Tempting Darkness

Aleera

The classes droned on, and I wasn't looking forward to being in the sun for the rest of the day. Although, for once, I actually made it around the obstacle course. I was pretty proud of myself, yet the cramping was becoming ridiculous. Lycus called out to me and waved me over. Moving off the course, I made my way over to him. For some reason, he decided to run the obstacle course.

"Did they give you any shit after I left?" Lycus asked me.

"No," I told him.

He nodded. "Good, go to lunch then. After, you can take the rest of the day off."

"Really?" I asked excitedly, and he nodded.

"Just stay out of trouble and away from Darius and watch Kalen for me," he said, and I nodded before realizing he wanted me to go back to their room.

Sulking, I headed back inside and to the mess hall. I felt queasy lining up for lunch, yet no one said anything to me, and I moved to a table closest to the door up the back so I had a quick escape if needed. One thing became apparent, though. They all feared Lycus because not one of them approached me, and they let me eat. It wasn't until I got up that one of them spoke.

"She is getting up." Satish smiled while also getting up, and I recognized Lycus's error. He said not to mess with me while I was eating. That wasn't going to stop them when I wasn't. Satish's leering smile made me gulp. The man was huge and just as intimidating as Zac and Deacon in his black-ops uniform. How they all wore those uniforms in this heat was beyond me.

Cursing, I sat back down and nibbled the corner of the other half of my sandwich. Satish and Zac growled, sitting back down and glaring at me. Once again, I waited for the siren and the voices to fade before getting up. I was expecting them to be waiting outside to ******e me but clearly, being late for Darius's class scared them from wanting to get revenge.

Quickly looking around before I ducked down to the cells, I was excited that I could give Ryze some extra food today. I hoped I could keep this up because he would be fully healed in no time if he was getting the proper amount of food required.

I was scratching his belly as he leaned on his good wing when I heard the door open. Ryze hissed, and I grabbed his beak to quiet him.

Fear wrapped around my throat, and my skin itched as I listened to footsteps coming down. I got to my feet, trying to hide Ryze with my body, when Tobias appeared.

"I thought I would find you here. Interesting pet you keep, Aleera," Tobias said, sauntering closer. I stepped back, and Ryze hissed.

"Darius will kill your pet if he finds it," Tobias said, looking around me. I stepped in front of his gaze, blocking his view of Ryze.

Tobias clicked his tongue. "I saw you come down here this morning."

Tears welled in my eyes because Ryze was all I had, and I knew he would hurt him. Tobias stepped down the last step with his hands behind his back.

"Please, don't hurt him," I whispered.

"Him? How do you know it's a male?" Tobias asked, tilting his head as he watched me.

"It's the beak. Females have red beaks. His beak is black," I answered, which seemed to surprise him.

"You like birds?" he asked, stepping closer, and I turned quickly, plucking Ryze off his nest and tucking him under my arm. Tobias stared at Ryze, and the phoenix hissed at him. I grabbed his beak, trying to quiet him, and moved further back into the cell when I noticed that Tobias still had his hands behind his back.

"I will put him in the forest. You don't have to hurt him," I told Tobias. Ryze hissed, and I glanced down at him. "Shh, Ryze..." I whispered. "You named him?"

I nodded while watching him warily and a hand he had behind his back.

"What I want to know is how you got close to it and why it's letting you touch it. Those things are vicious and hate dark fae," Tobias said.

"They were torturing him, so I saved him. Once he figured out I wasn't going to hurt him, he got used to me," I told him, which was the truth technically.

He tilted his head to the side, and I could tell he was making sure I wasn't lying. "Very well, but you need to keep him hidden if you want to keep him," Tobias said with a shrug while still eyeing Ryze.

"You will let me keep him?"

Tobias nodded before pulling his arm out from behind his back. I noticed he had a cage full of mice. Ryze hissed and squirmed, wanting the mice now that he had spotted them.

"What's the catch?" I asked him.

"No catch. You answer honestly."

I chewed my lip, debating whether or not to believe him. "What do you want to know?"

"Last night, did you try to escape?"

I looked down at Ryze. "No," I answered.

"You were with your... Ryze," he said while reaching into the cage. He grabbed a mouse out by its tail. It squirmed and squeaked.

"Sit and hold onto that thing. It bites me, I won't be happy," Tobias told me.

I sat down, hugging Ryze to my chest, mindful of his wing. Ryze's eyes followed the mouse hanging by its tail. Tobias stepped closer, and Ryze hissed at him. Posted by FindNovel.net; visit us for more free novels. "You bite me, fucker, I will scorch your a*s," Tobias told him.

"Shh, Ryze... He said he wouldn't hurt you," I whispered to him. His snake-like tongue slivered out of his beak, and he licked my chin. Tobias watched him curiously.

"You know they are bonding birds, right?"

I nodded, patting Ryze's feathers and calming him down. Tobias brought the mouse closer, holding it out to him. Ryze struck like a cobra, and Tobias jumped, nearly losing his fingers when Ryze plucked the mouse from his hands.