SERAPHINA'S POV
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Artemis' voice cracks the room, sending chills down my spine. Before Ace can even regain his footing, Artemis lunges at him with ferocious speed.
I watch, frozen still and horrified, as Artemis' fists hammer down onto Ace with relentless, blinded fury. Each blow lands with a savage precision, as if his life depended on crushing his friend's skull into unfixable pieces.
Ace is down, sprawled on the floor, defenseless-yet that does nothing to stop Artemis' assault.
I hear the sickening squelch of battered flesh under Artemis' bloodstained knuckles. Each impact splatters crimson droplets, creating a chilling canvas on the walls around us.
And even then, Artemis doesn't stop.
No, he doesn't even blink.
"Artemis..." My voice is strained and mangled from the choking I endured earlier, still trembling as I watch in horror.
Artemis doesn't hear me; he's deaf, too engrossed in dealing blows to Ace, giving in to a bloodthirsty rage that's pulling his friend closer to the edge of death.
Driven by the last shreds of adrenaline in my system, I rush forward, desperately trying to stop him before he does something we'll all regret.
"Artemis!"
I lunge for his cocked arm, but he effortlessly shakes me off, sending me to the floor with a mere flick of his wrist before he lands another brutal punch on Ace.
At this point, it's clear that Artemis is lost to his rage, blind to everything but his own wrath.
Dizzy, my legs wobbly beneath me, I muster the strength to stand once more.
Ace is barely conscious, gasping for air, his face strewn with his own blood. His eyes, nearly shut, leak tears that mix with the blood.
Another hit could be the end, the point of no return.
Desperate, I lunge forward, throwing myself between them. My arms are outstretched, my eyes squeezed shut, bracing for an impact that, miraculously, never arrives.
Finally, I dare to open my eyes.
Artemis stands there, his arm still raised but frozen mid-air. He's panting, eyes still that unearthly shade of gold with predatory, narrowed pupils.
But for the moment, it seems, the beast within him has been stilled.
"Step out of the way," he growls, his voice a low, menacing pitch that commands obedience.
But I resist the urge to step aside, nailing my feet to the ground instead.
"No, you're going to kill him."
His voice roars back, bleeding with both hurt and rage.
"You're protecting him? After what he's done to you?" It's as if my plea for Ace's life is a betrayal to Artemis himself.
I bite down on my trembling lower lip.
"He touched you, Sera. He touched what's mine. He should die."
I can't fully grasp what he means by his words, what he's really getting at. Maybe it's about the contract, maybe something else entirely?
However, those words do something to me. If my head wasn't spinning, I'd pay attention to the fragile skip of my heart.
Right now, sorting out my feelings is the least of my concerns.
"I know you're angry and you don't mean any of that," I say, stepping closer to Artemis - even against my better judgement. "If you kill him, it's going to make things worse-for you and for me. I don't want the guilt of this, knowing it happened because of me."
He doesn't say anything, just keeps staring. His eyes are this intense gold, and I'm begging, silently, for a shred of humanity to break through those icy walls.
His jaw clenches, tightening painfully like he's wrestling with himself on the inside. Like the very thought of letting Ace go tore at him.
"Breathe, Artemis..." I murmur, daring to graze my shaky fingers against his cheek, my voice barely above a whisper.
Artemis shuts his eyes for an agonizing heartbeat. I hold my breath - hoping.
When they open again, the gold is gone. What's left is blue-still angry, but not murderous, not like before.
And I finally breathe again, knowing he's heard me.
"It's not your fault," he says simply.
The adrenaline coursing through my veins finally starts to fade away, draining me of the energy that had been keeping me standing. The effects of being strangled by a werewolf with far superior strength finally hits.
I feel myself falling backward all of a sudden.
He rushes forward, catching me in his arms just before I hit the ground. His face, ridden with worry and fear, comes into focus as he holds my face up to meet his gaze.
I manage a weary smile and raise my trembling hand to wipe away a smudge of blood from his cheek. That is just before I black out.
