SGE His Guarded Heart (Prequel to His Darkened Heart)

Chapter 4 Black and Red

It was then in that moment that Krushem felt out of place. He felt like an outcast compared to the rest of the boys here. He wasn't hyped enough to jump off the bannister or strip his shirt, and he had enough decency not to go to the bathroom right in the open.

What had Krushem gotten himself into? He never wanted to go the School for Boys in the first place. It was a last minute decision he'd made in the hopes that perhaps he could use the Storian to break his curse. He hadn't expected this school to be full of incompetent, rowdy boys.

Krushem didn't belong there—that he was certain of. But if he didn't belong there and he couldn't just go back to Altazzara, where did he belong?

For a single moment, Krushem thought of what would become of him if he stayed here in this place. Perhaps he would become just like the others, disrespectful, arrogant. He'd become a boy who suppressed his manliness and without that manliness, he'd never be grown or mature. Perhaps even, Krushem would become much like Armeq and Balleng. Armeq and Balleng didn't care that they'd left their homes begins. They were driven by greed, by the treasure that Tedros promised if only they captured the witch, Sophie.

But...then there was Aric. The murderer, the sadist who killed Carmelo without mercy. Aric only cared for himself. Like Aric said, he didn't want Tedros's reward. He'd come to the schools to make someone pay. He was driven by a vengeance that Krushem had never experienced himself before.

When someone wanted revenge on an enemy, it meant that enemy had wronged them. Krushem knew whoever wronged Aric would certainly pay. Aric's determinism would allow that vengeance to arrive at his enemy's doorstep. Aric would get his revenge, but how many others would get hurt along the way? How many more innocent lives like Carmelo's would be taken before Aric's revenge on his enemy finally unfolded?

Krushem's limbs shook and he had to sit down on one of the steps to keep himself from falling over. The memory of Carmelo's death plagued his mind nonstop, and he couldn't get rid of that memory no matter how much he tried.

He felt tired. His head felt heavy and he wanted to rest. He hasn't slept in so many days. But if he slept, his nightmares would come. They always came.

But the busyness of his surroundings and his fear of the witch didn't keep Krushem from resting his head against the top staircase. He could see the dust floating in the air, hear the boys bellowing war cries as they began to chant, "Death to Sophie! Kill the Witch!"

Krushem wished he could kill his witch with the red eyes. But he didn't know the slightest clue of how to kill a witch and if he did, how did he know if that would break the curse at all?

Armeq and Balleng joined in the chant. The boys' voices became louder, ringing through the castle, and their chant was accompanied by stomping. Their chant became a war cry and their stomping morphed into the sound of a hundred pounding war drums.

Despite the racket, Krushem felt the darkness close in around him. The darkness would bring the witch, he knew. But this time, the darkness felt comforting like a blanket covering him from head to toe.

This time, when Krushem found himself in his dreams, he was in an unfamiliar place.

The sky was inky black and dotted with a thousand shining stars. These stars blinked down at Krushem and in the center of that sky was a swollen, pregnant moon. Moonlight bathed the ground in a silver glow, and there was a huge field of flowers growing before Krushem. The moonlight made the flowers glow an ethereal glow, and Krushem was stunned by their beauty.

When Krushem stepped closer, he reached out to the sky as if he could trace his fingers across the surface of the moon. White Rose petals were swathed across the ground and Krushem followed the trail of rose petals to where a wooden arch stood erect. It was constructed from twisted sticks and decorated with a silken white fabric that blew in the cool night breeze.