We inched backwards. Byron was right behind me and Henri was standing on my right.
"We would like to go." Byron told kCharles sternly. "All we want is to get to campus."
They weren't going to let us go. They wanted me.
"You should go" I barely turned my face to Byron. "They don't want you. They have come for me."
"You know perfectly well I'm not going to leave you" Byron's hand briefly touched mine. "I owe you one"
"Neither am I. Tell my Uncle that he is going to end up killing me if he wants Iris. I don't think he will like having my father after him." Henri took a step towards him lifting his hands.
"You should run" Byron whispered in my ear. "We can hold them back. You have no weapon"
"Nope" I lifted my own hands. Two flames appeared. "Let's see how well he can take me now that I'm no longer disarmed"
Byron didn't release my arm. He tried to tug me backwards but I had another plan.
I had a score to settle with Charles. He wouldn't hurt me while I could actually defend myself.
"You've got spunk kid. A lot of fire in you. It is admirable but don't forget what I can do" Charles slowly took off his gloves. "I've got skills that you can only dream off"
"So do i" I retorted not blinking my eyes.
"Don't kill the Duke's nephew. He isn't to be harmed" Charles warned the others.
i took a deep breathe and did my best to stare down Charles.
The three men surrounded us. We stood with our backs to each other.
"I wish I had a blade on me" I mumbled to myself.
"So do I" Byron responded.
"Watch Charles, don't let him get his hands on you because he will disarm you"
I wish I still had the cloak on me or had long sleeves on. He was a full grown Guardian with disarming skills. He was going to be difficult to fight.
Ares spoke in my head that Dr. Nan and Dr. Langston were on their way. We were on a no travel zone.
I had a plan to end this fight as quickly as possible. I just had to get my hands on him without him touching me.
I held my hands out on either side of me waiting for him to attack. My feet were apart so I could move in any direction.
"Run" Byron shouted at me. Instead of running, I stood my ground.
Charles appeared in front of me. Henri threw a knife missing his shoulder by an inch. I lifted my hands. Large flames appeared. He rolled his eyes at me.
"Do you really think you can hurt me?" he sounded amused by the idea.
"No I'm going to kill you" I lifted my hand throwing a ball of flame at him. I wished I had a sword on me. Byron and Henri were both busy fighting. I could hear shouts around me but I concentrated on him.
"When I get my hands on you" he lifted his sword. The tip met my shoulder. I felt the sharp tip and I cringed. "It is going to be worse then last time"
I tried to not show him any kind of emotion. He didn't need to know that I was scared of him. He didn't need to know that he haunted my dreams. There were so many things that he had caused in me. He had broken me but I had came back from it.
He would never know.
We fought. His blade barely missed me. I wasn't able to burn him. He was too fast. He knew how to read my body language. He seemed to know my moves before they even crossed my mind.
He smiled widely at me. He stepped away from me and lowered his sword slightly.
"Let's just end this quickly." he lunged for me. I took the opportunity and let my hand graze his arm.
I tried to find the familiar sensation of a gift. His gift would be easy to find but I needed more than a few seconds contact. I knew it well enough by now.
I had to throw myself aside as he tried to strike me with his sword. He lunged at me angrily. He was getting frustrated at me.
He lunged and I avoided him.
"Come on Iris" Charles swung his sword around. Behind me there were yells coming from Byron and Henri. They were still busy fighting.
"Charles" I made the mistake of turning to Dr. Nan and Dr. Langston who were sprinting towards us. "Not on my grounds" Dr. Nan had two blades in his hands.
"Grab Iris and go" Dr. Langston lifted his hand and the two men were thrown. I realized that Henri was on the ground and Byron had been trying to fight two at the same time. He was bleeding heavily from his arm.
Byron made to grab my arm but Charles was faster. He grabbed my arm and held me against him.
"The girl stays with me" Charles hissed at me. He lifted his sword to my neck. "Make a move and I will kill her"
I pressed my hands against his arm.
He slowly pressed the edge of his blade against my cheek. The trickle of blood dripped down.
Charles stepped backwards, dragging me with him.
"We will be leaving. If you follow me- I will kill the girl right in front of you"
"You need her" Byron shouted at him. "You wouldn't dare" he stepped forward. Charles fingers dug into my throat. He took the edge of the blade and pressed it into my collar bone.
I couldn't help yelling in pain. Again, I pressed my hands against his skin.
"Release me" I yelled at Charles. "Let me go, Charles."
"Stop fighting" Charles lifted the hilt of his sword and struck my head. I fell against him, slightly dazed.
I shook my head trying to clear my head. He was pulling me backwards.
"Let me go" I breathed. My head was still spinning. I lifted my hands and held onto his arm with a sudden surge of power. "I said let me go" I screamed. He stopped moving. I felt the edge of the blade against my side. He released me but I didn't let go of him. He stumbled to the ground. He didn't know what was happening to him.
