Page 50 of The Academy
“You’re not ready for the answers, darling.”
I scoff, sitting up and resting my head in my hands. How dare he? Who is he to know what I am or am not ready for? He pretends to know me, but he doesn’t. He knows Darlia, but he doesn’t know PX-3, The Academy-trained assassin who can take anything.
“I wish you would believe in me,” I whisper, realising too late I said the words out loud. I want to cry, scream, and protest all at once. My mind is so clouded, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.
The Academy is watching my every move, yet so is Cayden. The Academy wants to kill me, but Cayden wants to protect me. The Academy is apparently lying to me, yet Cayden promised the truth.
I can’t take this anymore. It’s not fair.
“Cayden, I need answers.” My voice is pleading, I’m begging.
“Then find them.”
“Oh for God’s sake.” I stand and walk away, making it all of three steps before Cayden stops me. He turns me to face him, cupping my cheek in his hand, his thumb gently caressing below my eye to my cheekbone.
“I’m not trying to upset you, Darlia. But if you don’t find the answers for yourself, you won’t believe them.” His gaze moves down to my neck again, inspecting the medical tape surrounding the cut since he never rebandaged it.
“Damn it, come with me.” Cayden doesn’t wait for a response before I’m being pulled back inside and led up the grand staircase. He leads me into a bedroom, sitting me down on a bed before walking off to the bathroom, grabbing a first aid kit and kneeling down in front of me.
“It’s going red, love. I need to clean it so it doesn’t get infected. It won’t be nice, but I promise to be gentle.”
Cayden’s hands move quickly but gently, removing the medical tape and grabbing a clean gauze, soaking it in some sort of liquid and cleaning the cut. Whatever it is causes me to pull away, wincing.
“I know, love. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
His touch is light, applying just enough pressure to clean the wound without trying to hurt me, but it doesn’t stop the pained whimper from leaving my lips.
“Almost done, good girl.”
He’s gentle, so gentle with me. Like he truly is afraid to hurt me. The gauze is almost completely red now, the blood both dried and new seeping into the woven threads as he takes his time cleaning it, leaving nothing behind.
Then, he throws it into a metal trash bin, lighting a match and throwing it in next. I feel the heat of the flames, and for the first time in a while, I feel safe.
Cayden wouldn’t put me in danger, he’s just proved that. “I don’t want any reason for The Academy to harm you, and I’m pretty sure leaving behind evidence of your blood isn’t exactly their gold star material.”
I would laugh, but my throat is throbbing so bad I want to scream. For a shallow cut, it hurts more than some of my real stab wounds. Hell, the knife I took to my side wasn’t as excruciating as this. This sucks.
“Thank you for helping me,” I croak out, my voice breaking slightly. Concern flashes in my eyes, but Cayden notices immediately.
“You’re okay, love. Your throat is just a bit swollen from being cleaned. It will go down by morning. Once I wrap it up, we’ll put some ice on it, okay? Try not to talk, even though it’s your favourite thing to do.”
I roll my eyes, not fighting off the smile. I lift my chin and give him a better view as he wraps my neck again, placing on some type of mesh bandage instead of a gauze.
“It will help the cut get air, which is what it needs to heal. Your doctor was an idiot for wrapping it so heavily without cleaning it properly.”
I shake my head, biting back another smile as he tapes the end of the bandage. “There, all done.” His lips briefly brush the fabric, placing a gentle, almost reverent kiss to the mesh cloth before pulling back.
“Leave it on until morning. If it looks red or swollen, go to your doctor immediately. I mean it, Darlia, you can’t let this get infected. You could get sick.”
He’s worried about me.
Why does that make my stomach flip and twist in ways it shouldn’t?
“Promise me, Darlia. Please.” His hand moves to my cheek, cupping my face and forcing me to meet his eyes. “Promise me, love.” I nod, taking a breath before whispering,
“I promise.”
But the only thing I can think about is one day soon I’ll be expected to kill Cayden, and I’m not sure I could do it anymore.
