Solasta Academy: All Hallows Eve

Chapter Twenty Eight

The ancient book was powerful enough to bring people back to life, so it would make sense and make time stop at once, Calia realized. She wondered what else the book could do but snapped back into reality as soon as she thought about it because she wasn't going down that rabbit hole now. From the looks of it, Malakai was pissed as hell at her, and she feared he was going to rip her throat out any time. "You came back," she stated, her voice rough from the bitter wind. From all her fighting lessons with Soari, she learned not to show fear to the enemy. If you did, they already had the advantage and could get under your skin and hit you where it hurt the hardest.

"I promised you I would," Malakai retorted.

Calia sucked in a breath. "What do you want with me? And give me a real answer this time because I'm sick and tired of your lies."

He angled his head to the side, smirking. "You and I are alike in some ways, Calia. Both of us come from a rough background and are burdened with immortality." She studied him for a moment as if he were a rat being dissected. With everything Malakai said, layers went unsaid, confusing Calia every time. "You want the same thing I do."

"And what is that?"

Malakai placed the book in the crook of his arm as if it wasn't the most dangerous object in the world. "Vengeance. You want to find the person who murdered your mother, and I want every one of those so-called saviors destroyed."

She shook his head and frowned. "That is not the same thing, and you know it. You, Malakai, want to destroy those who saved the world out of some fucked up idea of vengeance. I want my mother to get the justice she deserves."

"They killed my Father!" he snarled. Calia took another step back as she feared he might blow up and hurt her again. When he noticed, he reined angrily and gave her one of his notorious fake smiles. What confused her the most was the mention of his Father. If he was popular in their world, then who exactly was he, and why did Malakai blame the Breevort family for his death? "Do you know how fucked up it is to go to bed starving because your mother cared more about drugs than you? And then, when you got enough to ask about your Father, she said he was murdered."

Calia knew she shouldn't sympathize with the enemy, but she did anyway. Her eyes softened as Malakai revealed his past, and it was like untying a knotted rope. "He had no idea you existed," she finished when Malakai said nothing. His hazel eyes sharpened as he stared at her, but there was no denying that she struck a nerve.

"He would've," Malakai whispered. "If he was alive."

Before she knew it, he had rushed in front of her and pushed her to the ground. Calia didn't have time to react because he clutched a handful of her hair and dragged her off of the field and back into the main hall. She cried out for him to let go, but he wouldn't listen, and when she tried to fight back, he only gripped harder than before. If she had her thunderstorms, she would have struck him numerous times. Nevertheless, they were weakened, so her survival was up to her.

Malakai let go of her, and she stumbled to the cold marble floor, making her hands flinch upon the impact. Despite wearing a bright pink sweater and white-washed jeans, she was still shivering; part of it was Malakai's fault. Time had stopped for everyone except her, and she desperately wanted to steal the book from his arms and reverse the spell. Her breathing had become rapid as she faced the Vampire with a sharp look. "What is your grand plan, Malakai Riviera? Why make time stop?"

He chuckled as he crouched before Calia and tipped her chip up to face him fully. Her eyes were daggers, and she knew it. "Only part of my plan to bring my Father back from the dead, of course. Time is a delicate thing to the dead, don't you know? Like All Hallows Eve, they can sneak into our world with a snap of our fingers."

"And if he doesn't come back? What then?"

"He will," Malakai said with determination. "After all, it's about time for a family reunion."

"Haven't you learned not to fuck with time?" she hissed. "Or better yet, with the Book of the Damned? It has severe consequences for those who lust over blood."

Malakai rolled his eyes as if he had no care in the world. Such a cocky monster, he is. "How many times have your guardians fucked up the same thing, Calia? If you want me to count how they gave no shits about the consequences of such actions, then I will. So if I were you, I'd shut up and let me fucking do this."

Calia shook her head as she gathered all the strength in her body to stand up against Malakai. She stood on two feet with wobbling legs and glared at the monster before her. "No. I enjoyed pleasing everyone because I thought it would improve my life, but it didn't. It left me with a dead mother and locked in an asylum where they neglected me for weeks. And just when I thought it wouldn't get any worse, I came to Solasta, and my swim coach was a serial killer! So, no, I will no longer sit back like a good little girl. I hurt you once, remember? I'm not afraid to repeat it until I end you."

"Without your power?" he sneered. "I would like to see you try."

Calia Nox might have spent her entire life believing she was merely human with an IQ of one eighty-eight, but she was more than that. In fact, she was a special kind of Fae with strange silver blood flowing throughout her body and the ability to create lightning storms within the palm of her hand. So what if she didn't have her abilities at the moment? She learned how to fight without them before. Calia raised her fists in the air, placed her feet into a fighting position—a stance she learned from Soari—and angled her head to the side. "I don't care who you are or where you came from. You betrayed me, and I will not stand for that."

Spoken like a true heir.

But she knew better than to think Malakai's quick reflexes wouldn't work because of the spell making time stop. Calia blinked once, and when she opened her eyes again, he pushed her against the wall, and her back started throbbing upon impact. She swore under her breath as he stood inches away from her and breathed deeply as if he lusted after her blood. Malakai moved a few strands of her hair out of the way to expose her bare neck, and she flinched. Gods, he was going to bleed her dry, and there would be no one to help her now. She would be dead before the spell ends—if it ever does.

Tears fell down her cheeks at a rapid pace. "Please. Don't do this."

Malakai caressed her cheek, and bile formed in her throat. It was not the same as Arzhel's gentle touch; she wanted so badly to return to him. To kiss him and tell her how she felt about the one and only boy she ever had eyes for. "I have to, Calia."

She shook her head. "No, you don't. You can walk away right now, and I won't tell anyone about what happened. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

Within seconds, his fangs elongated and punctured the vein in the side of her neck. It left her unable to move as she cried silently while Malakai drained her blood.

She wondered how blissful it would be to die.