22. Raven

TWENTY-TWO

RAVEN

Iwake the moment I feel them. My senses are on high alert as I take a moment for my brain to come to life before I even consider opening my eyes. It’s like there’s a disturbance but no hint of a creak, a rustling breeze, or anything else to signify their presence, yet I know with all that I am that they’re here.

Taking a measured breath, I slowly flicker my eyelids open and there they are.

Silhouettes touch every surface. Some move fast, others slow. A large portion seem to travel together, while some move in the opposite direction alone. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, the bed sheets, my men. They’re everywhere.

I wish I could communicate with them, understand what’s drawing them here and question what it is they seem to need. Not to get rid of them, but to help. I don’t know why it feels like they need my help, but it does, and I can’t back away from it.

As if sensing my thoughts, they all still at once, making my heart freeze in my chest.

All but one.

One outline appears among the others, with arms hung loosely at their sides as they slowly grow in size along the far wall. Rising above the rest, it stands tall, as if looking directly at me, and it’s the first time it feels like they’re acknowledging my presence in some way.

Why now?

What can’t I see?

“Are you seeing shadows?” A squeal burns my throat as I try to suppress it, but it’s impossible. Whipping my attention to my left, I find Brax propped up in bed with the book on artifacts in his lap. How long has he been awake? “Raven?”

I clear my throat, pulling the sheets higher up my body and fixing them tightly around me. I don’t know how I haven’t startled any of the others awake, but they’re all resting peacefully.

“I was,” I finally admit, turning back to him.

“They’re gone now?” he asks, cocking his brow, and I nod. “Are you okay? Something seemed to have your undivided attention.”

I gulp, shaking my head as I try to find the words. “There was one. Bigger than the rest, or maybe not actually bigger, but more prominent, and it was like it was seeking my attention.”

His hands pause on the tome in his lap as he gives me his full attention. “In a good way or a bad way?”

“I’m not quite sure, but my gut says a good way,” I reply, and his shoulders relax.

“Good, because I will fight like fuck for you, but I’m not sure how well that would go against a shadow I can’t actually see.”

I smile, burrowing down under the covers a little more as a yawn parts my lips wide. Relaxing against the pillows, I take him in, watching as he flicks through the pages, back and forth, comparing artifacts.

“Find anything in there?” I ask, my eyes lulling a little as exhaustion starts to cling to me once again. It’s like the shadows have left and taken my energy with them.

“I think so. Especially this emerald gate. It really is believed to lead to the Realm of Shadows. I had glossed over it the other night, but I couldn’t sleep trying to remember where I had heard of the realm before that wasn’t from my parents. Which has led me here.”

“So going there physically and not in a dream could actually be possible?” I ask, wanting to clarify with my tired brain taking hold again, and he nods.

“I think so, but I’m sure it’s not a surprise for you to learn that the text doesn’t reveal where the gate is.”

I sigh. Of course not. Nothing is set to make our lives easier right now. This isn’t going to be any different.

“Anything else worth noting?” I ask, yawning again.

“There could be, but don’t worry about it, Shadow. Sleep. We’re going to the compound when you wake up in the morning and you need to be fully rested.”

I hum in agreement, but I have no idea if he hears it because a moment later, I’m fast asleep again.

The feelingthat washes over me as I step through Brax’s portal is almost soothing, something I cling to as the compound comes into view.

It will never cease to amaze me just how much it looks like any other forest, but the wards protecting it and what potentially lurks inside are far from normal.

The five of us hurry across the open grass field to get closer, repeatedly scanning from left to right in search of Professor Figgins. If she doesn’t show, I’m going to have to be much more forceful in my approach, but the way her eyes shone the last time I saw her makes me believe she’ll be here.

She has to be.

“Ari, can you hear me?” I wet my lips nervously as we approach the tree line.

“What are you doing here, Raven?” I can hear him, but I can’t see him anywhere.

“I’m here to help, to put things right for you,”I insist, my soul tugging me toward him, but the anger I can feel drifting off him in waves tells me that’s not a good idea.

“It’s not safe. You shouldn’t have come.”

