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To my surprise, he seems to lock eyes with each of us for a split second before settling on Raven. A look passes between them and he nods, as if confirming he held up his end of the bargain. Then he distracts the other two students with him and they continue in the direction they were heading.
We move the rest of the way in silence, Sebasitan’s presence seemingly leaving us all to fester in our thoughts until we turn down the path to our home. The familiarity of it doesn’t offer any sense of comfort, not that it ever truly did, but it feels even more foreign now.
Eldon unlocks the door and swings it open with a grunt but comes to a stop before stepping over the threshold. Tension heightens around us as we peer over his shoulder and understanding quickly takes over.
The place is trashed.
T-R-A-S-H-E-D.
I drop my arm from around Raven and step past Eldon to enter the lounge. The sofas are tipped, the coffee table is upended in the kitchen area, and the dining table and chairs are scattered across the garden with broken glass from the patio cascaded over them.
Someone seems to have had a good time at our expense.
“I’m going to assume you didn’t leave it like this,” I murmur, glancing over my shoulder to see everyone else stepping inside.
Brax and Raven can’t even summon a response that reconfirms my thoughts.
“Shit,” Raven gasps, hand flying to her chest as her eyes grow wider. My veins pulse with adrenaline, ready to act on whatever has her worked up. “The emerald gate,” she chokes out, and Brax is bounding across the mess toward Creed’s room before she can move.
The door slams against the wall as he whirls inside, but a moment later he’s in the doorway shaking his head. “Gone.”
“Would it still remain if…” My words trail off and Raven’s jaw falls slack.
“It’s likely gone, but do you think they could have found it?” she asks, and Creed steps up beside her shaking his head.
“It disappeared between us at the cave because it didn’t feel safe. If someone was coming here with bad intentions, I don’t believe the gate would have stayed here,” he insists.
“Someone is going to pay for this,” Brax bites, hands fisted at his sides.
There’s a lot of shit that needs repaying at this stage, and I’m more than eager to get started on that list.
“What do we do now?” Eldon asks, waving his hands around, and I take a deep breath, my mind, body, and soul settling on what’s to come next.
“We tidy this place up, rest, eat, and prepare, because come tomorrow, mayhem begins.”
TWENTY-ONE
RAVEN
Every layer of my uniform feels heavier than the last, the weight of our future seemingly stitched into every tier. I can feel the buttons of my blouse against my chest, the hem of my skirt at my waist, and the padding of my blazer at my shoulders.
I know it’s all in my head, but as we walk toward the main academy building, the five of us all together, it feels like it restricts every step I take. So much has happened here on campus. The good, the bad, the ugly. There’s no shying away from it, but it hasn’t brought me to my knees yet, so it’s not starting now.
Brax is up front, no longer occupying the spot by my side now that the others have returned. Eldon is on my left, his arm slinked around my back, while Zane is to my right, my hand encased in his. Peering over my shoulder, I find Creed, but his gaze isn’t on me. He’s alert and aware of everyone and everything around us.
The relief I feel at us being reunited feels tainted by the fact that we’re back here, choosing to put ourselves in danger. I may question the decision for the rest of my life.
I didn’t want Burton to bring his self-proclaimed war to the rest of the Elevin Realm in search of me. Especially with the remnants of our house last night, and that’s just what he did here. I don’t have the proof he was behind it, but my gut knows. Outside of the academy grounds, the mass destruction would have found undeserving casualties, just as he did with the civilians that lost their lives in Pinebrook. I refuse for that to be on my hands. That kind of bloodshed is unfathomable, and as much as I believe I’m not a hero in all of this, I’m certainly not going to willingly offer up innocent people to be sacrificed to him for no worthy reason at all.
Above all of that, the pain I have felt at the hands of this man is endless, and I want the satisfaction of bringing him down once and for all. I want the smell of copper in the air, the visual of his lifeless body sprawled at my feet. I want it all. I don’t know what that makes me, but I don’t care either.
I remind myself of that fact as we near the academy building, coming across larger groups of students who watch our every move. Conversations simmer down to a whisper, murmurs swirling around us about the three Bishops that have suddenly reappeared before them.
It feels odd not anticipating Genie’s unwanted attention like we would usually get, but I can’t say I miss it. My gaze searches for the uniforms among the masses that don’t match ours and it doesn’t take long for Ruben to step forward, flanked by a guy on either side of him.
Brax doesn’t stop until he’s standing toe to toe with him, looming over the assumed enemy by an extra couple of inches.
“Oh my gosh, Raven,” Leila whisper-shouts, taking a few hurried steps toward us as she gapes at my men, relief flashing in her eyes. I shake my head subtly and she draws to a halt, Grave a step behind her.
