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Leila.FuckingLeila. I understand why she’s standing before me, I just can’t seem to process the betrayal I feel along with it. On top of that, I’m even more pissed that I’ve allowed myself to be swept into a position where I feel any kind of hurt from anyone at all.
The look in her eyes is a mixture of nerves and guilt, and I’m not surprised one bit. Composing myself, I stand, brushing my hands down my thighs.
“Talk to me, Raven,” she murmurs, nervously shuffling from one foot to the other. All I can do is stare at her, my jaw locked tight as I bite back the hint of disappointment threatening my tongue.
“I don’t know why you think she’s going to talk to you after this little revelation,” Brax grunts, not trying to hold back his thoughts like me. “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he adds, nodding to the open archway at the far left of the room that seems to lead down a corridor.
“I didn’t have to reveal myself, you know. Not yet at least. But the second you were inside of the Guild, I wanted to come forward,” Leila states, answering Brax’s question, but her gaze is fixed on me.
She wants me to respond, to give her some kind of hint of how I’m feeling, but my mind is shut down tight, allowing a familiar numbness to creep up my spine.
Still unsure about Leila, I make the decision to follow Brax’s lead and get out of here, and she quickly falls into step beside me.
“No. Fucking. Way,” Zane grinds out, rushing around me to block Leila’s way. “You can stay here.”
Leila’s shaking her head before he’s even finished talking. “I-I can’t. I’m really not a fan of it down here,” she breathes, eyes nervously scanning around the space. I can sense Zane’s about to tell her just how much he doesn’t give a fuck, and despite my own feelings being twisted into knots, I nod toward the exit for her to follow along with me.
She offers a soft smile in response, but I don’t return it as I focus on keeping up with Brax, who is now halfway down the narrow hallway. Reaching the other end, steep stone steps greet us. It feels like an eternity before we reach the top, but when we do, I startle at the fact that we’re at the back of the main academy building.
“That place is under the academy?” I clarify with Eldon, who nods, frowning at me as he comes to a stop at my side.
“It seems so. But what I think we need to consider more than anything, Raven, is the fact that my vision could have been more of a warning sign for who we were letting into our inner circle,” he states, nodding toward Leila as she appears breathless at the top of the steep steps.
“Vision?” she asks, with her eyebrows crinkling, and Creed quickly wags a finger at everyone.
“Don’t say another word in front of her.”
Leila’s jaw slackens as she gapes at him, hurt dancing in her eyes as the rest of the Bishops stare at her. She clears her throat, waving her hand in front of her, and the black cloak and gold mask disappear. She folds her arms over her chest and turns her full attention to Creed. “Why? What do you think I’ll do?”
Creed shrugs, not indulging her with a response, but the same can’t be said for Zane.
“I mean, the possibilities are endless. You could spy on us, feed information about us back to the Guild. Who the fuck knows what lies you’ve already spun to Raven,” he lists off, moving to step in front of me a little, positioning himself perfectly between Leila and me.
Leila shakes her head at him in disbelief. I know I should interject and piece this together for myself, but I’m still at a complete loss with it all and I can’t find the words to get Zane to back off and walk away.
“I’m not a liar, Zane. I omitted a fact, yeah, but that’s exactly what the five of you are now going to do, too. It’s a part of being in the Nightmares Guild. People don’t know about it because that’s the very definition of a secret society.”
Well, snap.
The two of them continue to stare each other down when Eldon throws his arm around my shoulder and turns me in the direction of the path that leads us home. My eyes widen in surprise when I see that Brax is already a good way down it, clearly not sticking around to deal with this shit. The sound of footsteps rushing behind us is the telltale sign that the others are following after us.
Hopeful to make it back to the house without anything else being said so I can actually think, I barely make it a dozen steps before Zane chimes in again, still not ready to stop pushing Leila for more. But she’s choosing to follow us back, so she must be open to it.
“You’ve always acted like an outcast because of your father, but—”
“Wait, do you actually think me being one of the Nightmares gives me anything more than additional grief? I’m one of thembecauseof my father, nothing more, nothing less. It doesn’t mean they like me. As a matter of fact, it’s probably another reason for them to hate me, but I believe in the cause of the Guild, so I withstand their bullshit in the hopes of making a difference,” she snaps, rendering Zane silent as we all march back to the house.
Eldon’s hand strokes patterns over my arm as I lean into him, taking silent strength and comfort as the house comes into view.
“She doesn’t step foot inside,” Brax hollers, not bothering to glance back at us.
“Raven,” she pleads, and my steps slow. Eldon’s arm drops from my shoulders as I turn to face her, but he doesn’t completely step inside.
“I don’t really know what I’m supposed to think right now, Leila,” I admit. I know it’s not what she wants to hear, but fuck if I can give her anything else.
Tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear, she sighs. “For real, Raven, is this something you would have plucked up the courage to tell me about tomorrow if I wasn’t standing here already? Without prompt or reason to spill the truth? Would you have said, ‘Hey, Leila, guess what I was initiated into last night?’ Because I don’t think you would have.” Her words are heavily laced with defeat, while a twist of guilt and reality clenches my stomach. She does have a point there. That doesn’t mean I have to like it, though. “Or how about the fact that you guys snuck off to Shadowmoor? Was that going to be an omitted fact between us as well?”
“How do you know about that?” Eldon interrupts, and Leila doesn’t remove her gaze from mine as she answers.
