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“I’m going,” I grunt, shuffling him to the side so I can go around him without trampling the dead body on the floor.
Eldon calls my name, but I don’t glance back. I’m done. Creed silently falls into step with me as I make my way over the rubble, heading outside to find Zane watching Raven with her griffin. It’s a fucking sight to behold. Watching a huge beast like a griffin kneel before the pink-haired wonder who has consumed my every breath since she appeared only confirms just how special she is.
I stop beside Zane, desperate to reach for her but understanding the moment she’s having. Creed stands on my other side, and a moment later, Eldon appears on his other side. The four of us watch in wonder as she mindlessly runs her fingers over the griffin's head like he’s a kitten familiar and not the terrifying creature that he is.
It’s not lost on me that the world is crumbling around us. The Shadowmoor outpost took a huge blow, there’s no denying that, yet we’re taking solace in watching the missing piece of our world bask in her familiar’s presence.
Everything else can wait. There’s no coming back from any of this. That’s not going to change in the time it will take Raven to gather herself. There’s something different about her, I can sense it, but until I get us out of here, I’m not going to understand it. And I think I need that information more than anything else right now.
Whether she’ll offer it or not, I don’t know, but I won’t be asking; I’ll be demanding. If she expects anything different, she’s delusional. She glances back, her eyes instantly locking with mine, and she gulps.
“Let’s go home, Shadow.”
She nibbles on her bottom lip, nodding lightly as she continues to stroke the griffin. Her hand moves down to his beak as she turns to face him again. It looks as though she’s whispering something to him before he stands tall, the ground moving beneath him. Huge eyes lock on mine, pinning me in place before he ruffles his wings.
“How are we going to get back?” Zane asks, breaking my stare so I can look around. There are a few gateways set up down at the left tower. It seems to be standing a little taller than the other, which is nothing more than a pile of rocks.
“My magic won’t get us out of here, so we’ll need to take a gateway.” I point toward the small line of people moving through the iridescent ovals below and everyone follows my line of sight.
“Let’s go,” Creed agrees, moving toward Raven and lacing his fingers with hers.
Asshole. I wanted to do that. Begrudgingly, I keep my pout to myself and the five of us trudge through the wreckage. When we near the line, sobs and cries vibrate from the other students and professors. Sounds which only intensify when they first catch a glimpse of Raven’s griffin walking a step behind us. Raven looks over her shoulder at him one final time before stepping through the gateway, and in a blink of an eye, we’re at the entryway to the main academy building.
The noises get louder as we are surrounded by more students and professors in hysterics, and it instantly gives me a splitting headache. “I’m not dealing with all of this. Head home,” I state to the others.
“I think they’re taking inventory of who made it back,” Zane murmurs, pointing to the professors holding boards and taking everyone’s names. I really don’t have the energy for that. “Let them sweat until morning or something, I couldn’t give a shit.”
“Where’s Leila?” Raven suddenly gasps, eyes wide as panic washes over her.
“She was with her father when we last saw her,” Creed states, which seems to wane some of the fear from her gaze, but not all of it.
“Do we know if she made it back?”
“Not unless you’ve seen her in the past five seconds since we stepped through the gateway,” I grumble, earning myself a glare from her, but I brush it off. “Why don’t one of you go and find out, drop our names, and I’ll find you back at the house,” I offer, already moving to the nearby tree stump just out of view of the main hoard of people.
I hear Eldon murmuring something to the rest of them before I open a portal, only to find Raven, Creed, and Zane right behind me. “Eldon’s gone to check,” the latter advises, and I shrug, stepping through the portal to reveal our lounge. I finally manage to exhale the breath caught in my throat.
This is my safe space. No one but the five of us in here, no one else to see my stress and worry, the metaphorical gargoyle mask dropping from my face.
Dropping onto the sofa, I brace my head in my hands with my elbows on my knees. Despite leaving the mess behind at the outpost, I still feel a tightness inside me that won’t unwind. Peering up at Raven, who stands with her arms folded around her so tight I’m sure she’s going to suffocate, I know what I need.
“Shadow, come.”
I lean back, opening my lap to her, my arms at my sides as my eyes do the pleading my voice can’t. A nervousness washes over her as she assesses me, irking the fuck out of me, but Eldon comes rushing through the front door in the next moment, interrupting whatever the hell that was.
“You could have left the portal open for me, fucker,” he grunts, glaring at me as the door slams shut behind him. I shrug, having nothing to say, and his eyes squint even tighter, but he doesn’t push further like he usually would.
He moves to stand between Raven and Creed, Zane hanging on her other side as they all stare at me. I’ve had enough.
“What the fuck am I missing?” I bite, nostrils flaring as I give each of them a withering glare, Raven included, and they all falter, which only confirms my suspicions. “Someone better spit it out. Now.” Raven flinches, her hold on herself somehow worming its way tighter. “And what the fuck is this about?” I add, pointing at her, and she stiffens.
“Brax…” Creed starts, looking between Raven and me warily, which only pisses me off more.
“Cut the fuck to it. Whatever it is, just clue me in.” I can’t handle the itchy feeling beneath my skin, and I know it’s stemming from this invisible elephant that everyone can see but me.
“It’s a little more difficult than that,” Eldon states, instinctively taking a step toward Raven.
“It’s not, though, is it,” Raven murmurs, finally unraveling her arms from around her waist and shaking them off at her sides. It’s funny how my glare is supposed to spark fear in people, yet with Raven, it somehow manages to fuel her.
