Shadow Realm

12

"What do you mean?"

"You've always seen my green eyes, but no and I think now you've understood .."

"No Nathan, I always see your dark eyes and light hair.."

The boy looked at her with a bit of surprise.

"No way, Cassie, no one sees me like that..."

"I swear I've always seen you like this..."

"Are you sure you're the only one who sees me like this? Because if it's not like that then I'm in danger..."

"Cam thought you were a Nephilim but everyone doubted you..."

"Doubt how?" The boy sat down.

"Let's just say you don't have elegant features like an angel!"

"Oh, thank you so much for the compliment!"

Nathan smiled and looked into Cassie's eyes which were always brown to him. He lifted the sheets.

"It's so cold in this room!"

"If you're cold you can take my blanket, I don't need it."

Perhaps Nathan inherited more wolf characteristics than Nephilim.

"Don't worry about me..."

But Nathan stood up and covered him with a blanket. He was so close that Cassie could hear his heartbeat. Nathan paused to look at her, then returned to his bed without saying a word.

Although Cassie had just lost her mother, she felt a strange peace, as if she had already resigned. There will be no funeral, as her mother said in the will that Cassie did not know she had left. His mother just wanted to be cremated and his ashes scattered in the forest. He didn't want to do it, so Robert did it for him.

"Nathan?"

"Yes..."

"Thank you" he said weakly.

"About what? I don't feel too cold anyway..."

"Not for that." said the girl sighing.

"Thank you for saving my life."

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The sword pierced Cassie's heart. "You are a mistake and must be eliminated."

"No, wait! I'm like you! There's Nephilim's blood in me!"

His brother stabbed him with his sword and neither Cameron nor Robert did anything about it. He returned to his home, the scene repeated itself. But this time he did not want to die, he felt the time had not come.

"No, no, please, Morgan, don't kill me!" Morgan smiled at him, as when he dropped him back then during training.

"Your last words?"

The smell of winter and the new rain came pouring down on his mind. "Nathaniel"

His eyes snapped open and he realized that he was sweating everywhere. He looked around and realized that it was just an ordinary nightmare and that he was in the bed that he had slept on the night before. Looking ahead, he realized Nathan was staring at him with his big brown eyes. He tried to catch his breath but it was impossible. He was still shaking and sweating.

"Nathan..." Cassie whispered a few centimeters from the boy's face. The boy's hand wrapped around his arm and squeezed it so hard that it almost broke.

Nathan finally regained consciousness and released Cassie's arm, she slowly sat back down on her bed.

"You're scaring me!"

"Am I screaming?"

"I tried to wake you up but you didn't wake up..." Cassie rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes.

"It was an ordinary nightmare, only this time it seemed real..."

"What's? Do you want to talk about that?"

For a moment, Cassie considered doing it, but she didn't.

"No, thank you."

The radio alarm clock on the nightstand that divides the two beds shows four o'clock, within hours Cassie has to train with the others at the Academy. He got up and went to the bathroom. He knew it was crazy, but he had to take a shower and relax.

The nightmare was not the same as usual: this time she had seen the face of her killer and she felt like she was back to the night before, when the episode actually happened. The fact that he had smelled Nathan's perfume didn't bother him much. They shared the same room and then he woke her from this nightmare... He looked at himself in the mirror and almost grimaced when he saw his own eyes. They reminded him of Morgan. He looked down and went into the bathroom. He had to concentrate on something else and not think about the nightmare, otherwise he could not continue his training.

What happened a few minutes earlier left Nathan speechless. When he touched Cassie, he felt what she felt. It was as if he was in Cassie's dream. He had seen Morgan, his cat's eyes pointing a sword at Cassie's heart. And then when he woke up, everything was gone. He didn't know if these things might happen, but it was definitely something strange and he was debating whether to tell Robert or not. He had called her in his sleep, he had spoken her name clearly. What if he feels that he is in a dream? Or does he just remember that he was only a few feet away from her?

He heard voices coming to the room and pretended to be asleep. When Cassie re-entered the room, she was wearing only a short-sleeved shirt and boxer pants. He wanted to tell her that if he wanted she could lend him something, that way he would feel cold, but not a single word came out of it. Surely Cassie didn't realize she was awake, otherwise she wouldn't have appeared in a room like this.

The girl suddenly turned towards him and looked at him "Well? What are you looking at?" but clearly his tone was joking.

Caught up in her actions, she limited herself to an almost hysterical laughter and turned to the other side of the bed. Robert thought it was a good idea to keep Cassie under his control, but he wasn't so sure anymore. He did not know how to treat her, what to say in certain situations... It wasn't easy! There had never been another woman, or at least no other girl who had ever been close to her. But his attention was currently directed elsewhere. He was worried that Morgan would show up in class the next day and he did not completely forget what had happened. In that case it will be a problem!

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"I want to express my condolences to the girl for her loss and apologize on behalf of our family. My niece is immature, I realize this and she will be punished for her unworthy actions."

Robert looked at George Wistledes and could see nothing but a man who almost killed his son instead of facing reality. Only he was then. Robert knew that many of his mistresses were not of the Nephilim species at all and perhaps he even had some children with the women. The day Cassie's dad was brought home, she was there. He obviously could not forget John's face. They grew up together and he often saw John's terrified expression whenever he made his father angry about something, but this time John wasn't scared at all.

John has said several times that he fell in love with a woman of another species, Cassie's mother. He never denied the son he had from his first wife and was willing to take it if necessary. But his father was a bad man then and now, and instead of welcoming his own son with open arms, he tortured him for years.

"I'll ask you to keep him participating in the training of new hunters. He can learn more than you can imagine ..."

"NO!" the man said he lost patience.

"I don't want your niece to be around anymore! Do you realize what He is doing? He killed the girl's only family, and now he's alone..."

"I wouldn't say completely alone. I know he's in your protection now."

The fact that he was aware of the situation did not surprise Robert. The Wistledes family always knew everything, almost always.

"There's no other choice. The girl had no relatives who could take care of her".And he really meant it! Despite Cassie's fame and the strength of the original family, they are not worthy of having the girl under their wing.

The man laughed "He's old enough to take care of himself."

Robert stopped the urge to punch him and took a deep breath.

"Excuse me, Mr. Wistledes, but the lesson is about to begin" he got up and opened the door.

"I'll ask you to no longer offer your nephew as a collaborator"

"Robert, maybe you won't do it just remember that here I am the one who can decide. If I say my niece must be present, she will be present."

"You're right, I have nothing to say about that" said the man tilting his head to one side.

"But if he shows up at this rehearsal, I can't convince you that he'll come home alive."

George looked confused "What do you mean?"

Robert smiled "I mean if the girl tries to kill him for revenge, I won't stop her."

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Cassie hasn't slept a bit since and the bathroom hasn't helped her at all. Nathan, by contrast, managed to fall asleep, perhaps for several hours. He knew this because at some point Nathan's heartbeat became regular and his breathing became heavier.

When he woke up and went to the kitchen, Robert was not home. He left a note telling the children they should join him in training. After a bad night of fear, she decides to go alone. He didn't want to wake Nathan.

The cold morning air hit him so hard that in the middle of the road he lost the feeling in his legs. Now the path to the Academy is a little longer. The building where Robert lived was almost on the edge of the human city while the Academy was in the center of Holding. They don't have a lot of tools in those places. There are no buses or subways. Living in Holding is a bit like being alive in the 20th century, but Cassie loves the atmosphere. Despite everything, it was the only place where he felt at home.