Chapter Forty-Seven: What Do You Mean?

                                    

                                          



Elaine, Charles, Caden, Ryland, and Prince Philip had gathered in my dorm room where a suspenseful silence hung in the air. 
                          
"I was attacked from behind after wining a match during our magical combat class." I stated simply, deciding to just spit it out. 
                          
"What?!"
                          
"Who?!" 
                          
A chorus of shouts echoed through the room, but quickly died down when they saw that I wasn't planning on answering their questions if they kept shouting.
                          
"Are you finished?" I asked with a raised brow. Caden and Prince Philip, the main perpetrators, looked to the ground and nodded their heads. 
                          
"Yes, I was attacked. It was one of Lytton's followers, but I don't know his name. However, that's not why I called you guys here."
                          
Except for Elaine, everyone's head snapped towards me, their eyes wide. 
                          
"Did something else happened?" Charles asked calmly while his hand were balled into tight fists. 
                          
"I felt the same mana on the guy who had attacked me as the one I felt in the forest. I don't know why or how it got on him, but what I did notice was that he was carrying a knife made up of a strange black metal." 
                          
This time the room was silent while everyone creased their brows, taking a moment to process the new information. 
                          
"Are you sure it was the same mana?" Ryland asked, his face pale. His voice didn't waver, but I couldn't help but get the feeling that his question was desperate. 
                          
"It was the same, I felt it too." Elaine assured, shivering at the memory of it. Caden looked to her with a concerned expression, as if he was asking if she was okay. Elaine nodded to him with a small smile. 
                          
Prince Philip, who seemed to be the least shocked out of all the guys to hear the news, had his face in his hands as he rubbed his forehead and temples. 
                          
"You okay?" I asked, wondering what he knew that had made him look like that. Prince Philip was normally good at handling the stress of political issues or threats concerning our kingdom, so it was rare to see him looking so anxious. 
                          
It took Prince Philip a moment to compose himself, but when he finally sat up to face us, his eyes looked determined rather than afraid. In these types of situations, I was always impressed by Prince Philip and his growth. When the two of us were eleven, Prince Philip had panicked for a moment when I was attacked by a wolf, however that panic didn't last for long. In moments he was bandaging me up, ignoring the large amount of blood and the fact that we had both almost died. Ever since then, he had become even better at handling stress and was someone who could keep his composure in almost every circumstance. 
                          
"The strange metal you mentioned, what did it look like?" Prince Philip asked, his eyes focusing on me with a new intensity. I did't know what he had been dealing with at the castle, but I had a feeling that what I said had something to do with it, and it probably had just made everything worse. 
                          
"I only caught a glimpse of it, but what I do remember is that the metal was completely black, as if it was made from the night sky." I said, trying to picture the dagger in my mind.
                          
"The blade was also pretty small, even for a dagger. Honestly, it wouldn't have done much damage as long as there wasn't any poison on it." 
                          
When I mentioned the word 'poison' my eye's darted to Ryland who was looking at me with an unreadable expression. 
                          
"It's worse than we thought," Prince Philip sighed, putting his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward, his eyes glazing over as the wheels started to turn in his head.