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“What’s that?” Leila asks, distracting me, and I find her pointing at the board.
“Uhhh…”
“We’re trying to piece together everything we know about all of the bullshit we’re drowning in,” Eldon states, leaning back in his seat as he waves her in. “Anything to add?”
Leila steps into the lounge, taking small, measured steps toward us as she fixates on the red scribble on the board. She’s wearing a long black coat that she wraps tighter around herself as she assesses everything. Her eyes scan from left to right again and again, and my nerves start to spike when she gets to the bottom of the board and seemingly goes to the top and starts again.
“Is this a collection of facts?” she asks, looking to Brax, who remains beside the board with his marker in hand, and he nods. “Then you should add my father to it,” she states, her tone not wavering or seeming uncertain.
“Why’s that?” Brax asks, folding his arms over his chest as he looks down at her.
“Because he’s holed up with Barton and I haven’t really seen him since the last meeting myself, either.”
I frown. “How do you know there’s a meeting if your father hasn’t told you?” I always assumed he was the one to tell her, so if she hasn’t seen him, I’m intrigued to know where she got her information from.
“Grave.”
“You mean the guy you say fucked you and made you hot gossip? Because I’m going to be real with you right now, Leila, that’s not the story he’s telling me,” Creed interjects, and my head whips to him. Since when?
“One and the same. He called me out after you questioned him at training, and it seems Genie has a talent for taking pictures of quite a lot of people against their will.” Her gaze drops to the floor and my jaw tightens with anger for her.
Genie is a total dick too.
“Okay, we’ll be there.” Creed stands, pulling me along with him. “Is there anything with your father we should be more focused on?”
Leila shakes her head. “I don’t know.”
It seems that we don’t know much at all between us. Let’s hope the Nightmares Guild can offer us something.
Steppingdown into the meeting room, I half expect to see Sebastian pop up out of nowhere, but to my surprise, as I scan around the gathered crowd, he’s not here. With Leila on my left and Eldon on my right, we come to a stop by the golden table where Burton and Fitch stand side by side, murmuring among themselves.
“It’s good to finally see you both. How is the plan to save the academy and the realm looking?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest as I glance between the pair of them. Fitch frowns as Burton purses his lips, and I’m left wondering why the hell I saved this guy if he’s not going to do something useful.
“There’s a lot at play right now, Raven. Patience is key,” Burton states, and I shake my head.
“Patience would be key if there was time for that. Instead, the students are feeling the wrath of the enemy while you two hide away and, when questioned, reveal nothing. I exposed myself and my abilities for two reasons. One, to protect Creed, and two, because I believed in you to be the leader we needed to survive, but I’m not seeing it.”
Apparently, I’m madder than I initially thought and now I’m on a roll with no inclination to stop.
“She does have a point.” The interruption comes from Dalton, one of the fourth years, and hearing his agreement makes me stand a little taller. He’s not saying it to appease me. He has no need, he clearly thinks the same as me and my men, and it’s reassuring. His comment also quiets the other members of the Guild and everyone settles their attention on the two men who are supposed to be our leaders.
Burton clears his throat, adjusting the tie at his neck as he looks around the room. “We won’t be battling tonight. Our focus needs to be on us collectively coming up with a plan of action,” he states, piquing my interest, but it’s still odd to me that this issuddenly now a group effort. It certainly wasn’t that way before Erikel.
“You need to start telling us where the fuck we stand because, from our perspective, you’re just leaving us to rot under Erikel’s reign,” Brax grunts, moving slightly so he’s standing protectively in front of me without blocking me completely.
“I’m not,” Burton attempts to reassure us, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is taking the bait.
“Do you know what happened at Pinebrook?” Creed asks, cocking a brow at Burton and Fitch before turning his attention to the rest of the members. “Was anybody else forced to go?” he adds, and nobody makes themselves known, which makes him scoff in disappointment. At whom, I’m not entirely sure, but that clearly doesn’t make his whole ordeal any easier.
“What happened there, Creed?” Fitch asks, giving him his full attention, and Creed sighs, likely trying to figure out where to begin. I keep my eyes locked on the pair of them as Creed gives them a clipped overview, and when he confirms that I was forced to bring back Monarch Dutton, Burton curses under his breath.
“What?” I ask, wanting to know exactly what he’s thinking. A look passes between Burton and Fitch and it only irritates me further. “How can you lead us if you don’t know any of this and don’t share what you do know?”
“Because I know I have something they want. Something only one other person knows of,” Burton explains, pinching at the bridge of his nose.
“Monarch Dutton,” Zane states, piecing it together, and Burton nods, sighing heavily as he drops his hands to his sides.
“What could you possibly have that they don’t?” Leila asks, her eyebrows pinched in confusion as she stares her father down, but it’s Burton who answers.