Zane tugs my hand and points at my face. I realize my eyebrows are pinched, and my jaw is tense.

Ari, I mouth, but that doesn’t seem to ease the concern etched across his face.

“Good, you’re already here. I don’t have much time,” Professor Figgins states, appearing out of thin air in a long black cloak with the hood pulled up.

“What’s the hurry?” Brax asks, folding his arms over his chest as he stares her down, waiting for a response.

“I don’t believe that’s any of your business,” she retorts, cocking a brow back at him, but he doesn’t falter under her gaze. The two of them stare each other down, refusing to give in, and I sigh.

“We really don’t have time for this,” I grumble, breezing past the pair of them to get closer to the compound. I still can’t see Ari anywhere, but I can feel him, and I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

As if sensing my uncertainty, a flicker of golden feathers flashes through the tree line and hope blossoms inside of me. My soul calls out to him, desperate to have him near, but no matter how much I rock back and forth on my heels, he doesn’t come any closer.

“Ari.”

“Why are you here, Raven?”

“I already told you.”

“Why?”

I can see his wings flutter at his sides, but he still doesn’t make any effort to turn and face me and my gut twists with worry.

“Raven?” Creed looks at me in wonder and I realize they’re not even getting to listen to half of the conversation like they usually would, so they have no idea what’s going on.

Clearing my throat, I turn back to Ari as I feel the others inch closer to me. “Ari, we’re here to prove to Figgins what is going on so we can safely get you out of here.”

He scoffs. “You’re wasting your time. She’s as useless as a glass hammer,” he retorts, and I pray like hell he’s not right. “Besides, I’ve told you over and over again that it’s not safe, yet you continue to defy me by coming here.”

“Excuse me, asshole, I don’t defy you, and even if I did, you’re not my boss,” I grumble, clenching my hands at my sides, trying to rein in my temper. “Besides, we know it’s not safe for me, but we know it’s also not safe for you and Gia, and I’m trying to protect you.”

“What is he saying?” Figgins asks, pulling her hood down to look at me properly. This close, she looks tired, her eyes seem a little sunken, and the bags beneath them are darker than they were a few days ago.

I wonder what’s causing her trouble? Does it link to Erikel too?

Shaking my head, I focus. “He thinks you’re going to be useless and he’s adamant we shouldn’t have come because of how unsafe it is.”

“As useless as a glass hammer. If you’re going to throw me under the rock, you may as well do it accurately.”

Biting back my smirk, I clarify. “Sorry, his exact words were ‘as useless as a glass hammer’.”

Figgins raises her eyebrows at me as Zane and Eldon snicker behind me, but if anything, she doesn’t seem offended, more that she wants to prove Ari wrong.

By all means, please do.

She steps past me without another word, lifting her hand before her when she gets close enough, and I watch as the ward around the compound ripples beneath her touch.

“She shouldn’t do that.”

“Ari said you shouldn’t do that,” I repeat, feeling like a damn parrot.

“I created it, I think I’m good.”

“Did you warn her that it may have been tampered with?”

“Yes.”

If Ari was standing in front of me right now, I’m certain he would be giving me the stare. The stare that questions whether I’m telling the truth or not.

Fucker.

“Hmm, I understand what he means, though. It feels… different somehow.”

I stick my tongue out like a childish brat, knowing he’s likely not paying me any attention, but it feels good anyway.

Ari sighs. “I thought you told her stuff.”

“I did,” I grumble, waving my arms at her. “It doesn’t mean she wanted to listen, though,” I add, earning the stare from Figgins this time, but I brush it off. I’m not wrong.

A screech rings out around us, making me pause as panic consumes me. It’s high-pitched but deep all at once, a sound of dominance, not fear, and I know it’s what’s got Ari all worked up.

“It can sense your presence because she touched the barrier. You need to go.”

“No, I’m not leaving you.”

“What is he saying?” Figgins asks, and I start to feel irritation creep up my spine. I don’t have time to keep repeating every last thing.

Fuck.

“He thinks the creature knows we’re here because you touched the barrier.”

Her hand quickly drops away like it’s been burned, but if what Ari says is true, it’s too late for that now.

