(Rigel)

I watch her leave with those bloody brothers from my room’s window. Every instinct screams to carry her away and crush her to my chest, not letting any other male touch even a single hair on her head.

Has she been intimate with him? Will I feel her emotions when she does?

Now that will be a new kind of torture. The one I certainly don’t wish to endure.

Amaia is supposed to be my light and yet she is mated to Alnitak and she deeply cares for him. She doesn’t speak clearly and yet I understand her predicament. The love she holds, the way she glances and glows when he is with her.

Amaia cares deeply and she loves selflessly. Without caring about her health she had let me feed on her.

I loathe myself for that, and sometimes I think that Alnitak is better for her than I am.

He is right when he says he won’t hurt her. That’s something I can’t promise even if I want to.

Yet again, my selfishness wins over and I seek her out. Desperate, like a drowning man, gasping for air. She is my air and I am not going to let anyone snatch her away from me.

Hours go by while I stand in my window and contemplate when the sirens go off, informing us that Orion is under attack by monsters. A breach has been created.

My thoughts go only to Amaia. An uneasiness creeps into my heart. Since, she went in a royal carriage all dressed up, she had gone to the palace.

I have to go ensure she is safe. Hastily I open the window of my room and stand on the ledge. My shadows unfurl behind me, moulding into wings, ready to take flight.

The sirens inside Orion sound again with an announcement is made.

"Head over to the dining hall. No one is to leave Orion. The boundary crystals have been activated."

Damnit! I won’t even be able to fly out now because of the boundary barriers they have put in place. But I have no intention of sitting like a duck in the dining hall. I need to get to my girl.

Climbing down from the ledge I close the window and head towards the door. Once I arrive in the corridor I see other members of my guild huddled together.

"We need to head over to the dining hall," the blonde clown says.

Every time he speaks I want to punch his stupid face. But the thought of Amaia kicking his ass in the training calms me down. I wish I had seen her in action though. That would be so satisfying.

Guild master; Jasian Ewine storms over, seeming slightly panicked but trying to keep his shit together.

"Let’s move." He ushers everyone with his right hand. Everyone begins to follow him. I need a plan to get out of here. This piece of ass won’t help me.

Ramian and his mate walk together hand in hand.

"Where did the breach happen?" Luthial asks. He is the only one I can stand among them.

"I don’t know yet, but the initial report is that it could be the palace area and a few other places," he grimly says, and my heart becomes more restless.

They murmur amongst each other while we arrive in the dining hall. It’s slightly panicking with house captains and house masters trying to keep the peace.

I observe that the headmaster and Alnilam are both missing, along with the newly appointed guy who tried to give me nightmares and later detention. Not knowing I have already lived through the worst of nightmares.

"Settle down. Everything is under control. There is no breach in the academy and our hunters and sentinels are managing the situation," one of those instructors says. I don’t even know their names and I don’t care.

Suddenly, the bond goes taut with her fears and my shadows agitatedly shift on my body. My jaw goes tight and my hands clench. So many negative thoughts cloud my brain.

Is she in trouble?

Has she been attacked?

I need to get out of here and find her. My eyes dart in every direction, and I spot Serpen’s Guildmaster. She is talking to her guild members in a hurried voice.

An idea strikes me. I am familiar with her powers. Maybe if I can convince her she will help me.

Quietly I approach her and stand just a few feet away. I clear my throat gathering her attention.

She turns and acts slightly surprised before asking in a curious voice. "Ezran. Do you need anything?"

"Yes, I was hoping we could talk in private."

I gesture with my head, keeping my voice low.

She raises her right brow but says, "Of course. Give me a second." She finishes giving instructions to the boy she had been talking to and turns to face me.

"Come." She leads me just outside the dining hall and into the torch-lit corridor. A few sentinels are running around, but other than that, it’s quiet.

She turns to face me and asks, "What is it that you wanted to say?"

"I don’t have much social etiquette so I will get straight to the point. Amaia is my mate and she is not here. I am sensing her fear and agitation through the bond. So I want to go seek her out." I lay it out for her.

Her eyes almost spring out of her sockets at my words. Her mouth opens a notch. She blinks rapidly at me. "She is what?"

"My mate and is the only good thing in my life. If anything happens to her, I am not sure what I would do." I thrust my hands in my pockets to keep them from balling up and punching the wall. The agitation is growing by the second.

"Oh! I wasn’t aware. But, you are a recruit under training. I can’t just let you walk out of here. We have to follow emergency protocols." She nervously pushes her long hair back. I can see that my deadly aura affects her.

"Do you have a mate?" I question, putting authority in my words, and she gulps. I know she is close to Alnilam, but I am unaware of the relationship between the two. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"No."

"Then you can’t possibly understand what I am going through. I have found her after a very long time. Just let me go, find her. I will do anything."

Something shifts on her face as if a realisation settles in her heart.

"Okay! But I am only doing this because I have a soft spot for Amaia and also true mates are rare. Please don’t make me regret this. Return here as quickly as possible. Use this to get back." She takes off a ring with a blue gemstone and hands it to me.

"Circle it three times in air and a portal will open to where you wish to go." She then leans in and whispers the last words. "Don’t clash with Alnitak. Jeez! I don’t even know what unholy love triangle you guys are brewing."

If the situation hadn’t been so dire, I would have laughed at her words.

"I just want to get my girl."

Jamina takes me to a deserted classroom.

"You have ten minutes to get back. I don’t want any monsters coming through the portal." I nod at her.

She turns away and flicks her hands, moving them in a circular motion, three times. A dark vortex opens, tearing apart the fabric of reality.

"Go." She tilts her head at me. I hadn’t expected her to help me so easily but I will take it, for now and think of the consequences later.

I walk forward without any fear and step through the portal. My body swirls around just for a second before I find myself landing on solid ground. The portal disappears behind me, closing as if it had never existed. That’s a deadly power to have.

Glancing around I find myself in the dark part of the palace grounds. My shadows lift off my body, trying to find her. They cloak me so no one can find me and I remain in the shadows.

I take in a deep whiff but her scent is faint. My feet carry me forward and I arrive at a spot where a massacre seems to have occurred. Carcases of dead monsters and insects line the grounds.

Amaia’s scent is strongest here but there is no one in sight apart from a few sentinels.

But something calls me there. An energy boost. Cautiously, I move ahead, and in the distance, humming with a very familiar energy, I find Amaia’s necklace.

Half-buried under a carcass and glowing with this purple glow. It emits a faint pulse, like a beacon, calling me towards it.

Bending down, I pick it up and clasp it in my hand. It hums in my hand as if recognising my touch.

Why is my mate’s necklace lying here and where is she?