Chapter 16

Miaka’s P.O.V

“Oh no.” Kathy looked up from her microscope and cringed. “Do not blame me for this! You know exactly how scary Rain can be!”

“I know.” I locked the door behind me before checking down the empty hallway. “I figured if I was to have a mental breakdown, this would be the ideal place.”

“Miaka?”

Kathy got up from her chair just as my legs gave out from under me and I fell to the floor, feeling my vision go blank for a second. But then, Kathy was in front of me, holding me up from falling face first onto the floor.

“Hey…hang in there!” She wrapped her arm around me tightly in a hug and somehow I managed to do the same.

Five minutes later, Kathy and I were both lying on her office bedroom, a small extra room attached to her workspace since she was always cooped up in here. Even though she’s a mage, she has always been more intrigued with science than magic.

Now, she held my hand, providing me with the energy I needed to get back on my feet. Emotional distress could leave a person just as hurt and exhausted as any physical scar and I had a bad habit of keeping everything inside, letting it eat away at my health slowly until I finally crashed.

“Was it Rihero?” Kathy asked now, one of her hands waving through my hair in silent comfort.

I nodded. “I told him that the Council knew about me being a hybrid and that if he tries to sway the people in my kingdom, they’ll only see it as a threat against their king and his way of trying to cause chaos.” I skipped the part where I wasn’t breathing, because no one could know that.

“And it still didn’t work?” I had my eyes closed so I couldn’t see her face, but I had a hunch that she was frowning.

“I think he’s obsessed with me for some reason.” I shrugged, snuggling in close to her warmth. “He said that this wasn’t over yet and that he’ll keep finding ways to own me until I finally give in.”

The sound of his voice, the way he had spoken those words…I felt a shiver run down my spine as I remembered them once more.

“I have this feeling that something is very wrong with him, Kathy.” I opened my eyes to look into her light brown eyes. “This person just doesn’t feel like my brother anymore.”

“If you feel that, I’m not going to doubt your judgement, but we need to find the source of this change.” Kathy spoke rationally, wrapping an arm around me. Anyone who saw us now would thing we were lovers, but Kathy had known me since I was a baby and she liked mothering me around. She would also make me health supplements in case she thought I was skipping meals. Thanks to all the mother-figures around me, Rain, Grapy and Kathy, I never missed not having a mother.

“You’re right.” I sighed. “I need to step up my game before this obsession gets out of hand.”

Rihero…the same man who had once rescued me from a pit of vipers…now wanted me as a mate. The transition from a hero and fatherly figure that he had been to me all these years…to this man who lusted after me…this was a transition I didn’t see coming and I was not ready for it.

“For now, how about you take a break?” Kathy suggested. “You’ve been too stressed lately with the League thing and then Rihero. And now you have that child to take care of as well. You have to remember that no matter how powerful you are, there’s only so much your mind can handle.”

“You’re right…” I turned so I was facing the ceiling. “I need a break but…whenever I think about it, I feel like everything will fall apart if I’m not focused on something.”

“Then talk to someone you think brings you comfort?” Kathy shifted to look at the ceiling as well. “If it’s Queen Mother or your father-”

“Kaleb.” I spoke without hesitation.

“Pardon?” Kathy whipped around to face me. “Kaleb as in the guy who’s literally working for the enemy?”

“Yeah…” I covered my face with my hands. “And Kaleb, as in the guy I had my first kiss with…”

“Your what?” Kathy sat up in bed, looking down at me in what I assumed was astonishment. I was too embarrassed to look at her so I curled up further into a ball. “Wait…wasn’t your first kiss with that noble’s daughter you used to play with as a kid? What was her name…Ariel?”

“Aria.” I peaked from behind my fingers to find Kathy looking at me in amusement. “And yes…but her father never let me play with her again, and she was a girl. This was my first kiss with a man.”

“Ah!” Kathy grinned. “Look at you being all grown up. And you found someone who isn’t scared of kissing you back.”

“Yeah…but that was before Rain cut his throat…so…”

“Oh…Oh dear!” Kathy face-palmed herself before scrambling to get her phone. “I better tell Jacob not to pick me up today. This is way more interesting.”

“Wait…Jacob?” I moved my hands away from my face. “The Chrone of your coven Jacob?”

Kathy paused with her phone halfway to her ears; her eyes wide. “Yeah? So?”

But the next instant, I could hear the phone ringing on the other end and the familiar voice of the Thunderlin Coven Chrone, Jacob Blackwater floated in through the receiver. I didn’t even need inhuman hearing to listen to his mushy voice going, “Hey babe.”

“Hiii…” Kathy giggled awkwardly. “I’ll-um…I’ll be a bit late, so please don’t pick me up today, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow morning? In the…um…coven meeting? Okay? Bye!”

She hung up the phone before Jacob could respond; her cheeks flushed pink as she kept looking at her phone.

“Hey babe?” I smirked, sitting up in bed beside her. “Dating the Chrone? Nice.”

“Oh shut up!” Her blush became darker. “He asked me out last week, okay! I hadn’t had time to tell you since you were already dealing with so much.”

“I’m happy for you, Kathy.” I told her honestly. “Good news is always welcome, no matter what I’m going through. You’re my best friend and seeing you happy makes me happy. And you know what; this was exactly what I needed! A good chat with my best friend about normal things.”

“You mean boy things?” She asked.

“Especially boy things.” I nodded. “You’re an adult, I’m an adult and you now have a boyfriend! And I…well, I have an obsessed stalker.” If the King of all Dragons could be called that.

“And Kaleb? What are you going to do about him?”

“I need to find out exactly how sincere he is.” It was the most unfortunate thing in my life that I could never trust anyone easily, and Kaleb had already accepted that he was helping me because he needed help in return.

This also reminded me… “Kathy, can you ask Al to find out more about Tyanna Takeshi?” I asked. “Kaleb has a younger sister, the same age as Zero, but she’s in critical condition at a hospital and no one knows what’s wrong with her. I gave her a drop of my blood and she responded well to it momentarily, but as soon as it was out of her system, she went back on life-support.”

“That serious? Tell me which hospital, I’ll just go and-”

“No.” I shook my head instantly. “Kaleb has a thing against mages. I don’t know what but he told me absolutely no Magean help.”

“Okay…” Kathy frowned, thinking before she nodded in understanding. “I would still need the name of the hospital. I need to ask the doctor of the patient’s symptoms. I can’t help cure her unless I have all the details.”

“Thanks, Kathy!” I gave her a hug before getting out of bed. “I’m going to go home and get some rest. I’ll message you all the details. Go call your boyfriend back and tell him to pick you up.”

“Okay.” Kathy told me with a smile, but stopped me just before I could leave. “Miaka…we can’t keep him sedated forever.”

I paused to think and took an instantaneous decision. “Then we wake him up tomorrow.” I told her finally. “I’ll prepare a room for him at the Castle. It’s the one place he’ll be safe and monitored.”

Kathy was right. We couldn’t keep the child sedated, so we take care of him. And we make sure he never has to suffer again.