Bride Behind The Mask (Frederick and Marguerite)

Chapter 36

I was heartbroken. The man I fell deeply in love with was only using me to fuel his power.

It was never about me; it was always about him and how he could use me to get stronger. I cried my

eyes out for an entire week; my heart had shattered the moment he confessed that

everything Lizzie said to me was the truth. Adam didn’t show up to school for any of those days, and

everyone in our class already had an idea that something had happened between the two of us. That

was good; I didn’t want to have to explain to everyone why we weren’t together

anymore. We didn’t even last a good week; I’m sure that every single person who didn’t want us

together in the first place would be happy to know that our relationship was so weak that it couldn’t last

more than a day after our announcement. But it was better that I found out the truth earlier than later. If

things had continued and I’d fallen more deeply in love with Adam, my reaction to learning the truth

may have been much worse than this. My family knew that something was up with me,(This will

be daily updtaed at www.jar.com) but I went with the lie that it had something to do with being the

flaming whisperer, I told them that I didn’t want to let down everyone’s expectations of me. While that

was true, it wasn’t the reason for my breakdown, but my parents could never know the truth. I was

crazy for even thinking that I should tell them about us in the first place; my love for Adam only blinded

me. For the second time in my life, I let the love I felt for someone keep me from seeing who they

indeed were. I promised myself not to trust another person easily, and I did the exact opposite. I was

disappointed in myself, but at the same time, I knew that this wasn’t something that I could easily

control. Whatever bond Adam and I had was not a simple one, it may be weak on his end, but it was

strong on mine.

Today was supposed to be an exciting one; it was the day that the dark whisperers finally went up in

battle against the fire whisperers. It’s something that our school incorporates into its program. It’s a test

to see how prepared the fire whisperers are against the dark whisperers if an attack ever were to

happen. It’s supposed to be an innocent competition with the usual trophies laid out for all winners on

an expansive display. Of course, now I knew that it wasn’t a simple competition. All along, I’ve thought

that everything I’ve been taught from school and my parents were all a lie. I’ve felt that my parents

were crazy, and so were others of my kind for believing a prophecy that never came true. But then, one

by one, everything began unveiling before my eyes. First I was revealed as the flaming whisperer and

then… Then I found out that Adam was indeed trying to take over the world. It wasn’t just some silly

words meant to separate our kind; it was the truth. He was using me to gain the power to make that

happen, to become the king of all nations. I shudder to think of what could have happened if Lizzie had

never told me this. I was falling straight into his trap, giving him exactly what he wanted.

home. I didn’t listen to anyone when they told me to stay away from him; lignored their advice and did

what I wanted to do, now I had to pay the price for that. I’d done the same thing I did with Bryan and

Aria; I trusted someone that I should never have. Adam never did love me; he didn’t even care for me.

It was all a lie. All of it.

But what I felt for him wasn’t a lie. I loved him. I loved Adam with all my heart; I loved him more than I

loved anyone else before. I know that it was a short time to fall in love, but I did.

You can’t control who you love, but I could control what I did about it. I had to stay away from Adam for

good. I couldn’t let him fool me any more than he already did. I was determined to listen to myself this

time, it wasn’t only about me anymore, and that was what mattered the most.

I walk into the stadium, and all eyes turn to me. Even the teachers are looking at me. What exactly are

they expecting from me today? I know that fire whisperers would be up against dark whisperers, but I

had no idea who I was going up against; the list was kept confidential and would be announced today.

“Welcome to the flames versus darkness tournament. Who’s excited about the outcome?”

Professor Williams asks us. The crowd went up into an uproar, everyone was excited except

1. “I’m anxious to see who wins. I’ve seen all of my students excel, both fire whisperers and

dark whisperers; I can tell that the fight is about to be a good one.”

“We have placed our best students against each other.” Miss Phillis continues with the

announcement. “The first match, Bryan will be up against Ashton.”

Thold my breath; Bryan and Ashton? Those two held so many grudges against each other,(This

will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com) why did they choose them to battle? This must be a tactic

by our teachers; they needed to see what would happen between two students that hated each other

with a passion, mainly two kinds that were opposite in every way possible.

“Next, Aria will be up against Amber.”

Amber? That was Adam’s sister. She’s never spoken to me directly before, but I’ve seen her work. She

was good at controlling her power, not that Aria wasn’t. Their fight would surely be an interesting one,

and I understood why our professors matched them for the fight.

“Abigail will go up against Lizzie.”

My best friend stiffens next to me; that battle was unfair. Abigail tried her best and was good at her

power, but Lizzie was dangerous; she didn’t play nice. Why would they put my best friend up against

someone that could be considered my enemy? Why didn’t they put her up

“You’ll be fine,” I try to assure her. “Don’t be scared; Lizzie will use your fear against you. Be brave;

you’re a fighter. And remember, this is just a game; it doesn’t define you.”

She nods her head, “thank you, Amiera.”

