"Is that a bad thing?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"It is. Very bad," Layla said as they walked away from the elevator entrance.
No one made any sound for a full minute before Ethan said, "The Boulders, right?"
"Yeah, you messed with them, remember?"
"I heard they are influential." Ethan wanted to see Layla's reaction. Noah had already given him a lot of info about the pure Boulder family but who knows? He might be exaggerating the whole thing.
"They are," Layla said. "And they are mostly known for their assassinations."
"Assassination?"
"Yeah, it's their thing. Over the years, they have eliminated prominent people in society, including fellow purebloods.
"What have I done?" Ethan thought inwardly. Then a thought hit him. He now had a second thought. Maybe he should just go and apologize to Kai, he thought, but his dragon pride wouldn't allow it.
In fact, he had begged for his life in a life and death situation. Furthermore, he knew what he did was the right thing to do. He saved someone, and he's proud of that.
Lalay looked at Ethan, who seemed to be in a trance. She knew it because of his actions against Kai. A feeling of regret.
For a moment, she felt lost staring at his golden pair of eyes. She could tell that the vibes she felt from Ethan weren't human-like.
Most of their walk continued in silence. They scuffled through the crowd, who didn't notice them, but why would they? When they all had their focus on the various fights going on in the room.
The entire academy has become a sort of battleground. Ethan felt all this fighting wouldn't give space for the other academic activities, but he knew the academy would balance all this.
"You have a girlfriend?" Layla said.
"Hmm." Ethan didn't hear what she said because of his crowded thoughts.
"Nothing. I said nothing," Layla said, with visible red cheeks. That thought had only lingered in her mind, but she mistakenly split it out.
"What a relief!" Layla heaved a sigh of relief. She would be embarrassed if Ethan had heard her. She thought it only felt natural for the boy to do the asking.
All this time, Ethan didn't know where they were heading, but since Layla also wore the white uniform, that meant an elite student.
After walking away from the lousy crowd of students, the duo stopped at a metal door. The door had a white inscription, "Hall of Elites," in the middle.
" Hall of elites?" Ethan read aloud. "Are you planning to take me in here?"
"Yeah, anything wrong with that?"
"Everything, everything is wrong. I mean, look at me all in black uniform." Ethan pointed to his black uniform he wore.
Layla smiled. "About that; there is no rule that states that normal students can't come in here."
"Right, no rule like that," Ethan muttered to himself.
Layla placed her thumb on a red screen on the wall beside the door.
The screen glowed blue, and the door shifted to the side, merged with the wall, and opened.
Ethan came to this floor hoping to see the elite and, especially, the purebloods, in action, but the first student he saw looked unimpressive. Ethan knew that most of them were rich kids who reached this level with the help of their powerful parents.
But the hall of the elite, on the other hand, would be the best place to observe and analyze his future, potential, enemies.
The duo stepped into the new room, or more like a large hall. Ethan followed behind Layla, who led the front.
The room still had the academy's signature grey-colored walls.
The students inside this room seemed more coordinated and orderly than the first hall, and they were also few in number.
Ethan thought the students with high potential were few. That's why only a few elite students used this hall.
The duo walked past the little crowd and came to a stop in front of a group of students, who had their focus on a fight going on.
"Excuse. Excuse me. " Ethan and Layla moved through the crowd and stood at the front, but Ethan's pupils widened when he saw the one fighting.
" Noah?"
***