Chapter 135: offerings

Chapter 135: Chapter 135: offerings

Amelia watched them, frozen with uncertainty. She wanted to help, but she didn’t know how. She wasn’t a trained fighter, and the sight of the rogues tearing through the grounds made it painfully clear how outmatched she was.

Before she could decide what to do, a familiar voice entered her mind. It was a mind link

Amelia? Where are you? Are you hurt?

Her mother’s voice was sharp with fear.

I’m fine, Amelia answered quickly. I was separated from Kate, but—

Listen carefully. Find somewhere secure and hide. Do not try to fight any rogues. We’re coming for you.

But there are people who need help—

Amelia, find somewhere safe first. We’ll deal with the rest.

Then a sharp shout snapped her attention back to Enzo.

He had been driven to the ground.

The rogue towering over him lowered its head, baring its teeth. Enzo tried to roll away, but before he could get his feet beneath him, the creature lunged for his throat.

"No!"

Amelia’s scream tore through the air.

She spun around, desperately searching for anything she could use as a weapon. Pieces of broken furniture and debris littered the ground near the entrance. Among them lay a long metal pole with a jagged, sharpened end.

She ran toward it and snatched it up.

What am I doing?

Her hands trembled around the cold metal.

She had never fought a rogue before. She barely knew how to defend herself against an ordinary opponent, let alone a creature strong enough to overpower Enzo.

But she couldn’t stand there and watch him die.

With a raw scream, she charged.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

The rogue barely had time to turn before Amelia drove the sharpened end of the pole into its side.

The creature shrieked and lurched away from Enzo, clawing at the metal embedded in its flesh. Amelia staggered backward, nearly losing her grip on the weapon as the rogue twisted toward her, snapping its jaws in fury.

For one terrifying moment, she couldn’t move.

Then Enzo scrambled to his feet and positioned himself between her and the creature.

"Amelia?" His eyes widened as he took in the pole in her hands.

She stared at him in disbelief. How does he know my name?

"Stop talking, lets move!"

Amelia dropped the pole and rushed to Reid’s side. His face had grown even paler, and his breathing was uneven. She slipped an arm beneath his shoulders, helping him stand.

He immediately tried to push her away.

"Don’t. You could get hurt."

"I’m already hurt, and I’m not leaving you here."

"Amelia—"

"We have to leave. Now."

Enzo moved to Reid’s other side.

"I’ve got him."

Together, they managed to get Reid moving, though every step was a struggle. Amelia gritted her teeth against the pain in her shoulder and kept her grip firm around Reid’s waist.

They had barely made it around the side of the building when Dean appeared, blood smeared across his knuckles and his breathing heavier than usual.

Dean’s gaze lingered on her for a moment, as though he had a dozen questions about why she had fought instead of running. He seemed to decide there wasn’t time to ask them.

"This way."

They all went back inside the school building as Enzo and Amelia half-carried Reid through the entrance. They hurried down a short corridor and slipped into an empty classroom.

Dean shut the door behind them.

"Help me move these."

Amelia immediately grabbed a desk and dragged it toward the entrance. Dean moved another desk into place, then added several chairs while Enzo carefully lowered Reid to the floor near the back wall.

The furniture scraped loudly across the tiles as they worked. When the last chair was wedged into place, Dean tested the barricade with both hands.

It held.

For now.

Outside, the sounds of fighting continued to rage across the school grounds. Screams rose and faded in the distance, followed by heavy crashes and the unmistakable snarls of rogues hunting their prey.

Amelia stood beside the barricaded door, struggling to catch her breath. Her hands were still shaking, and the pain in her shoulder was becoming harder to ignore.

She looked at Dean, then at Enzo, who was crouched beside his injured brother.

They had made it inside together.

Enzo glanced up at her, grey eyes still sharp despite the blood streaked across his jaw.

"Thank you... for helping us back there. But why didn’t you just run like everyone else?"

Amelia swallowed. The truth sat heavy on her tongue—because I have feelings for all three of you, and watching you die would break something in me I couldn’t put back together—but she forced it down.

"I just... wanted to help."

Dean pressed harder against the wound on Reid’s side. Blood kept seeping through his fingers.

"He needs help. Fast."

The mind-link flared open again in Amelia’s head.

We’ve reached the school, her father’s voice said, steady but urgent. Where are you?

Still inside, she answered quickly. Someone here is critically injured. Please hurry.

There was a short pause. Then her father’s voice returned, quieter.

I know you’re scared. But there is a way you can help him.

There’s nothing I can do—

There is.You can heal him. You have a divine power inside you that can mend the boy. You only need to follow my instructions.

Amelia’s eyes widened. She felt like she had misheard.

What are you talking about?

Enzo noticed the shift in her expression at once.

"Who are you talking to?"

"My father," she said aloud. "Mind-link."

Her father’s voice continued.

I know I sound insane. But I would never lie to you in a situation like this. Not when lives are on the line.

Amelia closed her eyes for a second. She knew that much was true. And she would do anything if it meant Reid stopped bleeding out on the classroom floor.

What do I do?

Go to him. Kneel. Recite the prayer we say every morning and every night at home. The rest will follow.

She moved without hesitation, dropping to her knees beside Reid. Enzo and Dean both stared.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked.

"Just following my father’s instructions."

She began the familiar words, voice soft but steady, the same cadence she had spoken a thousand times before in the quiet of her family’s home.

The moment the first lines left her lips—

A sharp, mechanical alarm cut through everything.

Amelia’s eyes flew open.

She was back in the present.