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“That’s my girl,” Zane murmurs, eliminating the space between us to wrap his arms around my waist. I bask in his hold, letting his warmth heat me too, until a knock sounds from my bedroom door, garnering our attention.
Stepping through the open bathroom door, I find Creed popping his head around the doorframe with a grim frown on his face. When his gaze lands on mine, the wrinkles ease a little and he attempts a smile. “Hey, Leila is outside. They’ve called a Nightmares Guild meeting. Are you up for it?”
My eyes widen in surprise. “They’re going to attempt that, even now?”
“Seems so,” he replies as Zane reaches for my hand.
“It’s whatever you feel up to, Dove.”
“Oh, we’re going. I just need two minutes to change, then we can get the hell over there. Somebody needs to help make all of this make sense to me.”
Fuckthe Nightmares Guild’s desire for black cloaks and golden masks. I’m over that fetish. If anything, the garish shit will only draw attention to us. Instead, I’m dressed in a pair of black pants, with a fitted, long-sleeved sweater tucked in and my combat boots laced up. My pink hair is pulled back into a lowponytail as I cling to Zane’s arm, watching in awe and wonder as he masters his invisibility magic.
Just like earlier, he’s projecting over more than just himself, and I can see the tendrils of magic drifting over us with every step we take as we all remain quiet so Zane can focus.
The paths are mostly clear, and any time we do hear footsteps or see a shadow approaching, we step off the well-trodden path and wait patiently for them to pass before we continue on. One thing that does remain the same is the suffocating air and feeling of impending doom that we’ve been dealing with since the day Erikel and his men from the Basilica Realm came into our lives.
I can’t put a finger on exactly what it feels like, but it’s coiling deep in my stomach, swallowing me with a sense of darkness and unwavering pain that I can’t fully grasp.
As we near the academy building, we take to the grass as we make our way around to the back in search of the steps down into the basement. Once we’re halfway down, I watch as Zane’s magic slowly dissolves around us until we’re no longer protected from sight.
I reach for his hand, silently squeezing my appreciation, and manage to catch a glimpse of his smile in the dim, candlelit staircase.
Brax leads the way, as usual, and when we move into the wider corridor, Eldon steps up to my left, placing his hand on the small of my back while Creed protects us from behind.
The usual flicker of gold catches my attention as we step into the main room, the table standing prominently in the center while other members of the Nightmares Guild huddle in small groups, mumbling about everything and nothing. But the room goes silent when we approach, all eyes on us as my gaze shifts from one group to the next.
One guess at what has their attention… the necromancer in the room.
Me.
It’s notable that no one’s outwardly snarling at me, ready to hurt me, but their stiff shoulders and the way their eyebrows are raised makes it clear they’re ready to act against me if necessary. I would have rather they all had those ugly as fuck gold masks on so I didn’t have to see any of their expressions, but it seems everyone has forgone them tonight.
My men stand strong around me, ready to retaliate if needed, and I despise the standoffish vibe that’s filling the room because of my presence.
“Is there a problem?” I ask, my words echoing off the walls as my heart thunders in my chest, waiting for a response. “If anyone has one, I think it would be a good idea to cut to the chase now so we don’t waste any time,” I add, continuing to scan my eyes around the room.
“It shouldn’t be so hot when she just calls people out without even considering anything more than the answer she’s waiting for,” Zane murmurs to Eldon over my head like I’m not standing here, and my ball of inferno eagerly nods in agreement with his friend.
Assholes.
Now isn’t the time.
“I believe, Miss Hendrix, that there are people present in this room who have never knowingly stood so closely to a necromancer until now. Some have spent all of their lives in fear of the dark magic they’ve heard stories about, and others may have family members who have died at the hands of such abilities. So you may have to forgive a few of them for their uncertainty, but luckily for you, they have seen you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in training already. They watched you come back from the wreckage at the Shadowmoor Outpost. They know you went back out into the wild in search of answers to that attack, but more so, rumors travel fast, andthey know that you were magically drained today at the hands of Erikel and his men, bringing eight students back from the dead.”
Burton steps into the light from his spot at the edge of the room, hiding in the shadows yet fully aware of everything going on around him. A few students nod in agreement as he comes to a stop beside the gold table, his eyes locked on mine.
“There’s a lot of tension in here,” I mumble, brushing over the praise that was clear in his little speech, and he nods his head knowingly. In my defense, everything he listed in the past doesn’t affect the present for me, and that’s exactly what we need to be focused on. Then, the future can become more of a consideration.
“You would be correct, but not because of you. Because of the situation we find ourselves in.”
I nod, not wanting to argue and make this seem like it’s all about me and the tension I’m feeling, because he’s right, the situation we’re now in is fucked all the way to Hell and back and we need to find a way out.
Taking a step toward the table, the Bishops follow, but I don’t speak until I’m standing directly across from Burton. “So what are we going to do about our current situation?”
“I’m glad you asked,” he remarks with a small smile, like he wasn’t bleeding to death yesterday. “Sebastian was just—”
“Sebastian?” I interject, my spine stiffening at the mere mention of my brother, but if Burton notices, he doesn’t let on.
