Chapter Eighteen

“W e’re here to give you our report, sir.” Storm says in a barely civil tone.

None of us has bothered to sit down, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. We’re tired, dirty and pissed off thanks to his misinformation. The Headmaster sighs heavily like we’re an inconvenience to him, his mood significantly soured now he’s laid eyes on Reaper and me.

“Very well. I assume it went well.”

“We handled it. However, it wasn’t a level one like the report stated, and the report also didn’t have any of the information it should’ve had.” Storm states bluntly. It surprises me because when I first arrived, he seemed to have a significant amount of respect for the Headmaster. Apparently, I read that situation wrong. It was less respect he was showing and more the need to use his connections to get rid of the Warrior bond.

The Headmaster, of course, bristles at his tone, “There was nothing wrong with the information you were given. Maybe your inexperience is showing through.”

Storm grits his teeth as a muscle in his jaw ticks at the tone the Headmaster is using, his horns predictably sparking, “With all due respect, sir, even if the others weren’t aware of the levels of rogues, Mayhem is.”

I try not to show my surprise at that statement and the fact that the Headmaster seems slightly chastised as he looks at Mayhem for confirmation. There’s so much that I don’t know about them, and I want to know.

“It was definitely not a level one. I’d say it was more like a level eight.” Mayhem says firmly, with no room for argument in his tone.

Storm then retakes the lead in the conversation and explains what happened in great detail. I’m impressed with the amount of information he’s managed to take in whilst fighting. He is only leaving out that Reaper nearly lost control, which considering the Headmaster’s interest in him, is a smart idea. The whole time he’s talking, I focus on the Headmaster, closely watching his reactions to what Storm is telling him.

He should be shocked, maybe even horrified, that on our first mission together, we were dealing with a level eight and not a level one like we were supposed to. He should maybe, even be angry that someone hasn’t done their research correctly and this was allowed to happen. After all, if it was a less experienced team that was sent on this job, then they could’ve ended up a lot worse off than we are.

His face is pulling all the right expressions, but none of them are sincere, every single one of them is fake, and I’m even more convinced that he had something to do with it.

“Thank you for the rundown. Since it was more challenging than we thought it was going to be, feel free to take the afternoon off to rest. I’ll expect the written reports on my desk in the next three days.” He says dismissively, and we waste absolutely no time getting out of there.

The hallways are full of students going about their day, and so we stay silent until we get up to our room.

“Storm, let's go,” Killian says as soon as we’re in the room, already gathering his shadows around him as his tail moves excitedly behind him.

“Where are you two going?” Reaper asks suspiciously, crossing his arms over his chest as he eyes them.

“There was a kid that went into the office immediately after us. I know for a fact that he wouldn’t have anything to do with whatever the Headmaster is up to, and I also know that there is very little chance that he is working alone. He looked pissed off enough that the first opportunity he gets, he will contact whoever he’s working with, so we need to get back down there quickly.” Killian explains almost impatiently.

“Stay safe and no murder,” I reply with a warning, and the others start to smile until they realise I’m serious, and then they start to look a little bit nervous.

“Please don’t murder the Headmaster. I’m assuming that will complicate things.” Rival’s dry tone makes me giggle.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t.” Storm says, cloaking himself in his own shadows.

“That’s hardly reassuring.” Loki grins sarcastically.

Both of the brothers ignore him entirely, and I watch as they both disappear, becoming a part of the shadows. The way they use them is completely different. I know that Killian can move through the shadows to different locations, whereas Storm doesn’t seem to be able to. Instead, he cloaks himself in them and moves like that, but Storm’s shadows can take on their own personalities, whereas Killian’s can’t. It fascinates me.

“I’m going to clean up, guys,” I tell the room and they all nod and go to do the same.

Once I’m in the shower, I marvel over the fact that I not only get a shower, but I also get a hot one; there was only a brief moment in time that I got to experience hot showers. My thoughts start to drift away from that period in time, and back to Mayhem’s words from earlier play through in my mind. He said I belonged, and that’s probably the nicest thing that anyone could ever have said to me and what’s even more astonishing is that I actually feel like I belong too. Storm and I may have our differences, but I instinctively know he’d have my back in a fight. Regardless of whether he likes me and I’d do the same.

The fact that my getting hurt had such a profound effect on Reaper is almost unfathomable. Usually, people take great joy in hurting me, so having him so affected is an entirely new experience for me. I’m not going to let him distance himself from me though, I don’t think I can, and I’m hoping that my words earlier had some sort of effect, and he won’t still try to avoid me.

Poca still hasn’t made an appearance, but I’m not getting concerned enough yet to try and summon him. I’ll give it a few more days before I get to the point where I’m worried enough to do that.

Feeling a thousand times better, I pull on the joggers someone left me and a tank top and make my way back out to the front room. Loki’s dressed similar to me in lounge clothes and is watching some fae comedy show that I’ve never seen before, and Rival is in the kitchen, making something. The others must be in their rooms still, taking advantage of the afternoon off.

