Chapter 50. The flower that devours life

The next morning I went to Rachel's library. The girl was doing her usual thing, sitting at one of the reading tables, but she paid attention to me.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Razor and I have already prepared everything for our departure, and tonight we will leave the academy forever. I was waiting for this moment, but at the same time I realized that I still had one important unfinished business.

The one I was going to deal with right now.

— What are you doing up there? Rachel frowned when I had been frozen on the threshold for almost five minutes, «Come here.»

I was nervous, but I still took the first step.

It's either now or never. I was well aware of this, and I wasn't going to back down.

Quietly approaching, I stopped a couple of meters from her desk. My fists clenched by themselves, but I still gave out:

«Rachel, I have to tell you something.»

— what?

— Actually… I'm leaving here soon.

The girl's expression paled. The book she was reading at one point became unnecessary to her. Slowly getting up from the table, Rachel asked uncertainly:

— what? Where to?

I turned my head away.

— I can't tell you.

Rachel paused.

«Then I'll come with you!» — She said sharply, — When you…

— no! — I objected loudly, — I'm going alone.

I had to lie that the second prince would not be with me, so as not to anger her once again. Because I was sure that she would have just such a reaction.

Knowing Rachel's character, she had to be angry, or else remain indifferent. These were the only emotions I encountered during our acquaintance.

So I was ready to leave before she started throwing chairs.

But surprisingly, there was no such expression on the girl's face. Rachel blinked, as if trying to figure out what I meant.

— Wait! Tell me, what's going on?!

Rachel came up quickly, grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes. I wasn't going to give her the hope I saw in her eyes.

At that moment, I remembered Razor's words:

«Make sure she never wants to see you again.»

Perhaps this was the most correct decision. In order to avoid death for all of us, I must not hesitate and show rigidity right now. After all, our future depended on it.

With that thought in mind, I abruptly pushed her away and screamed:

«Don't come near me, monster!»

Rachel was speechless.

— W-what… What did you say?

«I said I don't want anything to do with you anymore!» — I said, — All these people were right… You really are a monster!

I shouted it at her, but Rachel didn't hear it. She looked like the whole world had collapsed around her.

With a trembling hand, she tried to touch me again, but I abruptly rejected her. The girl shuddered.

— L-Leriana, you…

— Don't talk to me anymore! — I cried, — Everything is over between us now!

Spitting out these poisonous words to her, I never turned around and flew out of the library. Deep down, I thought it would be better for both of us. I originally shouldn't have interfered with her fate. But now, everything will return to normal.

Thinking so, the girl did not immediately notice how the mark on her neck changed. The bite mark turned into a birthmark in the form of a stamen, on which the first petal appeared.

At the same time in the library, right after she left, Rachel fell and doubled over from unbearable pain. The hellish feeling, as if she was being torn into several parts at the same time, did not prevent her from feeling even more heartache.

— L-Leriana…» she said hoarsely, reaching for the door, — Leriana… Don't go away…

There were tears in the girl's eyes when she couldn't do anything at that moment. It was the first time she felt so helpless.

Like a disease, a dark substance began to spread through Rachel's body, which caused dark patterns to appear on her skin. They looked like the stems of a flower that grew straight from her heart.

A beautiful bud «bloomed» on the girl's chest. The skin beneath him was completely blackened, as if he was taking all the life force from this place. The black tattoo took on a scarlet hue, saturated with blood.

One of the six petals of the flower was missing. And that was what caused Rachel such terrible pain. She couldn't breathe, and it seemed like she was about to lose consciousness.

But the flower itself seemed to prevent her from doing this, forcing her to suffer longer, and punishing her for the mistake she had made. She shouldn't have trusted anyone.

When the black stalks enveloped her body almost completely, the girl finally could not stand it and fell into oblivion.

The flower, which was located in the same place as her heart, finally turned red. It bloomed only when it fed on someone's life.

It was a Blood Camellia flower.