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Erikel watches his every move, though, not glancing back at me until Creed’s father walks by us. “You’re dismissed,” Erikel repeats, but that’s sure as shit not good enough for me.
“You can’t just take him,” I retort, my voice getting louder. Glancing over my shoulder, I find Zane is now joined by Eldon, Brax, and even Leila. Surely he has to listen to us. I turn back to him, but he’s already waving his hand dismissively.
“I can do as I please, Raven. But continue to push me, and you’ll see what I’m capable of. Just because he’s a motivator for you to do as I want doesn’t mean I won’t kill him to teach you a lesson. You have plenty of other motivators around you,” he snaps, stunning me as the creak of the golden armor pauses for a beat. I look toward the golden warrior, noting the tension in his jaw and neck from his side profile, but after the longest second, he continues on his way. “I won’t warn you again,” Erikel adds for good measure, before turning up the stairs again, swooping his fur cloak dramatically as he goes while I stare at him, speechless.
“What the fuck do we do now?” Eldon asks, wiping a hand down his face, and I snatch it, pulling him along with me as I take off up the stairs when Erikel disappears through the entryway.
“We follow them.”
“But, Raven, he said—” I turn around to look at Leila while blindly trying to race up the stairs.
“I couldn’t give a fuck what he said. It’s Creed. He needs us.”
Nobody else argues as I turn back to face the direction I’m walking, hearing the footsteps of my men and my friend right behind me as Eldon squeezes my hand tightly in his. The secondwe make it to the top, my pace quickens as I spy the students who were called out being ushered through a gateway.
Fuck. There is no way he is going through there.
We’re too late, though. Creed steps through without a backward glance, with his father and Erikel right behind him, and as I near the spot where the gateway is, it disappears before my very eyes.
No. No. No.
Spinning on the spot, my hand falls from Eldon’s hold as my heart races wildly in my chest.
“What do we do now?” Zane asks, looking between Brax and me.
I don’t have an answer. Not even a hint of one. All I can feel is terror seeping into my bones as I turn back to where the gateway was. How can this be happening?
Fuck.
“I’d rather he had taken me,” I bite, hands on my hips as I heave every breath into my lungs.
“Don’t say stupid shit like that, Shadow. Besides, you don’t know what’s going on,” Brax states, gripping my chin and forcing me to look up at him. His chest rises and falls heavily like mine, proving that he’s as stressed as I am, but it doesn’t matter how worked up we are. That’s not going to make a difference right now.
“I don’t know where he is, Brax. I can’t breathe,” I admit, my voice raspy as my eyes sting. I’m not a crier, I’m not usually so damn emotional, but this truly feels like the rug has been pulled out from under me.
I’m not in control. I’m powerless, and this just proves it.
“I know, Shadow. I know. But I’m here, we’re here. All we can do is wait. We’ll wait for him,” he murmurs, his voice softer than I’ve ever heard it before, and I find myself nodding along in agreement.
If this was a power move from Erikel, it’s working. He knows he has total control over all of us. I’m just another soldier in his grand plan. We all are. But fuck him if he thinks he can hurt any of my men.
If all I can do is wait, I will, but I won’t fucking forget. Even if it’s a fucking day trip to the seaside, I don’t give a shit.
Erikel will pay for this.
I thinkI’m going to be sick. I’m certain of it. The way my stomach muscles keep tightening violently as worry continues to cement itself in my soul is unbearable.
“Is this what it was like for you guys when I disappeared because of my parents?” I ask, nibbling on my fingernails.
“Yeah,” Eldon answers, his voice as solemn as mine as he sits on the sofa across from me.
It’s been hours and he’s still not back. My skin feels itchy, my heart aches, and the antsy feeling burning through my veins is unrelenting.
“Fuck,” I grunt, making Zane scoff from his spot on the floor. “It’s too much.”
“You need to keep busy,” Brax states, and I immediately shake my head.
“I can’t focus on anything else.” Pretending that it’s possible is just wasting time.
