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I hope.
Speaking of the man, it’s like he heard his name in my thoughts and summoned himself. He’s waiting by the doors, talking with two men and a woman I haven’t seen before, but they look to be hanging from his every word. I have to remember this man is very high up within The Monarchy, highly regarded, and a big influence. It’s weird that he’s all of those things while also being Zane’s father and my most recent savior when my parents were being… themselves.
Maybe tonight might work out well for me to have a moment alone with my mother to understand her side of things. She clearly wasn’t happy with what Abel was doing, but why wasn’t she openly stopping it? What don’t I know? What can’t I see?
“Raven… are you okay?” Rhys’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. I hadn’t realized I’d zoned out. I hadn’t even paid attention to the fact that we stopped.
“I’m fine, sorry. I’m all up in here when I should be more alert,” I admit, tapping my temple, and an understanding smile spreads across his face.
“It’s understandable. Do you all want to follow me?” He takes off, side by side with Zane, without another word, and I squeeze Brax’s hand tighter for support. Creed steps up to my free side, placing his hand on the small of my back while I feel Eldon’s presence right behind me.
I spot the table from a mile away and internally cringe. It looks huge and obnoxious in the center of the room, right between the podium that’s been set up and the entry doors. It’s like everyone else’s seats have been placed around it. It’s commandeering the whole room and it’s all my fault with my batshit crazy parents and their drama forcing Rhys to take these measures.
My mother notices me first, her smile spreading from cheek to cheek when she sees me. She’s up from her seat and darting the remaining steps between us in the blink of an eye, enveloping me in her arms a moment later.
Her hold is so tight, I’m short of breath, and I find myself hugging her back just as strongly as a weight is lifted from my shoulders.
“My darling girl,” she breathes against the side of my head, rocking me slightly from side to side.
“Mama,” I whisper, hating that I still lean on her despite everything she’s kept from me, all the secrets she’s been hiding. But no matter what, her arms are always comforting, and that must mean something, I’m sure.
Leaning back, she glances from Brax to Creed then over my shoulder to Eldon with a smile. “I’ve been hearing a lot about everything going on. Even Professor Burton came by. He mentioned you have a familiar, Raven. A familiar! That's amazing, and a griffin no less. Unbelievable. How are they?”
“He’s great, thank you.” As much as he’s not all that great, I don’t want to get sidetracked with another one of my issues when she holds the secrets to another. “We must talk, Mama. There’s so much I don’t understand.”
She cups my cheek, a sadness darkening her eyes as she nods softly. “Soon, my love. For now, let’s be the fake-ass chirpy Hendrixes, agreed?”
My eyes widen in surprise. “Did you just say fake-ass, because that’s… are you even my mother?” Her chuckle wraps around me, warming my heart. By soon, I hope she means tonight because I can’t keep waiting. I try to clarify that fact with her, but she’s already dragging me toward the table.
Glancing over my shoulder, I find Brax, Creed, and Eldon all staring at me with concern etched into their features. I force a smile, but it does nothing to their stance as they reluctantly follow after us, greeting their own families.
I startle when my mother pulls out the seat between her and Abel, nudging me to take it. My nostrils flare with annoyance as I do, my father’s presence on my left stiffening my spine, but if he notices, he doesn’t seem to care.
“Raven, how are you?” I turn to him with a stone face, which makes his smile spread wider. “Professor Burton was talking about how you have a familiar now. A—”
“Griffin, yeah, I’m aware. What should I expect from you with regard to that? Are you going to steal him? Hurt him? Use him as a weapon?” I cock my brow, not wanting to deal with his bullshit, and for once, the smile on his face slips.
“Raven, that’s not what—”
“That’s not what,Papa?” I bite, not caring that I’m cutting him off after everything.
He sighs heavily, leaning back in his seat with a hint of defeat slumping his shoulders forward, and that’s when I remember Sebastian is sitting on the other side of him. My pointed stare turns into a glare that he returns. Good. The feeling’s mutual.
“Raven, dear, how are you? I told Rhys that we wanted to be close to you so we could chat, but it seems men don’t really listen,” Eldon’s mother says with a chuckle as the chatter around us gets louder. “We really must plan a ladies’ day. The three of us. Me, you, and Evangeline. It’s been too long.”
That… actually sounds like a good idea. My mother alone with no interruptions or unwanted listeners? Yes, please.
“Count me in,” I reply, smiling wide as servers approach the table offering out drinks. Glancing around the room, I try to see if I can spot Burton. Both of my parents have mentioned him and I would really like to discuss the fact that Sebastian was meeting with Erikel in secret.
“Have you had much interaction with the leader from the Basilica Realm?” my father asks, his voice lower than usual, and I whip around to face him, expecting him to be deep in conversation with Sebastian, but to my surprise, it’s me he’s looking at.
My eyebrows pinch in confusion, but as much as I don’t want anything to do with this man, intrigue forbids me from stopping the conversation. “Erikel?” I clarify, just to be sure, and he nods.
“Very little. He was in one of my classes the other day, but otherwise, only at the gathering announcing his arrival.” I let the fact sink in, and I’m sure I’m seeing things when I see him sigh in what looks like relief. Surely not. “Why?”
“Why what?” he asks. The shutters quickly fall back into place on his face and I sense Sebastian looking between us.
“Why would you ask that?”
