Ethan leaned on the wall behind the sofa and stole a glance at the three chatting women. Specifically, a woman and two girls.
Mrs. Rose, Layla, and Helen gossip among themselves. It was Helen doing the talking. She spoke about the cruel things the kidnappers did to her.
Mrs. Rose's facial expression changed anytime Helen recounted the ordeal. Her heart broke into several pieces from just imagining the torture her daughter went through. And warm tears finally raced down her cheeks.
Her daughter has suffered a lot.
"Come here, hon." Mrs. Rose pulled Helen to herself and hugged her tightly. The mother and daughter hugged each other for a full minute.
Layla just watched the two. They reminded her of her mother. Speaking of which, she hasn't seen her mother for a while now.
"Come here, would you?" Mrs. Rose pulled Layla to join the hug.
After some time, they finally let go.
Mrs. Rose looked behind her. Ethan had a broad smile as he stared at the three women.
"Thank you," Mrs. Rose whispered to Ethan.
"That's what friends are for." Ethan mumbled back.
He strode to the other side of the room, where a round dining table with chairs was neatly arranged.
The dining table and sofa armchairs circle it. with some water glasses turned upside down on a flat tray. And freshly squeezed orange juice sat on top of it.
Ethan picked up a glass from the table, poured the juice into it, and went outside.
Ileus and Noah were already standing outside, gazing at the long, looming trees in front of them.
The surroundings got darker as the sun slowly fell and the moon came into view.
Ethan stood beside them and said, "Thanks again, guys. I wouldn't have done it without your help."
Noah gazed at the moon and stared at Ethan. "We promised to watch each other's backs, and Helen had somewhat become a friend to me as well, so it's nothing."
"Thanks for understanding. By the way, the commander gave me a deadline, so we should wrap all this up and return. "
The trio stride inside again.
---
Mrs. Rose hugged Helen again at the door when she was about to leave, and murmured something to her. A kiss to the forehead again, she left and joined the others.
Mrs. Rose watched their backs as they disappeared into the dark night.
"I'm sorry Helen. If only your father was here, you wouldn't have gone through all this. "
----
They arrived at the academy again. The gang went their separate ways, hoping to grab a quick shot eyes, since it was already reaching daytime.
Ethan had other plans for the night. He needed to report back to the commander. If not, the commander might think he was still away.
He entered the familiar waiting room, which was already filled with some elite students and military personnel, but the person who caught his attention was Kai.
The latter sat at the extreme end of the room with an arrogant expression. He jolted up from his seat when he noticed Ethan.
For a moment, Ethan could swear he saw Kai's eyes widen a bit and his hands shake slightly.
Kai sat back on the bench again when he noticed all the stares coming from the other people in the room.
Ethan wondered if the latter knew what happened because that would be the only way for him to describe this situation.
It felt as if Kai knew about his little rescue.
"Hope not," Ethan thought as he sat close to the elite female students.
He noticed the stares from the side of his eyes.
The purple-haired female student wasn't trying to hide her stares at all.
Ethan sat straight and looked her in the eyes. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
The purple-haired student had a small nose, long, thick purple eyelashes, and small lips that had purple lipstick on them.
The girl didn't say anything for a full minute as she continued to gaze into Ethan's gold eyes.
"These humans are weird. Now, what's up with this one? " Ethan thought because the atmosphere was now really getting weird.
He didn't know if she was just analyzing him for a potential boyfriend or just weird. Was she using her ability on him? Does her ability require her to stare long into the target's eyes like the eyes of the dragon?
Or is she a psycho? Ethan didn't want to move his eyes away from the purple-haired girl because that would make him look inferior.
He didn't like that. He hates to be looked down on. It was just how the dragons lived their lives. It was a habit they all now had thanks to their first progenitor.
"Hey, this is getting weird, you know." Ethan couldn't take it anymore. If she wouldn't shift her gaze, he'd kindly tell her to do so.
"You're Ethan, aren't you?" She finally asked
Her voice sounded smooth and silky with no bump. It surprised Ethan a bit, because most times when girls talk to him, they stutter fast and sometimes say something rubbish.
But he could tell she was confident just by the way she spoke. It made him wonder again.
I hope this is not another problem.
"Yes, why do you ask?"
She paused. "You're the one who fought against that robot in the war room."
Ethan nodded.
He didn't know where this conversation was going, but he could tell that the girl was curious, but to be curious and to stare at him for a full minute was still weird.
"You wanna spar with me sometimes? I could use a punching bag. "
"Seriously? Did you just call me a punching bag? "
Ethan gave up. This girl had some nuts missing in her head. He doubted if she was normal. I mean, who openly asks someone to be a punching bag?
"I think I'll pass on this one. I don't want to be tied up like a rope again." Ethan said.
"Oh, what about just normal sparring?" She persisted.
Ethan glanced at her hand. Her ability level was 8.
It wouldn't bother him to spare some time with her. After all, he would benefit from it too.
"Yes, if you put it like that," Ethan said. He stretched out his hand. "I won't be fighting a person I don't know. So what's your name? "
"Vile." She grabbed his hands, her grip warm and firm. "Vile Valery."
Fuck! another pure blood.
********
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