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“So you’re just… in my head?” My eyebrows furrow, a mixture of surprise and uncertainty swirling in my mind.
“I’m not in your head, I can just project my thoughts so I can speak to you. You still have to talk out loud to me because I can’t hear your thoughts. For now, at least. I’m sure we’ll be able to work on it as you become more familiar with your powers.”
I blink up at him, overwhelmed by the startled awakening I had combined with the fact that I can now hear him. Folding my arms over my chest, I glance out over the cliff. I hear him move but I don’t turn to check on him as I give myself the moment I need.
“Come sit, Raven. You’re a ball of nervous energy.”
Peeking out of the corner of my eye, I find him lying down, facing the shoreline. He’s so calm, so at peace that it’s almost irritating that his energy doesn’t match my own. But despite that, I take the few steps toward him and settle into the grass to his left.
He waits a few breaths before he speaks into my mind again.“What were you panicked about, Raven? I could feel it in every fiber of my body. I had to fly closer to make sure you were okay, so it’s highly confusing considering you were lying in bed.”
I keep my gaze fixed ahead as I sigh. “I could feel… something. It was making me uneasy. Then I woke, but I still felt like I was in the midst of it.” He adjusts his front leg so he’s leaning in my direction and I find myself tilting into his side, seeking comfort in a way I haven’t before. Which makes me delve further into it with him. “I don’t know what it was, but there were shadows again.”
“Again?”
I roll my eyes even though he can’t see. I’m talking to a fucking griffin,mygriffin, and there are a million things I want to ask, but I don’t even know where to begin. Talking about the creepy shadows and silhouettes taking over my room doesn’t feel like the most fun topic out of all of my choices.
As the silence stretches and the first specks of dawn break across the horizon, he seems to accept my placidity as he changes the subject. “Do you want to go back to sleep? You can lay here while I protect you if needed.”
I shake my head and stand. All of my questions for him are going to have to wait while I gather my thoughts. I’m too tired for the mental load right now. “No, the sun is starting to rise anyway, which means I’ll need to get ready for classes soon.”
Ari slowly rises, too, turning to face me as he lowers his beak to my stomach. “As you wish.”
I smile, despite my inner turmoil, and turn for the door. My soul feels calmer now that I’ve seen my familiar, even though new revelations have come with it. Despite the overload, I pause when I reach the patio door.
Bracing my hand on the handle, I turn to face him, only to find him watching me already.
“Thank you, Ari,” I breathe, and it’s almost as though he stands taller somehow.
“Always.”
* * *
My gaze is fixedon Professor Fitch, my ass is glued to the seat beneath me, but my mind is elsewhere. Thoughts of Ari this morning still linger, along with memories of the shadows cascading across my room. The second I stepped inside, Zane greeted me. He felt the floor vibrate, declaring Ari’s arrival, but he didn’t want to interrupt.
My brain was just freaking tired. There had been so much unsaid between the Bishops and me and the second the air was cleared, another hurdle was thrown my way with Ari and the shadows.
I need to start a list of things I have to accomplish because this is driving me insane. I feel so connected to the Bishops and Ari, yet so completely isolated that sometimes it’s suffocating. Like now, I have no idea what Fitch has spent the entire lesson talking about, even with his daughter seated beside me. I feel like I’m in a sea full of people, yet alone.
One thing is for certain, though, Fitch’s entire stance has shifted since the carnage at Shadowmoor’s outpost. I can’t put my finger on how, but there’s a shift in him. I can sense it.
He’s always been blunt, cut-throat, and straight to the point, but it feels even more intense. The way he scrubs at his jaw, constantly rolls his shoulders back, and casts a glance toward Leila when he thinks no one is watching confirms it.
Something has him tense and ready to leap into action. I don’t want to say it has him scared, because he doesn’t look the type to ever admit that fear is a feeling he’s ever experienced, but he’s spooked, at least. And ifhe’sspooked, we’re all doomed. The fact that Leila hasn’t stopped frowning at him the entire time only adds to my theory.
My spine stiffens when the class is dismissed and I quickly shuffle to my feet with Leila. She’s still staring at her father with concern, so I decide to cut my guessing and speak to her.
“Hey, is everything okay with your father? He seems… on edge,” I murmur, careful to ensure no one can hear me. She nervously rubs her lips together as she tracks his every step.
“Honestly? I don’t know. His protectiveness has increased, that’s for sure, but not entirely a surprise after witnessing the attack on the outpost. But… I do think there’s more,” she admits, her worried glance turning to me, and I offer her a soft smile, hoping it conveys the empathy I’m feeling, but shit, it’s not something I’m used to harnessing, never mind displaying to others.
“If I’m noticing it, Leila, I’m sure there’ll be others who are too.” I hate to say it, but it’s the truth, and the grimace that takes over her features tells me she knows it.
“You’re right. I’ll talk to him,” she breathes, and I squeeze her arm in comfort as the man in question comes to a stop in front of us and the class disperses around him.
We both turn to look at him, only to find him assessing the both of us. Every time he turns to me, his mouth opens to speak, but nothing comes out, so he goes back to looking at Leila before repeating the same thing again. When I’m ready to step back from the awkwardness growing between us, he finally speaks. “You can join us if you wish, Raven.”
“For what?”
