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“I don’t have many memories of my brother from when I was a child. I remember him being the big brother who never wanted me around, and then when my mother took me away, I didn’t think much of him. Arriving at Silvercrest Academy, though, I was startled when he was the first person I met, and he was just as horrid as I remembered. If not worse.” I stroke a hand down her back, offering her the same level of comfort she gave me as she pushes on. “He’s made attempts on my life since I arrived, worked his way up the hit list we seem to have created, and I believed he was a willing accomplice of Erikel’s. He assisted him getting onto campus and has proceeded to do his dirty work as and when called upon.” Although, if Erikel has always been Burton then that doesn’t really make sense, so I really don’t know anything.
“You say you believed?” Peta asks, tilting his head at Raven, and she nods in response.
“The day we learned the golden table in the Nightmare’s Guild had magical abilities was also the same day we saw Erikel shift to Burton or the other way around,” she rambles, waving her hand. “During that snippet, we also had to watch Sebastian receive lashings to an already marked back, and since then, I don’t know what to think.”
“I vaguely remember you as a child. I wasn’t as close with your mother and father as I was with others, but I still remember. The reality is, there’s only one direction we should take next because, whether we like it or not, family is important,” Marieta declares, taking a deep breath. “The next step is for you to speak with your mother.”
FOURTEEN
RAVEN
“How the fuck do we work this thing?”
I sit at the foot of the bed, dressed in my uniform, with my hair loose around my shoulders as I turn the shell over in my hand. I can’t for the life of me understand what I’m supposed to do with the damn thing.
“You don’t know?” Brax asks, his brows furrowed as he steps out of the bathroom with a towel loosely draped around his waist. It’s instinctive to linger on his impressive crotch, hoping the material hiding one of my favorite parts of him will disappear, but we really do need to focus on this.
Sweeping my tongue over my bottom lip, my magic flickers beneath the surface, eager to be used to eliminate the towel, but I turn back to the shell instead. I can behave for a little while.
“I’ve never seen one before Zane’s,” I admit, slowly turning the shell once again, hoping to see something new this time, but I fall just as short as the time before.
“But your father works for The Ministry, didn’t he… shit, shut up, Brax,” he grumbles, swiping a hand down his face as he recalls the excellent relationship I don’t have with my father. I smirk at him and he sighs, planting his hands on his hips. “My parents were gone before I needed one, so I have no clue either. Isn’t there a button or something?”
I spin it in my grasp again, but no magical button appears. “No,” I admit. Finally able to look at him without fixating on the outline of his cock, I purse my lips. “I think our only option is to find Lyra and see if we can use her secret little room to reach out instead.”
Brax nods, glancing at the time before swiftly using his magic to get dressed. My pursed lips tighten to a pout as his uniform now hides his body.
“We’ve got a little time if we leave now,” he offers, and I nod, feeling reluctant to go anywhere at all.
Placing the shell in my backpack, I swing it onto my shoulder as I step out into the lounge behind Brax.
His hands move, and I watch with hope that a gateway will appear, but it seems the suppression on that simple mode of transport is still in place.
“Walking it is,” I sing, heading for the front door. He grumbles under his breath, but I don’t catch it. “It will give us a moment to get our heads in the game anyway,” I offer, smiling wide and positively at him, highly aware that it was me getting distracted.
“I don’t think that’s ever going to happen with all of the mess we’re wading through,” he grunts, and I can’t help but hum in agreement. He’s not wrong, that’s for sure. But I’m focusing on one challenge at a time, or trying to at least.
The pathway is quiet since we’re earlier than usual, and I use the reprieve to lace my fingers with his, enjoying the peace around us while we have it. Last night was another information overload. We’re going to go from one mini-quest to another until all that remains is enemy number one. Once they’re out of the equation, maybe we’ll be able to actually take a minute to breathe and appreciate being young and somewhat free.
Maybe.
Hopefully.
We’re stepping through the arched doorway into the academy building in no time, heading straight for Lyra’s office. We don’t come across anyone, which is a relief as her office door comes into view. Brax knocks without missing a beat, and I rock back on my heels as we wait patiently.
A few moments pass and I start to worry that I should have reached out sooner. I haven’t seen her since we were all taken to the cave in Ashdale, and I don’t even know if she’s been present.
Fuck.
Taking a step closer, I lift my fist to knock again, but before I can connect with the wood, the sound of the door unlocking echoes around us and Lyra appears in the gap. Her eyebrows pinch together when her gaze locks with mine, but she quickly shakes it off.
“Hey, is everything okay?” she asks. Her cheeks are a little pink and her hair isn’t quite as smooth as usual.
“Is everything okay with you?” I redirect, watching as she straightens, running her hands over her silk blouse as she forces a wide smile onto her lips.
“I’m fine. How can I help you guys?”
“We need to use your…” My words trail off, not wanting to say it out loud, and she instantly nods in understanding.
