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All necromancers ever reported have had at least one other power, and we’re hopeful that’s the case for Raven as well. We’ve gone from one extreme to another, from protecting a Void to hiding a necromancer. What the fuck is my life right now?
Classes today were a huge fuck up. I was too tired to pay much attention, and as every minute ticked by, I could feel myself getting grouchier and colder. I get the sense Raven and the Bishops know it too because they’ve left me out here to work out alone while they do whatever the fuck it is they’re doing inside.
Dropping the weights at my feet, I lean back, taking a deep breath as sweat beads at my temples. My muscles ache since I worked out early this morning too, but I need the distraction. With my hands on my hips, I turn my attention to the coastline, searching for an answer to a question I can’t quite put my finger on, when I hear the patio door open behind me.
“Appreciating you working out when the sun is setting instead of when it’s rising is an entirely different thing,” Raven states, her voice wrapping around me like a fucking prayer, and all I can do is grunt.
Fucking grunt.
I keep my gaze focused forward, my back to her, hoping for… fuck knows what, when I sense her getting nearer.
“Are you doing okay? I know we’re all kind of going through some shit right now, but everyone else seems more open to airing their troubles.” She comes to a stop beside me, facing out over the cliff as I read between the lines. I’m in no mood to talk about my feelings, not even to Raven.
“You don’t need to be privy to everything about me because you saved me,” I bite, instantly hating the taste of the harsh words on my tongue. Peering out of the corner of my eye at her, it’s impossible for me not to see the subtle sting on her face.
Fuck.
What’s that I’m feeling? Clawing at my chest like a feral beast, burning a hole through my body as it tries to escape. Guilt?
Shit.
Pushing people away and keeping them at arm’s length is all I know, all I used to want. After losing my parents, why let anyone close if you know what the inevitable loss feels like? But Raven… damn, she just keeps trying to worm her way under my skin and I have no control over it.
With a sigh, I dip my head and look down at my feet. My eyelids flutter closed for a second as I exhale, trying to summon the words of apology that feel foreign to even think about, nevermind express.
Just when I think I have something to ease the guilt in my chest and the pain I’ve caused in my shadow, a screech startles me from my thoughts. Turning to my left, I freeze up, tension coiling in my gut when I find three bodies draped in black cloaks wearing golden masks grappling with Raven, who now has a black bag secured over her head.
What. The. Actual. Fuck?
“You just signed your death warrant,” I snarl, clenching my fists at my sides as two more fucking black-and-gold clad people charge me. My right arm is stone before they get within arm’s reach and I smash my enlarged knuckles into their faces. They hurtle through the air, crashing into the glass at the back of the house with a bang.
That better get the attention of the others or I’m about to add them to my kill list.
“Fuck,” one of them hisses, their head bouncing back and forth between me and the injured fucker still slumped against the glass. “How can we initiate you into the Guild if you fucking fight like this?” It sounds like a guy’s voice, but it’s not one I can place.
My chest heaves with every breath as I slowly turn my attention to each of them before settling on Raven, who remains still in their hold. She doesn’t look harmed, just restrained, but that still doesn’t sit well with me. Not one bit.
The urge to continue fighting is hard to overcome. It’s what I’m good at. Despite that, I force my muscles to relax, release the magic from my arm, and drop my chin to my chest. They act quickly, pulling a black cloth over my head as they render me useless.
What the fuck have we gotten ourselves into?
* * *
Every second feelslike an entire year. The air shifts around us and the cooling breeze of the distant sea is gone. It’s almost stifling in comparison as I try to focus on what I can hear and sense around me. My body aches from the battle inside me, keeping my anger at bay.
Hands shove at my shoulders and I tumble backward, landing in a seat with a huff. A moment later, the cloth over my head is removed. Manically searching around me, my gaze crashes with Raven’s a moment later and relief whooshes through me.
I track my gaze over her from head to toe, checking for anything and everything, and when my eyes land back on hers, she offers me a soft smile.
“I’m fine, big man,” she mouths from her seat across from me, and I relax a little more.
Glancing around, I find Eldon and Zane to my left and Creed to my right, completing the somewhat circle we’ve been placed in. Their scowls match my own, their distaste for this shit competing with mine as I fold my arms over my chest and glare at the closest fucker in black and gold.
I hate that I can’t see their expression beneath the mask more than I hate not knowing who it is.
Fuckers.
Taking stock of the room, I note the black marble flooring, the carvings in the stone windowless walls, and the ornate gold table sitting in the center of the five of us. I turn my head back around to Eldon. His gaze is locked on Raven’s, but he must sense my stare because he turns my way a moment later.
