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Dread fills my veins, and horror rocks my bones, but a blanket of safety consumes me.
A flicker of gold among the carnage catches my attention and I settle my focus on the shine of it under the warm sun. “Stay here, son. Stay safe until I tell you it’s okay to move.” Wide onyx eyes flash before me, the owner of them settling before me, and I gasp. “I’m sorry about this,” he adds, lifting his hand to my face, then he’s gone.
Gone.
The screams continue, the chants and roars of anger mingling with the fear as I remain rooted to the spot. A minutepasses into what feels like an eternity until a whisper breezes against my ear.
“Now, son. Come now.”
All at once, my feet are moving before I can understand, the scenes before me overwhelming my senses as death stains every inch of the cobbled street I stand on. I search for him, for the onyx eyes I’m so familiar with, but a knock from my right side makes me stumble. Another glimmer of gold and everything goes black once more until I’m hovering above a pile of dead bodies.
I stumble back with a gasp, my heart racing in my chest as I stare at Creed, who is looking back at me with the same level of surprise on his face that must be showing on mine.
“Creed,” I breathe, my hand pressing to my chest as I try to calm myself down. “Is that… was that…”
“My father. He protected me from it all.” He runs a hand through his hair as his face tilts toward the ground. “But that doesn’t make sense.”
“It does, Creed. It makes complete sense. The reality of the situation is just a little more complicated than we even considered,” I reply, but he still keeps his gaze downcast. I can’t even imagine what he’s feeling right now, but if he knows what I saw, then he knows exactly what I know.
His father protected him in Pinebrook. Kept him away from the destruction and made sure there was no blood on his hands. When all was said and done, he wiped the surface of Creed’s memory.
Those aren't the actions of the golden warrior everyone fears. Those are the actions of a father who loves his son.
TWENTY-ONE
RAVEN
The morning passes just as easily as it did yesterday. No Erikel, none of his men, not even a glimpse of Sebastian. My gut clenches with the worry this brings, but I focus on the relief we get to bask in for a moment instead.
Pulling out the seat beside Leila, the Bishops choose their spots around the table in the dining hall, giving me the pleasure of Zane on my other side, with Eldon sitting straight across from me, leaving Brax and Creed to flank him.
“Have you had any luck with the book I brought you?” Leila asks as I choose what I want for my lunch.
I look up through my lashes toward Brax to find him glancing at me already.
“No, not yet. We had a look through it, but it all kind of blurred together. So I’m going to take another look tonight,” I explain, and she hums in agreement.
“I’ll keep searching, and if I come across anything else, I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you,” I breathe, turning my attention to my friend. That’s what she is. I was dumb to put a lot of shit between us because she kept the guild a secret. Especially since she has proven herself again and again since then, even when it hasn’tbeen necessary. I need to get over the usual niggle in my gut I get when it comes to trust.
“No worries.”
I opt for the buttermilk fried chicken and the table settles into a comfortable silence as we all eat. I feel relaxed and at ease, except for the tiniest bit of tension in my shoulders when I think about whatever is to come next. I can’t shake it, but it keeps me alert, so it’s probably a good thing.
I almost wish we were back to dealing with Genie and her bullshit. At the time, it was irritating as fuck, but now, I would take it over the mess with Erikel and his men any day. It was playground shit in comparison to this. Now we’re dealing with real realm problems.
Shaking my head, I pull myself from thoughts of what was and what could have been. There’s no use having my head buried in the past. Instead, I consider what tomorrow will look like now that we’ve convinced Figgins to meet us at the compound. Something good has to come from it. Ithasto. My soul is feeling a little frazzled with the separation from Ari now and the need to be closer to him is getting more difficult to suppress. Those are just my selfish reasons, nevermind the fact that they’re in danger in the forest with the unknown creatures.
Fuck.
Maybe I shouldn’t think about that either.
The only thoughts that will lighten my mood revolve around the Bishops and I’m sure, on some level, that’s not healthy, but fuck if I care. The only issue is, if I start to delve into my thoughts of them, I’ll either get stuck on the almightyLword that plagues me or twisted up in knots over thoughts of them touching my body.
Laughter pulls me from my head completely and I look up to see a group of people walking through the doors leading into the dining hall. It doesn’t take even a second to recognize them.
Erikel’s men.