Another screech burns through the air, and I’m quickly surrounded by my men.

“Raven, if it’s not safe, we can’t stay,” Creed states from my right, scanning the forest for the creature.

“I’m not leaving him, Creed. Not until we have some way of saving them, at least,” I insist, worry sinking its claws into my flesh as I scan the forest once again.

Purple, blue, and green iridescent colors shimmer to the far right, I spot it around Brax’s wide frame. “Over there,” I say with a gasp, watching as the colors pounce through the trees.

I can’t make out what it is, which only stokes more fear into my veins.

“Raven. Go,”Ari orders, but I continue to ignore him. He’s moving in the next moment, his feathers and fur rustling with the wind from his speed.

At first, I think he’s running from the danger, but when he doesn’t change course or dart away from the shimmering iridescent colors, I realize it’s the complete opposite.

“Ari, no!” I yelp, and the creature turns my way, freezing as its dark gaze connects with mine.

Blacker than black eyes pierce mine, scales shimmering in the light that breaks through the trees. Paws with claws like steel curl into the moss beneath it as its body ripples with every breath it takes.

“What is that?” I whisper, my heart racing in my chest.

“I-I… I think it’s a… it’s a Drake.”

I tilt my head to find Figgins, who is rooted to the spot and gaping at the creature as intently as I am. “A Drake?”

She nods. “A wingless dragon. I’ve never seen one in my life. They’re mythical, not of this land. Or at least, I thought they weren’t,” she rambles as her trembling fingers lift to her mouth.

It screeches again, gaining my attention as it leaps through the air toward us. We should run, we should hide, we should definitely get the fuck out of here, but we’re all frozen in place, taunting destiny as it barrels toward us through the trees.

I grab hold of the back of Brax’s t-shirt, choking on my own breath as it pushes off the ground and leaps toward the barrier separating us. I’m certain it’s going to break through the ward with ease, but before I can find out, it’s catapulted sideways as Ari launches himself at it.

“Ari,” I breathe, hearing him grunt as the Drake continues to screech, but this time, it’s not a dominant call; it’s one of pain.

Ari doesn’t stop there. He refuses to give the Drake even a sliver of a chance as he attacks. It’s too much, but my eyes are glued to watching them.

“Don’t look, Raven.”

“Ari,” I manage, unable to find the words.

“Don’t look, please.”

Fuck.

Fighting my internal need to keep my gaze fixed on him, I focus on the emotion pouring into me from my familiar, letting it guide me forward so my forehead rests on Brax’s back as I cling to his t-shirt.

I may not be able to see, but the sounds tell a pretty good story, and when pain aches through my limbs, I know Ari has been hurt, too. But any chance I have to panic over it is short-lived when a piercing cry rings out from the Drake before silence follows.

A few moments pass, but the feelings I can sense from Ari have me still hiding away until Zane runs his hand down my spine. “You’re good now, Dove,” he breathes, and I slowly lift my head.

I can’t see the Drake, but my Griffin is a few meters away on the other side of the barrier. I gasp when I get a good look at his face. Three thick, deep and jagged marks run down his face, and my heart lurches.

They’re not from today, though. They’re slowly starting to heal, which means they were already there before we got here. Is that why he was hiding?

Stepping around Brax, I half expect him to force me back behind him, but he doesn’t. I move closer to the barrier, careful not to touch it as I stare up at Ari’s defeated face. I want to stroke his fur and feel the comfort the nudge of his beak gives me, but I can’t.

“What the fuck was that?” I ask, wrapping my arms around myself as a chill seems to spike the air.

“Drakes. They’re what Erikel brought in. It’s what he’s hiding here.”

I quickly repeat his answer to the others, settling my gaze on Figgins, who looks as white as a ghost.

“That shouldn’t be in there,” she mutters, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Does this mean you’re finally listening?” My chest tightens as I wait with bated breath for her answer.

She turns to face me head-on. There’s a sadness in her eyes and the smallest of smiles on her lips, which doesn’t fill me with hope.

“It does, but that doesn’t mean anything anymore because I’m no longer the one in control of the ward. I can’t set them free.”