***
I wake up in the school clinic, seemingly hours later, dressed in baggy pants and a shirt that couldn't be more different from the skin-tight dress I had on earlier.
The fabric smells distinctly of Artemis.
Rather than dwell on how I ended up in these clothes, I dig my nose into the fabric, inhaling a scent that strangely comforts me.
A throat clears nearby, snapping me out of my embarrassing thoughts.
Sitting up straight, I swerve my head to the right and spot Kamila. She's been standing there for God knows how long, unknown to me.
And here thought I'd been left alone to recover from the trauma.
Kamila's hands are folded under her chest, and she looks at me with an expression so dull it does nothing to reduce the awkwardness of her sudden appearance.
"Sorry to startle you," she says, taking a seat on the bed, but her tone suggests she's not really sorry at all. "I didn't want to stand there until you noticed me," she explains, catching the look of dumbstruck surprise on my face.
"What are you doing here?" The words come out more abruptly and defensively than I intended.
"I heard about what happened with Ace," Kamila starts, her eyes as flat as her voice. "It's sad, really. No one expected he'd ever do something like that-assaulting a student right after smuggling moonshine into school premises. What a shame." Her expression remains blank, making it impossible to gauge the sincerity of her words.
Is she here because she's genuinely concerned? With Kamila, it's hard to tell if it's ever sympathy or indifference.
"Thank you for coming to check on me...I guess," I say, cautiously threading each word as if walking on thin ice.
Her face softens for the first time, and she tilts her head to the side, her smile easing the tension in the room.
"It's no big deal. We're friends, after all." Just when I start to feel a sliver of comfort, her face changes abruptly, growing serious. "However, I'll confess that one of the things that pushed me to come here was hearing about Artemis' involvement in the whole case."
A sudden chill goes down my spine.
Kamila's fingers idly stroke the half-dead flower by the bed, finding distraction in its wilted petals.
"He was there, and he attacked his own friend pretty badly-over a human girl he's only known for a few months."
I swallow hard, feeling an uneasiness stir in the pit of my stomach.
I'd been cautious around Artemis, trying to keep a distance, especially after her indirect and direct suggestions to steer clear.
Now, with what has happened, it all comes off as if Artemis and I have a hidden thing going on, an idea I've been actively trying to quash.
Kamila's lips curl into a small smile as she chuckles.
"Relax, I'm not mad at you. You said you don't like him, and that's what matters to me. But I must admit, I am concerned for Artemis's well-being."
"Concerned?"
"Absolutely. I'll let you in on a little secret because I consider you to be an ally." She leans closer, her eyes locking onto mine. She captures my hands in hers. "You see, we're on a bit of a deadline-Artemis and I-to seal our mating rite once and for all. Our families have been breathing down our necks about it. But...it seems my mate has developed cold feet. And in this period of hesitation, he's found an infatuation with you to pass the time."
Her words slam into me like a truck hitting a brick wall. A tightness envelops my chest, squeezing out the air, as if Kamila's words have physically wound itself around my heart.
"What? T-that's not possible..."
"Not possible? He almost killed a man today, and for what? Because you were roughed up a bit?" Kamila's eyes briefly look me over, giving a subtle hint of irritation.
I bite my lower lip, holding back the words threatening to spill out of me. Ace forced himself on me! And she talks about it so dismissively, like my trauma is nothing.
"The fact is, he has become slightly infatuated with you," she states, flatly.
That truth sits still in the air between us, and I struggle to pick my next words carefully, to calm my racing heart.
"I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. All I want from you is one favor. It's a bit tricky, but I assure you, if you help me, you can have whatever you want in this school. Your life here would be set."
"And what is it that you want from me?" I ask, nausea swirling inside me as the conversation drags on.
"He's been in this pattern for a while, attaching himself to a fling, always a new obsession, and losing interest the moment he gets what he wants."
A bad feeling creeps into my chest, unsettling me further.
"I still don't get it."
She sighs, rolling her eyes, exasperated at having to spell it out for me.
"In simpler terms, I want you to sleep with my boyfriend."