I make a beeline for the kitchen and, more importantly, the coffee. Rival smiles at me but focuses back on his food, leaving me to it, which I’m grateful for because I’m feeling adventurous and want to try something different with my coffee. As I start the coffee, I open the cupboard to get out a mug and notice several bottles of flavoured syrups.

“Are these for the coffee?” I ask Rival.

“Yeah, you’re welcome to try some. Only put a small amount in, or it’ll overpower the coffee and won’t taste great.”

“Thanks,” I reply as I start to sift through the bottles to find a flavour I like.

After choosing caramel and hoping that I’ve made it right, I take my coffee over to the seating area and settle down next to Loki.

“Hey, Love, have a nice shower?”

“Yeah, it’s still novel to have hot water and be able to shower whenever I want; I got used to not having that privilege again,” I reply without thinking, my focus on the TV and sipping my drink which is delicious.

“What?” Rival barks.

I turn my head to see him standing behind the couch, looking incredulous, while Loki sits in front of him, staring at me in horror.

“What’s wrong?”

“You weren’t allowed to shower?”

“Or have hot water?”

I sigh; that one is on me for answering when I’m distracted and because I’m starting to feel so comfortable around them. “No, not when I was with my father. Not unless I needed to play the good little daughter and be paraded around for father’s dignitaries. Then it was a cold one. I showered when I could at other times,” I just about manage to stop myself from saying when I was on jobs, “to be honest, I could’ve showered more often, but it wasn’t necessarily that safe.”

If I explained that I had to wait until a specific guard was on duty, one that I knew wouldn’t look or try to touch; I have a feeling that their looks of anger would turn murderous.

“I’m so sorry you had to live like that,” Rival says sincerely, and I shrug, unsure what exactly to reply to that.

“It is what it is.” I shrug.

“I’ll kill him,” Loki rumbles.

My smile is vicious, “No, you won’t. After everything that fucker has put me through, I get to watch the life leave his eyes.”

“Why is it so hot when she gets all bloodthirsty?” Loki asks, turning to look at Rival.

“Don’t you mean it’s hot when she lets us see that side of her? I do not doubt that our Farren is bloodthirsty all the time.” Rival replies insightfully.

My grin turns sharp, “Well, you’re not wrong.”

I choose to ignore the ‘our Farren' part of the sentence for the pure fact that a lot of emotional shit has been thrown my way today, and I’ve reached my limit. I’m not capable of dealing with any more.

Mayhem interrupts the conversation as he walks out of his room, looking freshly showered and shirtless. I’d like to say that I try not to stare, but that would be an outright lie. His blue-streaked white hair is tucked behind his pointed ears, which he usually has hidden. Unlike the norm for the fae, both he and Rival are bigger, both in height and musculature, and it’s his muscles my eyes get unashamedly drawn to; I mean, they’re right there! How could I not stare?

His broad shoulders taper down to a slim waist, and the blue tinge to his skin practically glitters under the lights, defining the groves of his stomach and the V lines leading down temptingly. There are darker patterns etched into the skin, and I’m familiar enough with the fae to know that it’s not a part of their usual genetic makeup, but I also don’t think that it’s magically done or a tattoo. More and more, I’m starting to realise that my first assumption that they were all rare supernaturals or more than they first appeared was accurate. There’s still a lot of mystery surrounding them, and I’m getting more curious.

Suddenly Killian appears by the edge of the sofa, stepping out of the shadow created by the lamp and making Loki jump. He grins at Loki and takes a seat next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. His body stays tense though, and I’m assuming they found something out on their trip to spy on the Headmaster. I’m about to ask where Storm is when black and smoky shadows start to coalesce into a shape in the middle of the room.

“Where’s Reaper?” Storm asks immediately, looking around the room. He’s not doing quite as good a job at hiding his anger and worry as Killian is trying to do, and I straighten, what the hell is going on now.

“I’m here. What’s up?” Reaper asks, appearing from his room and joining the rest of us on the sofas.

“We were right. As soon as the kid left the office, he was on the larimar stone. We're not sure who was on the other end, but his side of the conversation was extremely telling.” Storm crosses his arms over his chest as somehow his expression darkens even more.

“So he does have it out for us then?” Loki asks.

“Not for us,” Storm replies, looking at me.

“Oh, for fuck sake, me again?” I groan.

“Explain,” Reaper barks, and Storm’s gaze snaps to him with a questioning look and a raised eyebrow. Reaper holds firm and doesn’t try to defend his tone.

“The whole point of it was that Reaper would lose control and take Farren out. He banked on us staying out of the way and not caring enough to warn her.” He’s interrupted by a roar so loud that it shakes the room.

Everyone looks at Reaper, concerned as his fists clench and his eyes glow as the slit in his pupil grows.

“Reaper,” Storm warns.

He doesn’t reply, just shakes his head sharply, and for some unknown fucking reason, I get up from between Loki and Killian and plop my ass down on his lap, sitting sideways so I can wrap my arms around his neck. As soon as my brain catches up with my actions, I start to panic. What the fuck was I thinking? They’ve all told me how volatile he is, fuck, he’s told me he's deadly, and here I am just casually sitting on his lap whilst he’s growling fiercely enough that he’s shaking the fucking room? What the fuck is wrong with me! As I start to spiral myself into self-hatred and despair, his arms wrap around me, and he looks at me confused, almost completely calm now. Okay, so maybe a part of me knew what it was doing then. That or I’m just extremely fucking lucky this time.

