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“Go back to sleep, Shadow.” He finally speaks, only to repeat the words he murmured earlier, but I’m too exhausted to argue this time. My body lulled into a serene sense of calmness before the world becomes dark all over again.
SIX
ELDON
Sweat beads down my spine as I dig down deeper into my next push-up. The ache in my muscles is still relatively dull, so I keep going, letting the sounds of the waves crashing in the distance offer a sense of calmness that is much needed.
I slept enough to call it more than a nap, but I’m out here earlier than usual because it felt like my visions were trying to infiltrate my dreams. That’s never happened before, and it didn’t really succeed this time either, but it was enough to leave me restless. Remnants of ravens flutter in my mind, all black, bar one, but I can’t recall anything else.
Shaking it off, I splay my fingers out in the grass beneath me, using nature to ground me, bringing me back to the present so I don’t start digging too deep into my mind again. I’m expecting the guys to show up soon, which helps me focus better too. I don’t want to consider Raven at this moment because she needs to rest, and if I manage to get my hands on her, that would be the last thing on my mind.
A creak pulls me from my thoughts and I tilt my head up just in time to see Brax through the floor-length glass doors. He’s not stepping out of his room, though. No. He’s tiptoeing out of Raven’s.
Motherfucker.
He doesn’t even bother to glance in this direction since he’s usually the first one up, so I get the full view of watching him slip back into his room, leaving the shared living space untouched like he was never there at all. A tinge of jealousy passes over my skin, my face heating with irritation as I work faster and harder at these stupid fucking push-ups in hopes that I’ll cool the fuck down before he gets out here.
Impossible.
My closed-off friend, practically my brother, casually saunters outside. To the untrained eye, it would appear he hasn’t a care in the world. Except I know him and easily spot the crease between his eyebrows. The one that only shows when he’s more stressed out than usual. He’s wearing more than the black boxers he had on earlier, now in black jogger shorts matching my own as he moves over to the weights with a grunt as his offered greeting.
I try to keep my mouth shut, bite my tongue, and act unfazed, but my lips are already moving before I can stop. “Struggle to sleep?” I ask, my tone clipped as I push down once more.
“Yeah.” He doesn’t look in my direction, keeping his gaze tilted to the sky as he starts his weights routine.
“Is that because of all the fucking you were doing or because of everything that happened yesterday?”
I’m certain he almost drops the dumbbells as his gaze whips to mine and his eyes narrow. “What the fuck are you talking about?” His stumble is short-lived as he quickly continues his lifts.
Running my tongue over my teeth, I push down one last time before jumping to my feet, wiping my hands on my shorts as I turn to face him head-on. “Are we not going to acknowledge the fact that you slipped out of Raven’s room just now?”
His jaw ticks but I don’t put him off enough to stop lifting this time. “No, we’re not.”
He tilts away from me again and I reach for my water, gulping down half the bottle before wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “It’s not actually a question, you know. It’s rhetorical.”
“Still doesn’t mean I’m having this conversation with you,” he scoffs in response, which only irritates me more.
I like to be in control of everything, down to the last drop, and that includes the information I know. Especially when I know he’s keeping his thoughts to himself and a lot of shit has happened in the past twenty-four hours. How has it only been that fucking long? I’m tripping out, so I can’t imagine how he feels, but he’s offering no sliver of hope that he’s willing to share either.
Biting back my jealousy, I focus on my friend instead of my own needs. “I know you, man. If you don’t talk about this shit, you’re eventually going to explode, and I’d like to refrain from the hazards that come with that.” My hand mindlessly moves to the scar on my hip from one of the previous times he’s let his emotions build up inside of him. His eyes trail the motion but he continues to ignore me. Excellent. It looks like that’s how we’re playing it then.
I can play dirty if needed, and it seems he needs a reminder of that. “You can ignore me all you want, but you know I’ll call in Mom for reinforcements.” I cock a brow at him, silently pleading for him to challenge me, but all I get is a glare.
“You wouldn’t.”
I shake my head at him. He needs to see the bigger picture and fast. “It’s more than just us now, Brax. It’s Raven too, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep her protected. Even from you.”
* * *
I don’t knowwho I want to get my hands on first; Brax for the shitty attitude he’s been walking around with all day or Raven for bringing his grumpy ass back from the dead to begin with. Obviously, I’m more inclined tonotwant the latter, but damn, he’s not making it easy.
Classes have continued all morning like nothing happened yesterday, and that’s definitely rubbing me the wrong way too, but there are bigger things to address. Things that impact me on a more personal level. Like the fact that I’m growing attached to a damn necromancer.
A hot one at that.
I should have known this woman was more than any of us could imagine. I should have listened to what my vision was telling me, it was right there in front of me the whole time and I couldn’t decipher it. As it plays in my mind now, while our history professor drones on, it all makes perfect sense.
Pink-feathered raven.
