl?" 

He answered immediately, hissing the word, "No!" I could tell that the wound was starting to hurt, as his hands started to tremble. There was probably a fear factor too. I would be scared shitless if Isabella was yelling at me like that. I'm a bit amazed Ray found the guts to answer her. 

"I promised you, Mom. I'll do whatever it takes. For him. For Dad." 

The headmistress' whole demeanor changed instantly, a wicked grin spreading across her face. She bent down, to Ray's height, gently caressing the bruise. A faint blue glow emitted from her fingertips and palms, the red mark disappearing right before my eyes. "Now, that's a good boy. You know Mama loves you, right?" He nodded, albeit fearfully. "I know you love your Papa. I know you miss him dearly. And he'll be with us again soon. He just needs you to do this one thing for him, so we can be a family again." She patted the left side of his chest, dusting her black dress off. 

And that was..?

"Her heart, Ray. You need to take her heart. By the end of your eleventh year. I'll arrange a situation for you to do so, okay? I expect you to follow through with the golden opportunity I provide." 

Just a second ago, Ray had very visibly been slapped across the face. But as the Headmistress walked away, the boy in front of me looked virtually untouched. And even more surprisingly so, he seemed more in fear of what this supposed task was, than the fact someone just used magic. Without their wand. Not something completely unheard of, but definitely rare, ancient, and probably another thing on the 1000 forbidden magics list the Magical High Committee had written up. 

I was contemplating how to rank the alarming things I'd just heard. 

Which one goes first? Literally stealing someone's heart? Or Ray's missing dad? Is he dead, missing, or vibing somewhere we just don't know? Wandless magic, an abusive mom, and a side of Isabella I'd never seen before?

There's a lot of things I can't make sense of. And this is definitely one of them. But whatever I had to do, I think the girl that's heart is in serious trouble needs to warned. Metaphorically or physically. Whatever this is seems like bad news. All I have to do is find her, right? And maybe we'll find Zack's curser along the way! We should have plenty of time!

I blinked, and suddenly I was laying down on my bed, quite comfortably, I might add. A streak of pale moonlight the only thing illuminating my dark room. I pulled myself up, a bit confused as to why I was still in my uniform. If I went to bed, why wasn't I wearing something comfortable? My sweater seemed to be tangled in some blanket, a strangely firm grip keeping me in place. This better not be one of Emma's stupid pranks. I turned around, half expecting a belt to be chaining me one of the legs of the bed, but instead... 

Instead I found Nigel. 

Oh boy, is he getting a fat bitch slap when he wakes up.