The list continues to go on, and I listen on anxiously; I’m still wondering who they were

going to put me up against. Was it someone that I should fear? The truth remained that I still wasn’t

strong enough to fight anyone inside of here. They were all still much stronger than | was. I expected

them to put me up against the weakest student in the class, which would be embarrassing considering

my title. I look around the room for Adam, and I find him on the opposite side next to Lizzie. Seeing

them together brings about a sinking feeling in my heart.

“Our flaming whisperer, Amiera, will go up against Adam Ashford, our greatest dark whisperer of them

all.” Miss Phillis announces with a not so sympathetic look sent in my direction.

There are gasps throughout the stadium, and I know that everyone senses how unfair this pairing is.

They know that things aren’t great between Adam and me anymore; they also know he’s powerful while

I’m not. Who came up with this and why? They needed to reconsider this; I didn’t want to disappoint

everyone just because I was not ready for this fight.

I glance at Adam when I know that I don’t want to. Even he looks uncomfortable with this pairing.(This

will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com) I watch as he walks up to Miss Phillis. What does he

want to say to her? Is he happy with this pairing or not? I knew that he wanted to use me to take over

the world, but I had no idea if that meant hurting me in the process.

“She’s not ready to fight me.” He growls. “Pick someone else.”

“I’m sorry, Adam, but there is no time for changes; this fight must take place.” She apologizes with no

sympathy in her voice. “If I forgot to mention that before, I’ll say it now, none of these fights are subject

to change.”

Adam looks annoyed, but all he does is return to his spot next to Lizzie. She seems pleased by this

pairing, and I know it must thrill her to know that Adam and I would have to fight against each other.

It’s time for the battles to begin, and everyone lines up to watch. The crowd is loud as they

wait for the first fight to begin. I’m nervous to watch; I don’t want to see anyone get seriously

injured.

The matches go on one after the next. Ashton wins the fight between him and Bryan, Aria wins the

battle against Amber, Lizzie, unfortunately, wins the fight against Abigail, but it was a

congratulate her even though she didn’t win. I could see from her expression that even she was

surprised with how well she performed. She shoots me a grin from across the room, and I return her

bright smile with one of my own.

It was now my turn to fight, I did not have enough experience, and the only kind of training I’ve had

since becoming the flaming whisperer was with Adam. As far as I know, it wasn’t anything to help me

but only to help him. The only thing I accomplished so far with him was a small poof of flame, nothing

incredible at all but still better than where I was. Before, I couldn’t create any fire; now, I could make

small flames for like a millisecond.

Adam and I took our positions on the stage, blocked off with protective glass to protect the

spectators from any damage.

As a procedure, we both have to look each other in the eye and wish each other good luck.

I can see that Adam doesn’t want to fight me, but I’m not sure if he’s faking it again. He’s showing me

that he’s sorry that he has to fight me, but maybe this is exactly what he wants.

I can feel all of the anger and hatred I have towards him build up inside me; it was fighting against all of

the love and affection I felt for him.

Adam points the palm of his hand towards me, and a black hole appears immediately. I swallow and try

to follow his previous teachings; I focus on the flames within, and to my horror, only a tiny poof appears

out of nowhere, only to disappear again.

I try to hold my composure when I hear some giggles within the crowd. They were once again laughing

at me.

“I don’t want to fight you,” Adam says.

“I don’t care what you want to do, Adam. If you haven’t noticed, we don’t have a choice. So let’s get this

over with. Finish the match off so I could get out of this place.” I snap.

His jaw clenches, “is that what you are? Someone who gives up so easily? Are you not even going to

bother and fight me? This is your chance to make me suffer for everything I’ve done to you. This is your

chance to hurt me. I played with your heart; I lied to you; I betrayed you in the worst way possible. I

used your love for me to my advantage. I made you fall for me

just so that I could get closer to you. Are you going to stand there and be weak, or are you going to

stand up and fight?”

His words awakened a spark inside of me, and my wings popped out without me even ordering them

to. From the glass around us, I can see that my eyes are blazing as they did on the day of the fire fairy

festival.

Adam tries his best to hide how my words have affected him, but I see right through the facade. I don’t

care about that. I wanted to hurt him as he hurt me.

“Why did you then? Why did you fall for an asshole like me? You should have been smarter than that.”

I narrow my eyes and let out a painful scream. I’m not sure what’s happening to my body,(This

will be daily updtaed at www.jar.com) but everything is happening so fast. There is something

burning inside of me, and it’s so close to letting loose, a lot closer than it’s ever been.

“What are you waiting for, Amiera?” He demands. “Why aren’t you getting back at me for what I did to

you? Come on, hurt me.”

“f*****g HURT ME!” He roars. That was it; that was all I needed to hear to be pushed over the edge.

“I hate you!” I scream at the same time a great flame leaves my hands and goes straight for Adam. My

eyes widened as it collided with him and threw him straight into the glass.

My lips part in horror; that didn’t just happen.

Did that flame really come out of me?