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The memory of the projection flickers to mind, a reminder of the onyx Burton mentioned in relation to my father, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s true.
“Creed,” he booms as we approach, crooking his finger for me to go to him, and my back stiffens.
Knowing what he did at Pinebrook fills me with both hope and fear. Hope because there’s potential that he’s the man I’ve longed for all of this time; he’s just hiding underneath the weight of the armor permanently encasing his body. Fear because he was able to play with my mind and body so effortlessly that I was left none the wiser about it.
“I won’t be a minute,” I murmur, separating from the others to go to him.
I don’t look up to meet his gaze straight away, my eyes are obsessively scanning over his armor to see if I can spot anything, but all that greets me is gold, gold, and more gold. Along with the deathly smears of crimson.
“Creed,” he repeats, pulling my gaze to his. “Why are you here?”
“Excuse me?”
“What’s going on down there?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I retort. If Erikel is trying to hide who he is and what he’s doing, then why is my father here?Glancing over my shoulder, my father’s hand clamps down on my shoulder, forcing my attention back to him, but my eyes slam shut instead and I feel like I’m floating for the briefest moment before I blink up at him.
“No one else but you and your friends have seen me,” he explains as if reading my mind. Is he reading my mind?
Shaking his hand off, I take a step back. He looks at me with strained eyes and a flicker of pain furrowing his brows, but he doesn’t utter another word. I don’t know what’s going on with him, and discomfort burns my chest as I walk away to my actual family.
“Are you okay?” Raven asks as I step closer, and I nod.
“I’m fine, why?”
“I don’t know, it’s just when your eyes closed, your eyebrows…”
I frown at her as we head down the steps, her fingers laced with mine as she strokes her thumb over my knuckles like I’ve done to her so many times. “What?”
“I don’t know, you just looked distressed,” she mutters, her eyebrows pinching with concern, and I force a smile to my face.
“I didn’t feel that way, I swear.” Confused, maybe, but I didn’t feel any kind of distress, and that’s what’s irritating me now. The ability my father has to slip beneath the barriers I have with little to no effort…
Fuck.
My thoughts are interrupted as we step into the room to find the members circling fake Burton and Fitch, who hover by the table.
We step into the crowd, hoping to blend in, but Erikel’s gaze immediately tracks us and I notice Fitch’s brows furrow when he spots Leila.
“Hey, man,” Grave murmurs as he moves to step beside Leila, nodding at me before turning to greet her. They whisperquietly between themselves for a few seconds until Leila giggles at something he says.
“Have you been crying?” he asks, lifting his hand to cup her cheek, and she shakes her head. “Are you sure? Do you want to come back to my place tonight?” he offers, and she nods, nibbling her bottom lip nervously as she tilts her head to look at Raven, who gives her a smile.
“You don’t mind?”
“Of course not.”
Grave grabs her hand, linking their fingers together, and I’m just as baffled by the pair of them as I am with everything else happening around us. At least Raven won’t be worrying about Leila tonight if she’s with Grave instead of going home to her father.
“We’ll keep things brief,” not Burton says, gaining everyone’s attention. “I’ve heard rumors that Erikel is going to lead a march soon. Has anyone else?” He plants his hands on his hips, surveying the crowd, and a resounding no echoes around us.
Is he saying that because he actually is organizing a march, or is he just trying to cut short any rumors that are actually out there? Fuck, now we’re going to be second-guessing every last thing.
“I’ve reached out to The Monarchy a few times on our behalf, but I’m getting no response. Has anyone else had any luck?” Burton scans the crowd once again as everyone shakes their head. Now he’s clearly trying to see if anyone has had any communication with people outside of the academy, and there’s no way in Hell any of us are admitting to that. “Okay, we have to stay vigilant and alert. On a final note, a manuscript on magical artifacts is missing from the library. Has anyone here seen it?” Another resounding echo of no’s repeats around us, and he sighs with frustration, his knuckles turning white as he clenches hishands. “Are any of you any use at all?” he snaps, his outburst catching everyone by surprise as we gape at him.
That’s definitely more of an Erikel trait than a Burton one.
“Professor Burton, are we done with the members for this evening?” Fitch asks, trying to calm the situation, and the Burton impostor waves him off dismissively before storming from the room.
