To Be Found ♧ Legacies

37 | it's a mad world

Celia plunged through Dr. Saltzman's office, tearing books off shelves and taking pictures off the wall. If there was a secret place he was hiding the urn she was going to find it. 

She pulled out one of the drawers from his desk and threw it to the ground. As it fell to the ground, the contents cluttered apart with a bang, drawing the unwelcome attention of those nearby.

"Celia?" Hope Mikaelson's voice was like nails against a chalkboard to Celia's ears. The werewolf shot a glare at the tribrid. Hope, Landon, and Dorian all stood in the doorway to Dr. Saltzman's room, taking in the mess Celia had made.

"I know you know where it is Hope," she growled, lunging towards the tribrid. It was a mistake. In one fluid motion, Hope flung her against the wall, using her magic to hold her there. Landon shined a bright light onto Celia's face. Instinctively, she shut her eyes, blinded by it. Whatever it did, it seemed to achieve its purpose, as the three of them shot knowing looks at each other.

"She's infected," Landon confirmed. Infected? Infected by what?

"Just help me find the urn and I'll be out of your way." Celia struggled against Hope's magical hold.

Hope stepped forward. "I'm sorry about this." She held her hand against Celia's arm. "Inpulsia."

A shock reverberated throughout Celia's whole body as she collapsed to the ground. At first, it felt like a fog clouded her brain, but when everything cleared the weight of her actions that day settled on her chest. Her breath got caught in her throat as he looked up at Hope.

"I-I'm so sorry."

Hope sent her a pitiful smile, but it was enough to ease some of the guilt on her chest. Landon offered her his hand and helped her up. Celia wished she could melt into the wall at that point.

"What happened?" Her voice came out as no more than a squeak. She wished she had the courage to have spoken out more because she hated to look of pity she got from Hope.

"Our friendly unicorn came with a not so friendly parasite," the tribrid answered.

Like a tsunami, the memories from the day came crashing upon Celia's mind. Dread pooled in her stomach. She was isolated, and it was all her own doing.

"Rafael," she breathed, locking eyes with Landon. For a moment, he held her gaze. She looked away. "I need to apologize." That was what she was supposed to do right? Apologize when she screwed up? But did she screw up? Since the minute Raf challenged Jed, she's thought about doing this. Challenging him back was what she wanted, right? She groaned to herself. Less than two hours into her reign and she was already omg questioning herself.

"Uh, he's probably at the talent show," Landon answered her question, "that's where most of the school is."

The blood drained from Celia's face. The talent show. The locator spell. Was she already too late? Did she miss the witches' performance? Landon and Hope exchanged a look with Dorian. Apparently they all came to an epiphany too.

Dorian flashed a UV light into the hallway. The same light that had blinded Celia earlier. A trail of neon blue lit up the hallway. Their whole group picked up the pace, following the trail right to the place Landon had told her to go: the great hall.

Celia guessed it was time to find out just how late she was, as the whole group pushed open the doors. Lucky for her, Rafael was on the stage. That meant the witches hadn't performed yet. For a moment her heart swelled, but not before the guilt took over. Raf was still representing the werewolves in the show. He didn't have to do that. He wasn't the alpha anymore.

"We need a way to deslug whoever's infected, fast," Dorian said as the four of them scanned the crowd.

Hope and Landon turned back to face their teacher, but Celia kept her eyes on the alpha on stage.

Behind her, they debated the best way to mass shock a crowd. She was focused on one boy in particular.

Raf's dark skin seemed golden under the light of the stage. Even from where she stood, she could see a glint in his eye. Was he infected by the slug? She wondered. Her eyes studied his movements. Had he been infected when they fought?

"And we're back!" The emcee announced, bouncing onto the stage next to Raf. "Here comes our next act!" He moved off the stage, causing all eyes to fall upon the ex-alpha.

"My name is Rafael." He spoke calmly as he addressed the crowd. "And my talent is spoken word poetry."

Celia's brows shot up in surprise. Spoken word poetry? Of all the talents he could have chosen, this one surprised her the most.

Throughout the audience, fingers snapped.

"Oh no," Landon groaned behind her. For the first time since they had gotten there, Celia turned to look at him. "He promised he wouldn't do this again?"

Celia narrowed her eyes. "Is this a common occurrence?"

He didn't get the chance to respond before the audience ceased snapping and Raf started talking.

"Stillness." The first word od his poem cut through the audience like a knife. Then the cellist started playing. "A light breaks inside." He holds his hand to his chest. "Unity. And division." He raises his hand as if to point at the sky. "Tension." It seemed like he was acting out each of the words with his hands. Celia watched intently, her head tilted to the side. She had never been the biggest fan of poetry, but watching someone perform it aloud caused the hairs on the back of her neck to rise. She just wasn't sure if that was in a good way or not.

Behind Celia, Hope leaned into Landon's ear. "Suddenly I remember why I didn't want to be in the talent show."

A small smile made its way onto Celia's face from the comment.

"All these wolves staring at me, waiting for an answer. Expectation is a cancer." His eyes slide across the crowd before they found Celia and her crew at the top of the stairs. For the smallest second, he held her eye contact, causing her heart to skip in her chest. Suddenly, she felt like she was intruding on a deeply personal moment. He didn't break her gaze as he said, "But I did it for you. If only you knew."

While he didn't keep hold her eye contact, he kept his eyes on their group, holding out his hand to stop the bass.

"Two brothers brought up together. Then one's left behind because he's no longer needed. A weight has been lifted. Violence inside of me." He turned his gaze back to the audience. "Inside I'm-I'm bleeding."

Hope leaned towards Landon again, whispering, "What's he talking about?"

Landon didn't respond, but Celia could imagine the shaking of his head. She knew what Landon was feeling. The racing heart, the confusion. Raf was calling both of them out for something. The question was for what? The answer only each of them knew.

Raf continued. "And I can't believe what I'm feeling. Since the moment you let us be." Once again, she found herself staring into Raf's eyes. "Buried so deep, rising up, enchanting me. And it won't go away." He stood as he spoke. "And I was never one to let go of my pride. Not until today."

Celia bit her lip, taking a deep breath keeping all of her emotions down. She glanced desperately at Hope, tears brimming in her eyes. How could she have been so blind? Raf was loyal, he was kind. In the long run, he had had the pack's best interest at heart, her best interest at heart. "I-I need to go."

Hope simply nodded before Celia sprinted outside of the great hall.

Celia scolded herself. She was the selfish one. So selfish that she couldn't see all that he had done. She collapsed onto one of the benches outside the school, letting the night air swallow her. Her mind wouldn't stop racing in circles.

What else had she been blind to?