Draeyer Academy (Rewrite)

Chapter 25-Smile

It had been the longest 24 hours of Gael's life so far. He knew that Alec would come out fine, as his body was just adjusting to his sentiral power. Still, he couldn't help but stick to his side all day. Thankfully, it was easy to accomplish his paperwork and coordinate with his colleagues without leaving.

Headmaster Donovan stepped in and handled the news of Alec's sentiral power. They couldn't hide it completely, so they opted to reveal that Alec simply had an aura that allowed draes to be friendly towards him and nothing more. The others who saw what transpired at the lake were asked to make a vow of silence. Gael gritted his teeth at that.

Damn, those stupid Sentire laws that damned bastard made.

In truth, he knew that those laws were for the safety of Sentires and the general public. He was just angry that Alec would still have to deal with people trying to make a profit off of draes. Fucking bastards always forget how important draes are because they can't see what happens during the night of Preservene. It's people like them that would doom us all.

He looked up from the documents in his hand when Alec stirred. Placing the papers on the small table next to him, he reached out and ran his hand through Alec's sweaty locks. He quickly found out that doing so would calm him down when Alec was tossing and turning in his sleep.

Alec relaxed and Gael took the time to run his gaze over his little brother. His brows furrowed when he once again saw the scars littering his body. There were claw marks, bite marks, and blade marks. There were even puncture marks as well. The worst were the six crisscrossing scars on his back. It looked like the work of a blade, and whoever did it...was very reluctant but swift, like they were trying to not inflict any more pain than necessary.

His hands clenched at the sight once more. Alec had been through so much throughout the years, and he wasn't even 20. He could perfectly imagine a young child hiding in a quiet corner, silently gritting his teeth as he tended to his wounds despite the pain. The more he imagined it, the more his heart broke.

After caressing Alec's forehead one last time, he resumed his work. This child will be given all the happiness he deserves. I will make sure of it.

------

He watched worriedly as the doctor tended to Alec. The young man had fallen silent, dread appearing in his crystal eyes when he mentioned his suspicion of what his sentiral power was. Remembering what happened with Crimson and the bastard thief, Gael quickly realized why Alec reacted in such a way. He wanted to reassure Alec that the red crystal and his powers were completely different, but the doctor arrived and postponed the conversation. The moment the woman leaves, he would immediately tell Alec. It would not do for him to be afraid of using his power.

It was a couple more minutes before the doctor finished. She told Gael that Alec was fine, and would be moving about soon enough after one more day of rest. After leaving a dose of fever medicine, he showed her out the door.

When he came back, Alec sat with his back against the headboard, silently looking at his hands. At first, Gael thought he was just busy thinking, but he sat on the bed when he noticed something was wrong. He reached for Alec's hand, taking note of how clammy it was. He checked his pulse and found it was beating rapidly. By then, Alec would've already told him to not touch him but the young man held on to his hand tighter.

Damn you, Gael. Why didn't you notice sooner?

Remain calm. Do not panic or you'll make it worse.

"Alec," called softly. Squeezing Alec's hand gently, he called him again. "Kiddo, can you hear me?"

He got a tiny nod and a short inhale.