"It is a terrible feeling isn't it?" he tried to push me away but I head on tightly. He fell on his knees. "I felt like that for days" I met his eyes.
His eyes widened but it wasn't fear. It was realization.
"I can mirror gifts" I whispered. I felt the sword on my side but i didn't let him go. "I've disarmed you completely."
"You can't kill me can you?" he sneered at me. "I'm still a Guardian- I have a sword."
"I could kill you. Someone else could kill you" I felt myself falling slightly. I could feel the pain in my torso. "but the worst thing I could do to you is disarm you. I want you to feel what I felt- hopeless" I released him.
"You are a coward- you can't kill me" Charles taunted.
"I'm going to leave you disarmed" I fell forward, clutching my side. "that will be worse than death. You will no longer be the powerful Guardian- all you will have is a sword." Charles lunged for me. In one motion he lifted his sword but he was blocked.
Dr. Nan was holding his swords a few inches from my face.
"Charles you are under arrest for treason" Dr. Langston stood behind Charles with his sword at Charles neck. "Get up slowly"
Charles did as he was told. He didn't look defeated on the other hand he started to laugh.
"Arresting me, are you?" he chuckled. "Let's see how long it takes me to get out of the ministries prison"
Byron helped me to my feet.
"I recognize you" Charles hands were cuffed and so were his ankles. The other two men were also cuffed. "You were that"
"It doesn't matter who I am" Byron cut him off so he wouldn't give him away. Dr. Nan was curiously staring at me but didn't say a word.
"Are you alright?" Dr. Langston asked us. I grasped my side tightly with a nod. Dr. Nan lifted his hand and waved it so that all three men were shackled together.
Byron took my arm and placed it around his neck. We both limped onto campus. Dr. Langston was carrying Henri's unconscious body.
Ezra and Thomas were waiting at the entrance to the school. They both ran towards me as soon as they saw me. Byron released me and the boys held onto me.
"Where is Henri?" Ezra released me. I nodded at Dr. Langston who was heading to the infirmary. "If he doesn't die- I'm going to kill him."
"It wasn't his fault" I defended Henri. We made our way to the infirmary slowly. I was bleeding heavily from my side. My head was starting to spin. I had a nasty painful gash on my face that was bleeding. Byron also looked terrible. He was grasping his bleeding arm tightly.
"Sit down" Nurse Gail ordered. She ran around the infirmary gathering supplies. I had never seen her act nervous.
She tended our wounds but wouldn't release us. She was going to keep us for the next few hours.
Byron and I sat down next to each other. Across from us was Henri who was fast asleep. He hadn't woken up. Nurse Gail said he was going to be just fine.
Rima was furious and she would barely look at me or Henri. She had every right to be angry and the punishment was going to be bad. It didn't matter that we had been hurt.
"Are you alright?" Byron looked me over quickly. He kept poking me until he was satisfied that Nurse Gail hadn't missed anything
I nodded not meeting his eyes. He pulled me into his chest with one of his hands.
"I hate you so much right now" Byron mumbled against my head. "I could have lost you, Iris" With a wince, I wrapped my arms tightly around him. "What would have I done if you had died before my eyes?"
"I didn't die" I answered. "Just badly hurt"
He released me and got to his feet.
"I should give you repetitions for the hell you put me through" Byron snapped his teeth. "Watching you fight Charles was" he stopped talking. He huffed once and ran his fingers through his hair. "It was terrible for me and watching him take his sword and" he closed his eyes momentarily. "I care for you so much Iris" his eyes flew open. He swopped down and pressed is lips against mine. He took my face in his good hand and held me to him.
My heart sped up as his lips moved against mine. I couldn't breathe as his lips were moving against mine. I lifted my good hand and held onto his face. Our breathing was ragged and loud as we kissed. We finally pulled apart. I could easily get lost his beautiful emerald eyes. His gaze was holding me. I wanted to keep looking into his eyes.
"The idea of losing you hurt, Iris" he mumbled against my lips. "and I couldn't- think straight" his voice was almost trembling. "The only thing I could think about was that I couldn't lose you"
His voice was soft and sincere but there was a sight tremble that I had never heard before. It shocked me to realize that he was actually scared. Byron Enden was scared-
He was scared of losing me.
The idea hit me like a revelation. He cared about me and I for him.
"And I'm scared of losing you too" I whispered, my eyebrows were furrowed downward. My heart was thundering against my chest. I felt like if every pore of my body was oozing sweat. There were so many things that were threatening to come out of my lips but I couldn't. Something was stopping me and I didn't know what.He would push me away again if I told him that I wanted to be near him again. I knew him so well. He would say that his work was his priority and that he was my instructor. I didn't want him to push me away even more. It hurt. A lot.