Scarlet
Wait. Maybe I can stall this conversation after all?
“Um, could we wait for my injuries to-” I begin, only for him to cut me off without a shred of care. “No.”
So much for that.
And I can’t call Belle for help because all that’d do would make them team up on me instead of only dealing with him.
Also, speaking of Belle, I think my phone’s ringing.
Too bad I can’t take it out right now, what with my arm having a hole in it. Albeit a small one now that it’s healed for who knows how long.
“What the hell were you thinking, Scarlet!?” he shouts, his voice echoing through the room and the room next to it, startling the workers that I had saved in the process. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed! You know that, right?!”
I let out a sigh.
“Yeah, but it’s not like you’re any different,” I tell him with an eyebrow raised. “You’re a Guardian after all. And now I am too.” Sort of. “Not to mention that being a Guardian will be a much better job for me than trying and failing at finding a Tier 1 university that’ll take in an orphan.”
He actually winces at that.
“That doesn’t change the fact that you put yourself in danger needlessly,” he pushes on. “You didn’t have to fight that demon knight. You could’ve just left and stayed safe. But nope. You had to go in, fighting a demon knight just hours after awakening as a Guardian yourself. Maybe not even that long, depending on when you were contracted during all this.”
“It was at the start of the Fracture,” I whisper, making him raise a brow.
I take the hint and stop talking.
The phone stops ringing after I fail to pick it up.
“Just a single wrong move and that knight would’ve killed you. It must’ve been, what, level thirty? Just one misstep. One mistake. And it would’ve been over,” he says, his worry finally bleeding through the anger a little bit. “Do you understand that Scarlet?”
I try really hard not to wince as I hear him severely underestimate the demon knight’s level. And fortunately, I don’t think he’s noticed.
“Yes, but Cipher,” I use his Guardian title just to drive my point, “you’ve done much riskier things in your time as a Guardian than I have.”
The guy hates it when I call him Cipher. In fact, I don’t think he even likes me calling him Allen, wanting instead for me to call him dad or something. But I refuse.
If he isn’t my biological father, then I won’t call him that. Simple as that. Even if he’s like a father to me.
Allen opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off by saying, “Look, I’ll try as best as I can to keep myself alive. But taking risks is part of the job I signed up for when I became a Guardian. And if I’m being honest? It’s what I enjoy.”
The last part seems to surprise him.
I glance past him at the people staring at us in shock. People that are more than just the ones who were on this floor, including people I don’t even recognize. Meaning some people must’ve followed Allen to this floor.
“You’re not going to listen, are you?” Allen finally says after a few seconds of silence. But he doesn’t even wait for my answer as he sighs and mutters, “What am I saying? You never do…”
Nope. Never will either, most likely. After all, every risk I’ve ever taken has given me quite the reward afterwards.
“Just know that I wouldn’t have taken the risk if I didn’t think it was possible to win,” I tell him with a reassuring smile. Or at least, what I hope is a reassuring smile, considering that my canines were lengthened at some point. And I’m also still in a decent chunk of pain right now.
Although the pain has lessened a bit more thanks to it healing as we’re talking.
Allen lets out a sigh before kneeling down and giving me a light hug that has me stiffening up for more than one reason.
“I know you don’t like physical contact, but please. Just let me have this,” he says, emotion practically bleeding through his words.
I let out a sigh before patting his back once with my non-injured arm.
At least he is trying to avoid my injured arm.
Out of nowhere, a blue light shines from said arm, making me look to see that he has some sort of machine floating next to it. Then I watch as the remainder of the wound closes up.
“Nice,” I say, a grin forming on my face as he lets go and stands up straight again.
He chuckles at that.
I stand up as well, discreetly motioning for him to look at the hall, which is where are little popcorn gallery has gathered. He then raises a hand and flips it, making several nanomachines shut the door in front of our viewers.
“There we go,” he says before turning back to me and asking, “so where’s your fae?”
I frown at the question.
“That’s a good question,” I answer. “The bastard vanished the moment he noticed you coming.”
Allen’s eyebrows rise at that, and he glances towards a corner where some sort of fluffy panda appears floating in the air.
“Okay, just why is it that all of you fae have to appear in the form of cute animals on Earth?” I can’t help but ask, making the panda blink in surprise. Even Allen looks surprised for a second before he bursts out into laughter.
The panda glances between me and Allen for a few seconds and only answers after realizing that I’m actually serious, “Tis’ because a cute animal would look more trustworthy for someone in a dangerous situation.”
I blink in confusion as I hear its voice.
Um. Why is its voice so different from Tar’s?
Tar’s has always had this ethereal intensity. Like every word he says has major importance or something.
But this fae just has a regular voice. Like a human. In the form of a cute panda.
“Okay, that makes sense,” I answer, getting over the difference in voice. “But I still don’t know where Tar went.”
They both look surprised at hearing the name Tar for some reason.