Gemstone Academy

Chapter 25

*Dario's Point of View*

I stared down at Elizabeth's lifeless body. Well, it wasn't lifeless, she was breathing. She had been asleep in the hospital for a week now. She hasn't woken up once, not that I expected her to. Not with the change her body was going through.

I heard a noise from the doorway. "Come in, Adrijana," I said without looking up. "It's about time you stopped avoiding me."

"I know better than to speak to you while you're angry," Adrijana said. Her footsteps were getting closer.

I looked up to see her standing on the other side of Elizabeth, looking at me questioningly. "I'm still very angry with you. Why the hell did you decide to leave Elizabeth alone on that night?"

Adrijana crossed her arms defensively. "I heard something."

"Then why didn't you take her with you?" I asked my voice rising.

"Because she's useless and would've slowed me down!" Adrijana said her voice now as loud as mine. "Why do you care so much anyway?"

"Jealousy doesn't look good on you, Adrijana."

Adrijana took a step back and laughed. "Who said I was jealous? Why would I ever be jealous of her? You're mine, there's nothing that can change that."

"It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself," I said staring her in the eyes. Doubt was written all over her face. I would know. I know Adrijana's expressions very well. I had to grow up with them.

"Are you going to leave me for her?"

I looked down at Elizabeth and traced her arm from her wrist to her neck. The neck I bit. The thought of her blood made my heart rate pick up. I've never tasted anything like it. The thought of leaving Adrijana for Elizabeth was tempting, but I knew better.

"No, Adrijana, I won't leave you." Adrijana let out a sigh of relief. "But if you ever put Elizabeth or any of my other friends in danger, or if you disobey my orders again, I will make sure you have no future."

Adrijana looked taken aback, but nodded. "Of course, Dario."

Adrijana must have known I was done talking to her, because she left without another word. I sat down in the chair by Elizabeth's bed after she left. Elridge said Elizabeth would probably be asleep for a few weeks. I haven't known her very long, but I already missed talking to her.

I wasn't alone for long. I heard footsteps and recognized them as Lazarus'. I've been able to recognize his footsteps ever since he started walking.

"What's up, Lar?" I asked looking up from Elizabeth at him.

"You're here again?" Lazarus asked.

"And so are you," I retorted.

"Yes, but I'm her fiancé, so it makes sense that I am here all of the time. Last I checked your fiancé is Adrijana, and she is not in the hospital."

"No, but I'm angry with Adrijana. It's partially her fault that your precious Elizabeth is in here in the first place."

Lazarus sighed and took a seat on the other side of Elizabeth, so he was facing me. "She's not just precious to me, is she?"

"She's precious to a lot of people," I said simply. "She's an important person with a lot of power."

"That's not what I meant," Lar said with clenched teeth.

"What did you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

I do know what he means. Lazarus wanted to know if Elizabeth was precious to me. She was, I wasn't sure how precious she was to me, but I knew I cared about her. I couldn't admit to that though. It would cause unwanted issues with my family, her family, Lazarus' family, and Adrijana's family. Not to mention the chaos it would cause for humans and mythical creatures. So no, I wouldn't ever admit how important Elizabeth is to me. It would just create hell for everyone.

"Don't worry, Lazarus, Elizabeth is just a friend to me."

Lazarus studied me and I could tell he didn't believe me. Whatever, it didn't matter if he believed me or not. I said something he couldn't use against me. So, I'm good.

"Why are you here all of the time then?" Lazarus asked.

"Elridge told me to keep an eye on her." That wasn't a lie. Elridge did tell me to keep an eye on her during the change. Of course, if I really didn't want to do it, I would've made someone else do it. I had that kind of power.

"Why?"

"Because if anything goes wrong someone needs to be here to put it right. I'm protecting her. Something you can't do."

Lazarus looked at me with hate in his eyes. Looks like I hit a nerve. "Don't ever use that against me again. You're not better than me."

"It's not my fault that it's true."

Lazarus shook his head in defeat obviously not wanting to have that argument again. He then nodded at Magius, who had been sitting in the corner silently this whole time. "What is he doing here?"

"He's here to make sure Elizabeth doesn't wake up too early," I said.

"What happens if she wakes up too early?"

"She dies."

"I figured."

We sat there silently for a while. That was actually one of the most civil conversations Lazarus and I have ever had. Usually we get into shouting arguments. They could be arguments about anything, even dumb stuff like toothpaste. Eventually we'd have to go our separate ways ending the argument before I kill him. I'd say before we could kill each other, but there's no way Lazarus could stand a chance against me. No human could.

Lazarus sat there looking at Elizabeth sadly. Why was he so sad? Sure, right now she may be suffering, but she'll be fine and powerful when she wakes up. He was probably just worried about how it may change her. I've heard that in the past the change has affected people's personalities. At least all Lazarus had to deal with was helping Elizabeth cope with it. I wish I were so lucky.

I had already talked to my father about what had happened. He said it was my fault that the witch thing happened. Other mythical creatures blamed me too. I was a pureblood vampire, a part of the royal family. My bloodline and skills were above everyone else. According to my father, and pretty much everyone else, my senses should've indicated what was coming and I should have prevented it. That wasn't fair, I wasn't an adult yet and my senses aren't completely developed. I had the situation under control, Elizabeth was protected, but Adrijana fucked everything up. Of course, I couldn't say that. It would make me look like I was coming up with excuses. Adrijana owes me big time.

The only thing that saved me from total hell was that Elizabeth was safe. However, she was in danger because of the change. Obviously she was going to change eventually, but it shouldn't have happened for another year or so. So now her body was at a greater risk of dying. And this had to be my fault too. Like I'm the one who had brought on the change. I guess in a way I kind of did. Actually, I'm sure it was more Adrijana's fault. If she would have never left Elizabeth alone, then Elizabeth's body never would have needed to protect itself and her powers would not have awakened.

Lazarus stood up snapping me out of my thoughts. "Leaving?" I asked.

"Yes. I have class, during the day, like normal people."

"I'm not normal," I said.

"I know," Lazarus said. He leaned down and kissed Elizabeth's forehead and I looked away. I had to resist the urge to hit him. Then I heard his footsteps walking away.

I heard mumbling and my head snapped up. Elizabeth was starting to stir. Oh shit. "Magius!"

"Dario, is that you?" Elizabeth asked quietly.

"Ssh, yes it's me. You need to go back asleep."

Magius had arrived at the side of the bed. I nodded at him and he snapped his fingers. Elizabeth immediately started to drift back asleep.

"What's happening?" She mumbled before her breathing slowed again.

"Well, my angel," I said. "You're changing into an Angel."