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ELDON
Anger coils in my veins as Raven is once again forced to use her powers in an attempt to protect one of us. That’s not how this is supposed to go. We’re supposed to protecther, and we’re failing.
What she doesn’t notice as she rushes off into the forest is that we’re stuck in place, unable to move our feet a single step to stop her. Calling out her name a moment ago also granted me the punishment of my voice being lodged in my throat, so I couldn’t yell out to her again. I can’t turn to look at the others, but since none of them race after her, I can only assume they’ve been affected in the same way.
I keep my gaze fixed on Raven, watching as she comes to a stop by a shimmering gateway. Irritation winds tighter inside of me as Erikel takes his time to get to her, but just as he approaches, Sebastian ups his pace, knocking Raven off her feet and sending her tumbling through the gateway.
Motherfucker.
My head pounds, my heart aches, and my gut twists in agony.
The moment Erikel steps through the gateway, it vanishes and the magic keeping me in place relinquishes its hold. I fall to my knees as I lurch forward before quickly taking off for wherethe gateway once stood. Twigs snap and grunts follow and I can only assume it’s my brothers, but I can’t turn away from my target to confirm.
Not a single remnant of them remains and a snarl bursts from my lungs, rumbling in my throat as the ground shakes beneath my feet. Turning, I find the others just as feral as me. Brax has almost completely turned to stone, his magic uncontrollable when faced with the enormity of his fury. Creed’s eyes are darker than ever, his power searching for their trail of its own accord, and Zane looks like he’s wound so tight he’s going to combust.
“Where the fuck did they go?” Zane bites, spinning on the spot, hoping and failing to find the answer we all seek.
I do the same, coming up just as empty, until my eyes catch movement back where we were a few moments ago. “I don’t know, but those fuckers might,” I grunt, pointing at Erikel’s men, still on the ground after writhing in pain at the hands of Creed.
Without another word, the four of us charge at the two guys who are slowly climbing to their feet. Creed doesn’t bother throwing his magic at them. Going for them mentally won’t be enough. I want to feel their flesh break open beneath my fists as I pull the answer from them.
Just as they get steady on their feet, I charge, hitting the closest one in the gut with my shoulder, sending us both skidding through the mud.
“What the fuck?” he shouts before I grapple to pin him to the ground and smash my knuckles into his face. The grunt from his lips offers little gratification, so I do it again and again before I grab him by the throat and bring his bloodied face to mine.
“Where the fuck is she?” The fucker splutters and laughs through crimson-stained teeth, igniting further chaos inside of me. “Creed, you ready to fuck with his head?” I holler,channeling the heat of my magic into the palms of my hands. I smell the burning at his throat before he cries out in pain, matching the high pitch tone of the fucker Brax has in his hold, rattling him around like a ragdoll.
“Stop, please, make it stop,” the asshole pleads in a hoarse voice, but I don’t hear a location being tossed about, so I don’t offer the sorry fucker anything more than an extra few degrees of heat.
“Enough.” The boom comes from behind me, and I turn with a scowl firmly etched into my features to find Professor Fitch standing with his arms folded over his chest.
“Fuck off,” Zane says with a scoff, but Fitch just shakes his head.
“I know where she will be, and you’re wasting your time here instead of going to help her.”
Dropping my hold on the asshole beneath me, I’m on my feet and striding toward him before he’s finished speaking, as are my brothers. He holds all of our attention. I swear I saw this man yesterday. He looks to have aged ten years overnight, but that isn’t my concern at the moment. I need to get to Raven. Now.
“Where is she?” Zane demands, but I shake my head. We haven’t got time to waste on doing this ourselves.
“Take us to her!” Fitch’s gaze lands on mine as my hands clench at my sides, my demand hanging in the air for the longest second of my life.
With a single nod, he spins on his heels and takes off for the same spot Raven had been moments earlier. Despite being focused on getting to my girl, I can’t help but notice that his usual uniform of choice has some new additions. He’s wearing weapons and daggers around his waist like a woman would wear dainty rings on her fingers. Only, these accessories are far more deadly.
We shouldn’t take his extra precautions lightly, not when he’s been thrown from his teaching position. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask what the deal is with that when a gateway appears and my thoughts are refocused on what’s most important.
My little bird.
I don’t offer the Professor another glance but trust in his gateway as I barrel through without care, stumbling slightly when my feet hit the uneven sandy ground. My heart races in my chest at the sight of Raven on her knees, her usual pink hair sporting far more strands of black than the two that had been present in the cave.
Two of Erikel’s men drag a student to their feet from in front of her, and I watch in slow motion as she slumps to the ground, sand puffing around her from the force. Creed barges my shoulder as he kicks into action first, racing toward our girl as I hurry to catch up.
Brax snarls from a step behind me as Zane stumbles to his knees in the fine grains at our feet while Sebastian and Erikel watch with a glint of amusement.
“What the fuck have you done to her?” I bite, dropping down beside her as Creed rolls her onto her side.
“What she was made to do,” Erikel replies with a hint of humor lacing his words. His shoulders rise, ready for the challenge he knows is coming, but I just snap my teeth. He looks deadly with his fur cloak draping down over his back, but I bet this fucker would lose a third of his bulk without the cloth covering him.
“She wasn’t made to be your puppet,” Zane grunts, ready to charge, but as much as I want to burn the world down around my pink-haired raven right now, I need to focus on her instead. She looks pale, her chest falling in short, sharp breaths, and I need to make sure she’s okay.
