Kitsune Royalty

Chapter 9

I lift my arm to my throbbing head when I see a long gash on the underside of my arm. Ashton sees it too, and gasps in surprise. I look closer to see it shimmering green. "Oh my gosh, what the?!?!" I yelp. "Oh god, oh god, um, okay, stay there," Ashton says. "Huh? Ashton, no, stay! Ashton!" I yell, freaking out. Ashton continues to run to his bag and grabs a first aid kit. He runs back and dabs the antiseptic on with a cotton ball. When it makes contact with the gash, a searing pain shoots up my arm.

I let out a scream, clenching my teeth and trying to be discreet as possible. Suddenly, there's light coming from my arm. A starry night sky appears across the gash, and after a blinding flash of light, my arm is healed. "WHAT THE HELL?!?!" I scream in surprise, startling Ashton. "Okay, Clary, just calm down," he coos. "'CALM DOWN? CALM DOWN?!?! AND JUST HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO THAT?" I screech.

I breathe deeply, and we sit in silence for a few minutes. "Sorry," I say. "For yelling at you. We should probably get going." We silently stand and walk over to our belongings. . . Which are everywhere. I let out a small giggle and start gathering everything up. When everything's in the bag, we head back home.

"That was fun, well, except for the last part," Ashton says. He slowly opens his front door, then spins around. "Yeah, I enjoyed it. Maybe we could do it again sometime," I reply softly. I just stand there for a few seconds. I realise what's happening and blink rapidly. "Okay, well, I should probably get back home now," I say quickly. "Yeah, see you at school, " Ashton replies with a longing look. A look of curiosity and worry washes over my face before I spin on my heel and walk home. A sound emits from my phone. I reach into my pocket and bring it out. A message from Ezekiel. Huh.

Do you want to meet at my place tomorrow?

Sure, what time?

I hit send, feeling happy.

Like 11? We could go for lunch if u want.

Ok, sounds like fun.

K, see u then.

I look up to see I stopped in the middle of the footpath. I run inside and shut the door behind me.

"Mum, Dad, I'm back!" I yell. I hear someone sobbing, and rush over to see my mum grabbing onto my Dad's arms. "What's wrong?" I ask, concerned. "Y - your sister's in the hospital. Sh-she was hit by a car, a-and now she's in the hospital, and it's all my fault, I couldn't even protect her, I-I've failed everything!" My mum rambles on in between sobs. My Dad looks up. "Do you want to go see her?" He asks quietly, eyes red from tears. I give a small nod as a tear runs down my face.

I slowly walk to the car in complete shock. My sister, who had left home 3 years ago, was in the hospital. My big sister was in the hospital! And I was off mucking around at the beach with Ashton. I feel anger boil up inside me, but it doesn't last for long. The shock overcomes it, and I can't feel anything. It's like my world has been pulled from underneath my feet. And I guess that's because my big sister was my world. And now she might be gone. . . forever. I started running to the car. I had to get there before Amatheia let go. I had to be there for her. I'm her sister.

My Dad starts the engine, and we drive off in complete silence. After a few minutes, my Mum starts crying again. She's mumbling things under her breath. I listen in but can't quite catch it all. "My heir. . . Oh, Amatheia. . . 8 tails. . . They stole it. . . My poor baby. . ." 8 tails? I thought. They stole what? My Mum continued her mumblings, and my Dad kept looking between us, afraid. "Not right now, Rene," He murmured. They're keeping something from me. I realised. But why would they keep something from me? And, more importantly, what is it? "We're here." A voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up from my feet to see the looming building that was the hospital. What's gonna happen now? I thought. What's gonna happen to Amatheia?