“What the hell, Farren, that was incredibly dangerous!” Storm practically shouts at me, the flames roaring between horns and starting to wrap around them, which is a new development. I glare at him in response.

“He’s fine. Carry on the explanation.” Killian orders.

Storm turns his glare on him, and then seeing whatever look is on his face, he backs down. I want to turn to see what look Killian just gave him, but Reaper is holding me so tightly I can barely move.

“He was going to use me to end her?” he asks, his voice still a rumble, but at least he’s talking instead of growling.

Storm watches him warily but answers anyway, “From what we overheard, yes. But it wasn’t his plan. He was working under someone else’s orders.”

“No idea who it could be?” Mayhem asks, looking at me.

I sigh, “Honestly, it could be a number of people. I need a little bit more information to go on than that.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Storm mutters with no real bite, so I just stick my tongue out in retribution.

“So we need to keep a closer eye on the Headmaster then. If we don’t get anywhere with that, we’ll have to question him ourselves.” Loki suggests.

“That’s probably all we can do for now. As well as stay alert, I highly doubt this is the only time he’s going to try to get to Farren.” Killian replies.

“Yes, especially since he clearly felt threatened by whoever was on the other end of the stone, and it takes a lot for the Headmaster of the Black Onyx academy to feel threatened.” Storm adds.

“Great, now that we’ve got a plan in place for that. I need to go back and check in on the crypt. I also want to do some digging and see if I can find out who sent one of my assassins after Farren when she first arrived. I should be back before classes tomorrow.” Killian gets up to stretch and gently pulls me out of Reaper's arms, grinning when he reluctantly lets me go.

He pulls me into a tight hug and kisses the top of my hair as I practically sink into his embrace, his tail tapping my leg.

“Stay safe,” I mutter.

“Always. You stay out of trouble.”

“I’ll try,” I chuckle as I step back.

“Do you want some company?” Rival asks.

Killian claps him on the shoulder, “Thanks, man, but it’s probably best I do this alone. They’re not the most trusting bunch of fuckers.”

“Fair enough.” Rival nods, looking slightly disappointed that he doesn’t get to tag along.

“Farren, could you do the honours, please?” he asks me.

I call forward my Void magic, pulling back at the last second when it tries to explode out of me and hoping that they don’t notice that I almost lost control. I grasp hold of Killian’s hand and step in. There’s a feeling of anticipation in the Void different from the usual nothingness that I usually feel when I’m here. For the first time, I’m slightly nervous. Even when this gift first developed, I wasn’t worried. Thankfully I manage to keep my reaction from Killian, and when we arrive in his office, he gives me a lingering kiss on my cheek, close to my lips.

“Fuck it,” he mutters, and suddenly his lips are on mine, and I melt into him as my nerve endings start to fire with pleasure. He runs his tongue across the seam of my lips, and I eagerly open up, moaning when his tongue tangles with mine and his hands flex on my hips, shadows start to caress my neck, I honestly had no idea he could control them like that, and my mind goes wild with possibilities.

Eventually, the kiss slows, and he steps back; his smile is gentle, and his eyes are full of affection as he reaches his hand up and gently strokes his fingers across my cheek.

“Go on; you better get back before I’m tempted to keep you here, and the guys have my head.”

I nod, at a complete loss for words from the pure need in that kiss, as I call the Void forward and step through. It felt like it meant more than it had before.

As soon as I’m alone in the Void, something rushes me.

“Whoops, used a bit too much power then, sorry.”

I suddenly find myself in my room with no idea how I got there; the last thing I remember is kind, deep blue and gold eyes and then nothing. I feel like something important happened; the memory is just on the periphery of my mind but remains out of reach. My magic is calm, which is a good sign. It means that whatever happened wasn’t necessarily a threat to me. As frustrating as it is, I know I’m not going to be able to force myself to remember what happened, and I have a feeling that when the time is right, I’ll remember.

My stomach grumbles, so I head towards the door, feeling slightly shaky and, for some confusing reason, excited.

“Hey, your back? Did Killian get back okay?” Loki asks.

“Yeah, I’m not sure how he’s planning to get back to the academy though, he didn’t say. I guess he might get one of the guys good with portals to drop him just outside the grounds since this whole place is warded.” I reply, rambling slightly.

He looks at me slightly suspiciously but doesn’t comment on my rambling, “Probably. We’re just about to order some food, none of us fancied going down to the dining room. Do you want anything?”

“Sure,” I reply, relieved that he’s let the subject drop.

It's not until after we’ve eaten and everyone has gone to bed that I realise that Killian fucking kissed me like I truly meant something to him. After everything that happened in the Void, it slipped my mind. I love it when Killian kisses me, and it doesn’t happen as often as I’d like. I go to sleep with a smile on my face.