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I want to be wherever Raven is. Always. And this isn’t there.
Sighing, I reach for a piece of paper taped to the wall. The handwriting is scratchy and rushed, making the words difficult to make out, but it seems to allude to a list of items, which may have been needed in one of their attempts to escape. Sticking the paper back on the wall, I move farther along, ghosting my fingertips over the labeled cabinets.
I crouch down, but the second I balance on my haunches, the room shakes and a soft beeping rings out.
Rushing to the door, I step out into the hallway at the same time Eldon peeks his head out of the living room. Hurried footsteps race down the stairs and both Marieta and Peta appear at the bottom of the staircase a moment later.
“Someone is here,” Marieta murmurs, tying a bathrobe around her waist as she ushers Peta to the door. There’s a glint of silver in his hand and it takes me a second to note that it’s a blade, but within two seconds of them opening the door, it’s discreetly placed in his sheath. “Brax.”
One word and I’m darting down the hallway to the open door. Creed and Eldon beat me to it, following Brax’s parents out onto the deck. The familiar sight of my brother settles a storm in my soul, but when it’s clear Raven’s not with him, my chest threatens to cave with anguish.
Hold it together, Zane. Hold it the fuck together.
Brax’s eyes widen when he takes in all of us, a hint of relief washing over his features as he moves faster, hurrying toward us. Eldon cuts between Marieta and Peta, desperate to get to the guy who has been by his side longer than anyone else, but before he reaches him, Brax disappears before our eyes.
My chest heaves with every breath as I wait for something else to happen, but nothing does. It’s just the five of us standing around the porch, frozen in place as a dark gray hue glows around us.
“He must have woken up,” Peta finally says after what feels like an eternity.
“Woken?” Creed echoes, his voice groggy.
“Yeah. Apart from last night, he only appears in his sleep, and it’s always a brief visit. Not usually as brief as that, but…” Marieta’s words trail off as she wraps her arms around herself. Peta steps into her side, wrapping his arm around her, the pair of them propping each other up as sadness seeps from them.
It’s not lost on me that Marieta swung the door open in a bathrobe while her husband wielded a blade. With the hopes of Brax coming again, all of their cares went out of the window, their safety suddenly a negligible indifference.
“Let’s head back inside,” Peta offers, waving to the door as he guides Marieta.
The door falls closed with a disappointing thud and I glance at Creed and Eldon, who have the same bewildered expression in their eyes that I feel. We’re out of our element. Now more than ever. The fact that we don’t have a familiarity or stronger understanding of everything in the Realm of Shadows only makes it even more daunting.
To my surprise, Marieta and Peta don’t instantly head upstairs. Instead, they step into the kitchen. “Do you boys want a drink?” Marieta asks, inviting us to join them.
I murmur my appreciation as we take the same spots at the table as we did earlier. Peta helps his wife this time while the three of us sit in silence, at a loss for words.
I’m already sick of feeling like this. It’s frustrating as fuck. I’ve never been helpless, and I refuse to start now.
Taking a deep breath, I tilt my head to look toward Peta, but Creed breaks the silence before I get the chance.
“Does Raven ever come with him?”
Marieta looks at him with a sad smile as she shakes her head. “No. I met her for the first time yesterday, but I get the feeling she’s the reason the shadows have become more animated.”
“More animated?” I ask, leaning back in my seat. It’s weird for her to say that when we’re in the Realm of Shadows, and I haven’t actually seen a single shadow yet. That might have something to do with being in here the entire time, but still.
“Oh, you can’t see them,” Peta interjects. “We’ll help with that in the morning. Or when I’ve managed enough sleep to be able to focus,” he adds, and Marieta strokes his arm in comfort.
“What he means is, the shadows aren’t visible to those who aren’t dead. Your soul has never officially crossed over to the other side, so it can’t naturally see the others around you. It took us some time, but we figured out a way to be able to actually know our surroundings. That being said, we have wards in place to protect the house, so you won’t see anything unless we’re outside.”
I nod in understanding. It’s weird as fuck how blind I feel because I’m not dead. I consider if it would be worth it to truly know the world around me.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said last night about Burton and Erikel,” I state, aware they’re in no fit state to help with our visual abilities but hoping they have enough brain power left to help my thoughts.
“Is that why you haven’t slept?” Marieta asks with a raised eyebrow, and I shrug. There’s no point in denying it.
“It can’t be possible,” I continue, noting the confusion in her eyes. “Burton can’t have been Erikel this whole time. It’s impossible,” I clarify. Brax’s parents share a look like I’m a child, one that can’t piece everything together, but I know what I know. “We’ve seen them both in the same place at the same time.”
“Holy shit, yeah. We have,” Eldon murmurs, pointing his finger at me with wide eyes as he realizes the same.
“It could make sense for Erikel to be Burton once he killed him, but the other way around? How is that possible? We even watched Erikel stab Burton before our very eyes. That’s how they learned Raven was a necromancer. They made her bring him back to life in front of everyone. Otherwise, they were going to kill Creed,” I ramble, probably oversharing, but now that my lips are moving, they just can’t seem to stop.
