School of monsters

CHAPTER 21: BREAKING SILAS

The Blood Bond thrummed between Drake and me like a second heartbeat.

I could feel him. The rush of adrenaline. The dull ache in his shoulder where a blade had grazed him. The fury still burning behind his eyes.

"Can you hear me?" I whispered.

Drake blinked. "Yeah," he said, voice rough. "It’s... loud. Like you’re in my head."

"Good," I said, standing. The journal was open to the next page. "Because we’re going to get my uncle out."

Drake caught my wrist. "Lisa. Williams has the entire west wing locked down. There are guards at every tunnel."

"Then we don’t use the tunnels," I said. My palm was still glowing faintly gold from the bond. "We use the Warden’s way."

I flipped the page. *Blood Gate. Opens only for Warden blood.*

"That’s in the dungeon," Drake said. "Right below Silas’s cell."

"Exactly."

He stared at me for a long second, then nodded. "Okay. Warden. Lead the way."

---

We moved through the academy like ghosts. Thanks to the bond, I could feel when guards were near. Drake would pull me into shadows a second before they turned the corner.

The dungeon smelled like iron and old magic. Torches burned with green flame.

Two guards stood outside Silas’s cell. Vampires. Young, but armed.

Drake stepped out first. "Leave," he ordered.

The guards straightened. "Prince Ben. Headmaster said no one—"

"I said leave," Drake growled. His eyes flashed red. The Blood Bond in me pulsed, and I felt his power spike.

The guards hesitated, then bowed and retreated.

Drake exhaled. "That won’t work twice."

Inside the cell, Silas was slumped against the wall. The silver chains had burned into his skin. Blood, silver and dark, pooled on the floor.

"Uncle!" I ran to the bars.

Silas lifted his head. His eyes, my eyes, were barely open. "Lisa... you shouldn’t be here."

"I’m here to get you out," I said. I pressed my bleeding palm to the lock. Nothing happened. Silver.

"Blood won’t work on silver," Silas rasped. "It repels Warden magic."

Drake drew his dagger. "Then we break it the old way."

He slammed the dagger into the gap between bars and twisted. The metal screamed.

"Stop," Silas said weakly. "You’ll trigger the wards. Williams will know in seconds."

"Do you have a better idea?" Drake snapped.

I looked down at the journal. *Blood Gate.* There was a note in the margin in my mom’s handwriting. *When silver fails, use life.*

My blood ran cold. "It means sacrifice," I whispered.

"What?" Drake turned to me.

"To open the Blood Gate, I have to give something. Blood. Pain. A memory." I looked at Silas. "Is that true?"

Silas nodded slowly. "Your mother did it once. To save your father."

I didn’t hesitate. I pressed my palm to the cold stone floor of the cell. The silver circle there was almost invisible.

"Blood to blood," I whispered. "Life for life. Open."

Pain tore through me. Not in my hand. In my chest. Like someone was pulling a thread from my heart.

The floor glowed gold, then cracked. A seam appeared, and the stone slid away to reveal stairs going down.

"The Blood Gate," Drake breathed. "It leads under the dungeon walls."

Silas managed a weak laugh. "Just like her."

We got him out. It took both of us to drag him. He was heavy, and every step made the chains cut deeper.

Halfway down the stairs, alarms blared.

"They know," Drake said. He looked at me. "Can you run?"

I nodded, but my legs were shaking. The sacrifice had taken more than I thought.

Drake didn’t ask. He just lifted me. One arm under my knees, the other around my back.

"I’ve got you," he said. And through the bond, I felt it. He meant it.

We ran.

The Blood Gate tunnel was narrow, damp, and smelled like earth. Behind us, we could hear shouting. Boots on stone.

"Almost there," Drake said. Up ahead was a grate. Moonlight filtered through.

He set me down and pushed the grate open. Cold night air hit my face.

We climbed out into Blackwood Forest. The trees were black against the sky.

Drake laid Silas gently on the ground. I immediately opened the journal, flipping pages frantically.

"Healing," I muttered. "There has to be a healing spell."

*For kin. For blood. Mend what is broken.*

I didn’t think. I cut my palm again and pressed it to Silas’s chest, over his heart.

"Don’t," he whispered. "It’ll kill you."

"No," I said. "The bond won’t let it."

Golden light poured from my hand into him. The burns from the silver began to close. His breathing steadied.

When it was done, I collapsed. Drake caught me before I hit the ground.

"i***t," he said softly, brushing hair from my sweaty forehead. "You could’ve died."

"But I didn’t," I mumbled. "Is he..."

"He’s alive," Drake said. "Thanks to you."

Silas opened his eyes. They were clearer now. "Warden," he said, voice stronger. "You did what I couldn’t. You chose to save instead of destroy."

I managed a tired smile. "Is that what the heart of the Warden is?"

"Yes," Silas said. "And now we have work to do. Because Williams won’t stop. Not until you’re dead. Or he is."

Drake helped me stand. The bond between us was steady now. Warm.

In the distance, we could see the lights of Nightfall Academy. And beyond that, more lights. Moving. Coming this way.

"Hunters," Drake said. "Human hunters. They must’ve sensed the magic."

Silas groaned as he stood. "Then it’s time," he said. "Time the Warden came home."

He looked at me. "Are you ready, Lisa?"

I looked at the academy. At the place that wanted me dead. At the people who thought they could erase me.

I thought of my mom’s letter. *Protect the sanctuary.*

"Yes," I said. My voice didn’t shake. "I’m ready."

Because I wasn’t hiding anymore.

I was the Warden.

And I was going to war.