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I was pacing the locker room, trying to reconcile what happened. My chest still ached, and I rubbed it. An energy bomb. They wanted to make sure I didn’t survive, and it would have worked if my family weren’t so paranoid about my safety.
As soon as I was born, Ma had realized I wasn’t quite right. I had been born sickly, and my family didn’t get sick. Then I took longer learning how to walk and talk, slow compared to the other family members. Almost as slow as a human. Then when I stumbled and fell when I was two, the cut on my arm wouldn’t heal like it should have.
Shortly after, my parents invested in getting me protection. They gave up a small fortune for my safety. The leather pouch hid my weakness. It gave the illusion of my being a powerful magic-user, when all I could do were small basic spells. When people met me, they recognized me as a powerful Neutral family member—as it should have been—and not a sickly, almost human, being.
“Are you okay,” Dany said, rushing into the room with my brother right on her heels. Gaerlan’s expression was hard, murder swirling in his stormy eyes. A moment later, Zen and Rophan came in with similar expressions.
“What happened?” I asked, nearly growling. All that fear had settled into anger.
“We didn’t catch them,” Zen said. “We know what they look like, but they used the confusion of the crowd to escape. He used a panic spell to create the chaos. Signora Milanesi is casting a tracking spell now.”
“Who?” I asked. “And was I the only one attacked? Was anyone else? How many hurt?”
“Just you,” Rophan said.
I nodded. “Okay. Good. That’s good.” I walked to the end of the aisle, my movements jerky. No one else. Just me. Only me. I was the target.
“How the fuck is that good?” Gaerlan asked, saving me from a tailspin of doubt and panic.
“It’s just isolated to me. They had no interest in hurting anyone else.” I turned and walked back to them, trying my best to not bite my nails. That was a bad habit I needed to get out of. It was unprofessional and made my nails look bad. “I just hope it stays that way. I don’t need them lashing out at my employees.”
Gaerlan grabbed my shoulders and forced me to be still. He grabbed my right hand and pulled it away from my mouth. My face went red at being caught biting my nails. I had thought I had stopped myself, but my hand had a mind of its own apparently. “Adeelah, someone tried to blow you up. They wanted you dead.” His eyes went down to the pouch. “They would have succeeded too.”
I yanked out of his grip and put distance between us.
“I know. It surprised me too, but this was expected. You know this was expected. We just need to be careful. And you know they can’t do shit to me if they face me head on. We won’t have to worry about them coming at me with a knife.”
“Yeah, they’ll just snipe you instead,” Rophan said with deep bitterness.
“We need to meet with the rest of the security team,” I said to Zen, deciding to ignore Rophan. “We need to figure out how they got through and how to prevent it.”
“They shouldn’t have gotten through our wards,” Zen admitted with a frown. A muscle in his jaw flexed. He was used to doing everything flawlessly.
Zen called in the main team of security to discuss everything. We still remained in the locker room, the room growing smaller as more people filled it up.
“We have an issue,” a man said. He had curly blond hair and big brown eyes, almost like a brownie faerie with his brown skin and pointed ears.
“What’s going on?” Zen asked.
The man glanced at another with red hair before looking at me. “We think whoever made the attempt also wanted to rile things up and reported the attack to the media. They’re all at the gate, reporting that she has been shot and could be in critical condition.”
“I bet he expects it to be true,” I said.
“He didn’t stick around long enough to verify. And his hit was direct,” Gaerlan said, anger still rolling off him. Whoever tried to kill me made a very dangerous move, going against the Neutral family. I think the human comparison would be a mafia family. People trusted and feared my family, and for good reason.
“I’ll make a statement.” I went to move toward the door and Gaerlan moved in front of me.
“I will make the statement.” He didn’t give me time to fight back before he was gone.
“I should as the chairwoman,” I said.
“Calm down,” Zen said. “He needs to do this after seeing his baby sister getting shot. And we need to think about why this happened and how we can prevent it from reoccurring.” Something dark in his words drew my attention, and I glanced at him. He was stiff—well, stiffer than normal. He had gone through this before.
I sighed and sadness slipped in as I said, “I know. I just hate it. He shouldn’t have to worry like that. Not anymore.”
One of the corners of the room held a TV. Rophan had it turned on and flipped to a news channel in seconds. Reporters all gathered at the gate, talking into a camera. An attractive woman stepped in front of the screen.
“Word has been spread that Adeelah Neutral, headmistress of Neutral Academy, has been shot. We are still waiting for word of her status, but it isn’t looking good. Our source said that she was shot in the chest and went down before the room erupted into chaos. Will Neutral Academy be shut down before it even has a chance to open its doors?”
She went on with more speculation, but it didn’t last long as my brother stepped up to the gate. The reporters broke out into a flurry of questions, throwing them at him relentlessly. He ignored them all as he slipped out of the gate and stood before them with a masked expression. I knew the signs though. Gaerlan was furious.
He held up a hand, and the reporters were smart enough to shut up.
“My name is Gaerlan Neutral.”
That got a few whispers. No one expected to be able to talk to one of us.
“Today, someone thought they’d be funny and attack my baby sister. I am here to set everything straight. Adeelah is fine. We are a strong family and no one, especially someone who can’t face us straight on, will be powerful enough to take a Neutral on.” As if knowing which camera to look at, he looked directly into the one we were watching. “Run, you bastard. Run far, and run fast, because as of now, you have been marked.” I could feel the air stir with his words, the power behind them settle down. That was Gaerlan’s gift. Marking a target, and then finding them. Whoever had attacked me was fucked, and they didn’t even realize how badly. “We will find you, and we will make you regret thinking you could get away with attacking our own.”
