Chapter 9 | courir pour protéger

courir pour protéger

Run to protect

I CRAWL onto the bed and lay in fetal position. I am a loser. I don't deserve to be a ruler. How can I protect Junior when I know I couldn't protect his father, my own brother? How can I even protect myself now?

I want to go away. I don't want to live anymore. I am a waste.

I have no idea when I drift back to sleep because when I wake up there is dark outside. I get up and search for a clock but there is none there. After all, a Ruby who is century old won't need a clock, right?

I get up and head outside. My body is sore for sleeping in the same position but I ignore it. I am still dizzy but I have had enough rest. A plan needs to be set in action and we must decide what needs to be done for now. I can't wait any longer in the forest, you may never know when the hybrids attack.

I walk to the dining area to find Katrina and Zara having dinner on the table. Zara smiles when she sees me whereas Katrina doesn't even acknowledge me. She is still angry with me. She has all the right to, I don't know why Zara isn't angry with me. Can't she see what a monster I am?

Guru is in the kitchen with Junior. He serves dinner to Junior and then turns to look at me. Worry is written all over his face. I know the look on his face, but I don't want to think about it. He loves me, I know that.

For what reason, I am not aware. I still remember our kiss and the feelings that erupted in my heart when we kissed. They were unlike anything I had felt before, and it was as if we were meant for each other. Love is a game I am, although, not willing to play anymore. I have no desire to fall in love again. It has caused me too much pain.

I settle down on the slab of the kitchen and Junior climbs beside me. I take his plate and start feeding him his dinner. He loves it when I play with food with him. A smile emerges on his face and I smile for him. He is so innocent and it pains me to think that he has to grow up faster in order to survive in this world. I will start his training as soon as he turns nine. That is when I started. But before that, I will teach him about the kingdoms. I will do all the things his father was supposed to. I can never replace Alexander but I have a duty to raise him.

Guru stands beside me with a plate in his hands and a smile on his face. I don't know what is he thinking, but his smile makes me smile even more.

"Stay away from my son or else you will kill him too." Katrina says as she snatches Junior from the counter and drags him to the dining table.

This is it. She has crossed a boundary.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" I ask her.

She then turns to me with a mocking smile on her face.

"You know what exactly I mean. Anyone who is close to you dies. Stay away from my son." She says with an angry tone.

Her words are daggers to my heart. How can she possible think that after all I have done?

"Listen now, Katrina. I thought this was all okay but it's not. I am not responsible for the death of your husband? Why? Because I love him and I will never do anything to harm him. Remember he was my brother. I love him with all my heart. yes, I rejected Sebastian and he turned against us. But is it my fault, no. Sebastian chose to betray us for his own reasons. I had nothing to do with it. nothing. I warned my brothers that something is about to happen, they didn't listen. And I will regret letting them go every single fucking second of my life. If I don't cry that doesn't mean I don't feel. You know better than anybody what training we have to go through to be a royal. I have to be strong. For Junior. For you two. You are my responsibility now. I can protect you only if you trust me." I tell her.

She stares at me for a second, processing everything I said. But the mocking smile doesn't disappear from her face. She still holds tightly to Junior, refusing to let go of him. Junior's face is filled with pain, I can make it out with the look on his face. Why is she doing it to him?

"I don't care. You killed my husband. And you will deal with the consequences." She says.

"What consequences?" Zara says.

She gets up and stands next to me. Her hands are crossed.

"She has done everything to protect us. She saved us from the fire, what else do you want? Stop acting like this, Katrina. It is not like you. Alexander won't like his wife to be like this to his own sister." Zara says and I feel relieved that at least someone trusts me.

But it doesn't seem to make any effect on Katrina. She just stands there staring at me.

"What did you do, Katrina?" this time Guru speaks up.

I now face Guru, confused. What does he mean by that. Is there something I am missing?

And then I feel it. Magic surrounding the house in all directions. It is a protection spell; I can feel it. I run to the balcony to see what's going on and I then spot fire. The forest is burning.

The hybrids are here.

I look at Guru who is already on the move. He seems to know what he is doing.

"What did you do, Katrina?" I ask her.

"I don't trust you any longer, Olivia. So, I sent a message to the Rebel King. They are ready to protect us- me, Junior and Zara. They will let us live if we hand you and Guru to them. I sent them the location and now they are here." She says, without any regret on her face.

Is she mad or something?

"Are you mad? They will never let you live, Katrina. They want Junior so they could kill him and get the Henrietta flower to bless them the full powers of the Royals. They can't be Royals until all the heirs to the throne are dead!" I shout at her.

She says nothing. She doesn't seem affected at all. I know she doesn't trust me anymore. She doesn't let go of Junior.

