Eryx lunged back, but Theo slamd a hand onto his chest, shoving him back.
"STOP IT," Theo barked, planting himself between them.
Rhydric held Azrael in place. Azrael’s vision flashed dangerously, his breath shaking with the effort not to shift.
Leo and Levi stood rooted, uselessly confused. All they understood was, Athena is drugged... and now everyone’s trying to kill each other.
And where the hell were Alaric and Armand? It had been an hour.
Rhydric’s voice vibrated with restrained rage. "This is not the ti for this. Athena needs help."
Theo hit Eryx’s chest again, harder, eyes sharp.
"And you...you have questions to answer after this."
Eryx didn’t reply. He just kept glaring at Azrael.
**
A few minutes later, Eryx returned with the doctor.
Rhydric, Azrael, Theo, Levi, and Leo were already waiting outside the door Athena was kept, tense and a little restless.
Eryx moved to walk the doctor in but Azrael blocked him with a palm to the chest. "And where do you think you’re going?"
Eryx glared. "What’s all this madness?"
"Madness?" Theo snapped. "What makes you think you can go inside and we can’t?"
Rhydric didn’t say a word. It was more like their madness didn’t concern him. He was too busy ntally planning the slow death of whoever had dared to drug his little moon.
Eryx exhaled sharply, taking a step back.
He didn’t want to escalate anything not with Levi and Leo standing right there, watching everything.
Inside, the doctor checked Athena quickly.
She administered the dication that would neutralize the drug, stabilizing her system.
Felicia held Athena’s hand tightly, whispering through her fear,
"Stay with , okay? Please... I’m here. Just breathe with ."
The doctor stepped out, closing the door behind her with a soft click. The hallway went quiet and heavy.
She looked at the group of boys, her eyes flicking from one face to another, lingering on the tension vibrating in the air.
Then she pointed directly at Eryx.
"I believe you’re her boyfriend, right?"
Azrael scoffed loud, sharp and mocking.
Or maybe it wasn’t even a scoff. It was a warning bark. "Boyfriend?" he muttered, voice iced over. "Or is that just the title you forced on yourself?"
Eryx didn’t even glance at him.
Theodore’s jaw clenched hard enough to crack a molar. He looked anywhere but at Eryx...ceiling, wall, floor, because if he stared at him too long, he might break sothing.
Eryx had been acting strange around Athena lately hovering, watching, following and if he did touch her... if he slept with her under whatever drug she had been given...
Theo quietly swore under his breath.
If that bastard took advantage of her, he’ll wish he never crossed her path.
Eryx kept his eyes on the doctor, tone firm.
"You can tell ."
"Good," she said, relieved. "Because you need to understand sothing very clearly."
The tension deepened.
"It’s a good thing you called for dical help when you did. If you hadn’t, she would have been in serious danger."
Rhydric’s eyes darkened. Levi and Leo exchanged a glance, both pale, both too terrified to say a word.
The doctor hesitated. Her gaze fell briefly to the clipboard she was holding then back to them.
"And... I noticed she had a release."
Her voice lowered. "That actually made her condition worse because that wasn’t an actual sexual encounter...it was just a... intense make-out."
Everything went still.
Azrael’s head snapped toward Eryx so fast it looked inhuman. Sothing dangerous flickered in his eyes.
He moved for Eryx with the full intention to tear him apart, his fury swallowing any rational thought he ones had.
But Theo’s hand slamd into Azrael’s chest just in ti, stopping him inches before impact.
"Azrael. Don’t," Theo hissed.
Azrael growled, a deep, vibrating sound that made the doctor step back instantly.
Even Rhydric...the silent killer turned his head and looked at Eryx. Not with curiosity, but ith judgnt and disappointnt.
With the promise of violence if the truth leaned the wrong way.
Levi and Leo stared too, caught sowhere between disbelief and fear.
They didn’t say anything, they wouldn’t dare. Not when the air felt sharp enough to cut skin.
The doctor blinked, finally noticing how dangerous the atmosphere had beco.
She forced a thin, nervous smile.
"A-alright, um... I’ll be taking my leave now."
And before any of them breathed wrong, she turned and practically ran down the hallway, disappearing as fast as her legs could carry her.
The hallway was suffocatingly silent, tension stretched so tight it could snap.
Theodore exhaled slowly, his jaw ticking. Then calm but deadly,he turned to Leo and Levi. "Leave."
Levi blinked, confused. "Wait...what? Theo, why?"
Rhydric didn’t even look at him. His voice hit like a blade. "Didn’t you hear him?"
That was all it took.
Leo swallowed hard and tugged Levi’s sleeve. They stepped back reluctantly, frustrated, but smart enough to know when they were out of their depth.
Now it was just the Phantom Four.
Eryx dragged a hand down his face, frustrated. "I didn’t sleep with her, okay?"
Rhydric’s eyes snapped to him, cold and sharp. "But you made out with her," he said, voice flat. "That’s the sa damn thing as taking advantage of her."
Azrael’s breathing turned uneven, harsh.
His fists clenched and unclenched, jaw grinding as he paced down the hallway like a caged predator barely containing himself. His vision was red with anger. He couldn’t even look at Eryx without wanting to tear his throat out.
Theo stood still, but the energy around him was cold, almost freezing. His glare alone could freeze the bone.
Eryx groaned, irritated and overwheld. "Can you all stop looking at like that? I was...she was all over and I lost it..."
That was it...hat... was the line he should never have crossed.
Theodore snapped. "Don’t you fucking dare."
He stepped forward, voice shaking with rage. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to her because of your foolishness?"
Eryx tried to speak, but Theo talked right over him. "She was drugged. Drugged, Eryx. Not in her right fucking mind. And instead of stepping back." Theo jabbed a finger at his chest, "...you let things escalate to the point where she had a release. Do you even understand how dangerous that was for her? How much worse it made her condition?"
Eryx opened his mouth again, but heo didn’t let him. "You think saying ’she was all over ’’ makes you innocent? That it excuses anything?" His voice rose quiet but lethal. "That is the most pathetic, irresponsible bullshit I’ve heard co out of your mouth."
Azrael’s growl rumbled through the corridor, low and violent. Rhydric’s stare didn’t budge like he was dissecting Eryx ntally, finding the exact place to cut if he needed to.
Theo wasn’t done yet "You claim you care about her, right?" His voice cracked with the intensity. "Then why the hell weren’t you the one protecting her? Controlling yourself? Getting help the mont you noticed sothing was off?"
Eryx tried again, "Theo...listen..."
"No. You listen." Theo’s chest heaved. His eyes were burning, furious, disappointed.
"You had one job tonight. One. And instead, you let your obsession cloud your judgnt. You risked her safety because you couldn’t control yourself long enough to notice she wasn’t well."
Silence.
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