AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nod too, but the smile doesn’t come. I’m too on edge from wondering over where my parents are.
He releases my hand, taking a step back as he frowns. “I must say, Raven, you’re a fair distance away from the academy. What’s going on?”
Looking around at where I am, I try to gather my thoughts. White porcelain tiles cover every inch of the floor as the sun brightly shines down from above, but when I peer up, a glass roof confirms we are, indeed, inside. People move around us, the large open space seemingly like some kind of entryway as gateways open and shut in every direction. The startling confirmation that I am, indeed, in Haven Court is that every piece of furniture in here is gold; the scattered tables and chairs, photos on the wall, physical doorways leading off in different directions, and the grand staircase off to the left are all dripping in it. With the sun glaring through the glass, it only seems to shine brighter.
Turning my attention back to Zane’s father, I gape at him, my mouth opening and closing a few times as I try to explain, but I don’t really know how to answer his question.
“Ah, Monarch Denver, I see you have met our daughter, Raven.” Abel’s voice sends a tremor down my spine.
Zane’s father looks over my shoulder, his frown deepening for a second before easing. “Evangeline, it’s fabulous to see you. Abel.” I take great pleasure in the fact he addresses Mama first, which will surely get under Abel’s skin. “What brings you here today?”
I reluctantly turn to face them, not appreciating my father at my back. He’s clearly even more unpredictable than I expected. To my surprise, Abel doesn’t seem thrown off by Monarch Denver’s tone.
“We’re just here for an assessment of Raven’s magic. We’re all booked to see Monarch Perkins,” he explains, and I take an instinctive step back, unable to stop the panic from building inside of me.
I spot Zane’s father curiously looking at me out of the corner of his eye. “What seems to be the problem? Is everything okay, Raven?” he asks, turning to me for an answer, but once again, I’m standing with a slack jaw and no words for the man. If I somehow manage to get back to the academy after all of this, I’m sure he’ll be kicking me out of his son’s house and banishing me from all of existence.
“We don’t want to bore you with it, Monarch Denver. I’m sure you’re a busy man, and this isn’t anything for you to worry over,” Abel replies, far too smoothly, while Mama continues to stand with her lips tightly sealed shut.
“I can assure you, bored is far from what I’m feeling, Abel,” Zane’s father retorts, straightening the lapels of his suit jacket.
Mama’s eyes widen at Monarch Denver’s reaction and she clears her throat. “Her magic was blocked when I took her to Shadowmoor, Rhys. We recently lifted the barrier and—”
“You lifted the barrier?” he growls, surprise and a hint of anger in his tone. “That would have meant…” His words trail off as he turns back to me, his lips twisting in disgust, and I gulp. Yup. Definitely fucking hates me, and I can’t even pinpoint the reason why. “My apologies. I understand when things must be done; there isn’t always an easier alternative,” he murmurs, frowning at me a moment longer before looking back at my parents. “How does that bring us back to now?”
Abel plants his hands on his hips, glaring in my direction before turning to Rhys with a sigh. As if it’s my fault that he’s having to explain himself. We wouldn't be here right now if he hadn’t thrown me through the damn gateway.
“After she experienced the attack at Shadowmoor, we thought that may have helped trigger its… blossoming, but alas, she still doesn’t show any signs, and for her to excel at Silvercrest and for the betterment of the realm going forward, it’s paramount she’s at her full potential.”
Holy fuck.
What an absolute load of bullshit.
I definitely hate how slimy he is, almost as much as I hate that he’s my goddamn father. How I share DNA with this man, I’ll never know.
“Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix, is that you? I’m ready when you are.” A woman in a brown pantsuit approaches, adjusting her glasses up her nose as she politely smiles at the four of us.
A hand on my back ushers me in her direction and my feet instantly start trying to create some kind of traction beneath me to stop the momentum, but it’s the hand on my wrist that halts me. I look from the white knuckles at my arm up to the face it belongs to, to find Rhys frowning at the person behind me. A glance in the same direction confirms my suspicions when I find Abel doing the pushing.
“I don’t think this is suitable. Does our Silvercrest Academy student consent to this?” Rhys grits out, and my chest clenches so tight I think I’m going to pass out.
Is he… helping me? Or trying to? Fuck, I don’t know.
“It doesn’t matter if she does or doesn’t. She’s my child. I have rights,” Abel snarls, the cover of his high-society mask slipping and allowing his true colors to shine through the cracks as someone pushes back at him.
“You believe your rights outweigh hers?” The hand on my wrist somehow tightens.
“Yes,” my father replies without missing a beat, and I glance to find Mama standing with her head in her hands, allowing it all to unfold while watching someone else put a stop to it.
Turning my attention back to Rhys, hoping for fuck knows what, I watch his nostrils flare as he straightens his spine. “I will do the reading.”
My heart drops to my feet. Fuck. I thought he was going to help me, be on my side, but this… I don’t even know what the hell any of this is.
“What? No!” Monarch Perkins yelps in sync with Abel, but Rhys doesn’t pay either of them any mind.
“Yes, you’re dismissed, Perkins.” She rapidly blinks at him for a solid thirty seconds before nodding once and rushing to get lost in the crowd, which is still moving around us like we’re not causing a scene. “Come,” Rhys orders, yanking on my arm, but once I fall into step with him, his hold loosens.
My parents are right behind us, Abel’s angered breaths burning against my neck as Rhys steps through a door and down a long corridor. Everything passes by in a blur as we take two more turns and two more doors before he finally comes to an abrupt stop.