He glared at everyone and then slipped back through the gate. The reporters were absolutely shocked, everyone stunned enough to remain gaping at him as he left. They never recovered enough to ask him any follow-up questions.
“He was... direct,” Zen said.
“He was Gaerlan.” I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “He’s not playing around this time.”
“This time?” Rophan asked.
I took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Zen, I’m going to apologize now.”
“Why?”
“Because there is no stopping Gaerlan, and you’re going to be pulled into the middle of it.” My expression softened as a spark of regret thrummed through me. “You too, Rophan. He’s going to be over the top.”
“I won’t be,” Gaerlan said, coming into the room. “Zen, Rophan, let’s talk. Adeelah, go rest.”
“No.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
His eyes narrowed, and I reflected the look. He clenched his jaw but knew better. “Out now,” he snapped.
The guards froze and only after Zen nodded did they clear out. That made me feel better about the security. They weren’t going to bow down so easily, even when facing someone like Gaerlan. The true test though would be my dad, if he ever bothered to show. If they stood against him, then I knew they’d stand against anyone and everyone, never backing down from any threats, no matter how overwhelming it was.
I drew comfort from that. Dany and Zen did have a glaring match for a moment before he looked away and lost the battle of wills against her. Dany could be as stubborn as me when she wanted to be. Besides, as a fae, she was powerful, even when she hid it behind her kinky sweetness.
Gaerlan sighed and went into the middle of the room. “Space, please.”
The others looked at him confusedly. I grabbed Rophan and tugged him back. Zen and Dany finally did the same. Gaerlan’s gaze met Zen’s.
“You know about what makes the Neutral family so special?” he asked.
“Only rumors,” Zen said.
Gaerlan nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small switch knife. He always had it on him. It was part of his ritual. “This does not leave the room. You need to understand that when I marked the man who attacked Adeelah, I truly marked him.” He reached up and traced the lines of the tattoo on his neck. His eyes went to mine with a frown.
For a moment, I swore my tattoo pulsed.
“Mine is the most known,” Gaerlan said, looking away. “This is the only reason why I’m telling you. Ask a Neutral what theirs is and they’d rather slit your throat.” He shrugged. “It’s like asking us to strip naked before you.”
“What are you going on about?” Rophan asked, reaching the end of his patience.
My brother scowled at the silly guard. Looked like my father was tight-lipped, even with those who worked under him. My father didn’t have a tattoo like we did since he married into the family, but many of the bloodline worked under him. I was a little surprised Rophan never learned about this.
“Our tattoo is bestowed upon us when we are born. It grows and adapts with us. When we reach twenty, we receive a special gift from it. It’s different from person to person, unique only to them. My gift is that I can Mark someone. Once I know the feel of their aura, I can place a Mark on it and use that to track them. He used energy in the attack, making this easier for me to find.”
“And you’re doing that now?” Dany asked, looking excited.
“Yes. I’m not waiting around to see if Signora Milanesi’s tracking spell works. You know that shit isn’t reliable.”
I frowned at the sneer on his face. “Don’t be like that,” I said.
“She’s a witch.”
“And?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed at me before he looked down. “Whatever, stand back and let me get this done. I need to hunt.”
He sliced his forearm, and I cringed, hating that part of his gift. His blood dripped down to the floor as the room filled with metallic scented magic. Blood magic was always the scariest for me. Gaerlan’s lips moved in a soft whisper, stirring up the magic. The hairs on my body stood up, and I felt Rophan stiffen next to me. His hand found my forearm and gripped it hard, as if he was worried the magic was going to do something to me.
Dany gasped. I looked back, noting how Gaerlan’s normally gray eyes were completely whitened out now. Never blinking, eyes staring off into whatever he saw, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a stone, gripping it hard.
Minutes ticked by without much happening, but everyone continued to wait, never looking away. No one wanted to miss any minute changes to Gaerlan.
Finally, he blinked, the white in his eyes receding until it was back to his normal stormy gray. “Done. Zen, Rophan, keep her safe. He’s circling around still and may make another move. I’ll be back.”
With that, he disappeared from sight, not even bothering to use the door and instead transporting from where he stood.
“I almost want to pity whoever he’s after,” Dany said. “But I just don’t have any pity to spare for a man who tried to kill Adeelah.”
“Your brother is intense,” Rophan admitted. “Almost as bad as your father.”
I grinned big. “He has reason to. I’m his adorable baby sister, after all.”
Zen sighed. “Come on, let’s make sure everyone here is supposed to be here and then make sure they get settled. Adeelah, stay close to Rophan. We don’t need a repeat of what happened.”
I huffed. “I know this game,” I said. “I’ll behave.”
Zen’s right eyebrow rose. “Really?”
I narrowed my eyes, daring him to call me a liar. “Yes.”
Dany came over and slung her arm around my shoulders, pushing me toward the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll be there too. Come on, I need a drink. And I know you do too.” She led me out with Zen and Rophan following close behind. I glanced at the spot where my brother had disappeared. My frown deepened when my eyes met Rophan’s.
“Make that two drinks and I’m in,” I said, facing forward before I ran into a wall. I’d done that once or twice before.