"I don't care. You are lying. Zara and Junior stay here. You are not going anywhere." She says and when she finishes, the protection wall suffers an impact and the entire house shakes. We all fall down from the impact. Guru and I are the first ones to get up and I am on high alert. Magic runs through my veins and I am ready to fight.

I look at Zara and help her to get up.

"I am going with you." She says and I nod. She trusts me and that's all I want. I then look at Junior and grab him on my arms but Katrina interrupts me. She doesn't let go of Junior at all.

"He isn't going anywhere with you!" she shouts and tries to snatch away Junior from me.

I glare at her. How dare she do that to me?

"If you want to come with me, then do. Or else stay here and die." I shout back at her.

The wall around the house weakens as there is another impact. They are showering fire balls on us, trying to break the wall around us.

"We have to leave right now!" Guru shouts and I know it is now or never.

"No! You aren't going anywhere! You surrender to the Rebel King right now!" Katrina says and then suddenly another impact comes and the wall is broken. Why couldn't Guru enforce a stronger wall?

The next thing I see is Katrina falling down. A bullet hits her head and I hear Junior scream. I quickly form a shield around us and we follow Guru.

Katrina is dead because of her own foolishness. But then why do I feel I let Alexander down? All four of us run downstairs with Junior in my arms. I am not letting go of him ever. The shield around us protect us from the bullet shots that come blazing at us from anywhere. The rebels have come here to kill, nothing else. They want blood. Guru takes us to the basement. I hear the front door burst open and three men walk in. I hand Junior to Zara and deal with the traitors. The magic in my blood is hungry for blood and I give into it.

I hear the heart beating in their chests and I know what to do. I imagine their hearts exploding and that's what exactly happens next. All three of them lie down, with their blood splattered everywhere. I pull their guns towards me and hand one to Zara. Junior is in shock with what happened right in front of him. I didn't want to do this in front of him, but it had to be done.

Guru grabs my hand and all of us run downstairs. There is silver gate coated with a thick sheet of magic in the entry of the basement. Guru unlocks the gate immediately and we follow him inside. The gate locks behind us immediately and Guru starts going through the things shuffled in the room. There are potions almost everywhere.

He hands three bottles to us.

"Take them and don't ask why. Your grandfather devised this plan a long ago and we are going to follow it. Don't ask me why." He says.

We simply nod and gulp down the potion without any questions. I trust Guru, he is the only one I can rely upon as of now. I hear someone trying to get through the gate. Black magic surrounds the gate and I feel the magic protecting the gate crippling down. How can someone get through those strong layers of magic so easily? It's not that easy.

I have to do something. So, I use my magic to aid the gate. I develop a shield around the gate and work against the black magic. My magic is black too, it is the only magic that I can do now. I don't know why, but the magic of a true Ruby has somewhat left me. Earlier my magic was red and now it is only black. It scares me but black magic is stronger. I feel my magic cutting down the magic on the other side. The person on the other side is strong but not as strong as me. I channel my energy into the magic. I can't let them get in.

Guru starts chanting and uses his magic to develop a portal. I don't know to where; nothing is safe for us now. We are now like criminals on the run, nobody wants us. Guru lost his forest because of the stupidity of Katrina. How did the hybrids even get in here? Only us royals have the access to the Forbidden Forest. Only the true blooded Rubies, the one which have the royal blood can come here.

That means the other royals have sided with them.

Traitors.

Guru destroys the bottles and starts burning everything in the room. I am focused on protecting the gate. He then asks Zara and Junior to get through the portal. They do so.

"Let's go, Olivia!" he says and I nod.

As soon as I will let go of the gate, they will come inside. We will have milliseconds to get through the portal and close it. That's a lot of work. I nod, not letting go of the gate. He goes through the portal and I follow him. As soon as I do, my hold on the gate loosens and I feel the person on the other side winning. When I am on the other side of the portal, I let go of the gate and the gate bursts open. I don't have time to even look at the people entering the room.

Guru starts closing the portal but the person on the other side holds him off. The others start firing at us and I develop a shield on our end of the portal. Guru struggles against the black magic and I have to help him.

With one of my hand keeping the shield intact, my other hand lets out the magic to help Guru close the portal. Working on two things at once is difficult but I have learnt from the best. With my help, the portal starts closing slowly. The shield doesn't allow the intruders from entering the portal but I feel my other hand weakening. Zara stands next to me and helps me with the shield. Her magic isn't strong as mine but it is enough to help strengthen the shield. The portal is closing, it is dwindling and I can barely see anyone from the other side.

I sense the magic of the person on the other side weakening and then, me and Guru completely overpower him. The portal closes not before I spot the person on the other side, his face clearly looking into mine.

My heart skips a beat when I see the familiar black eyes staring into mine.

It was the guy.