27. Eldon

TWENTY-SEVEN

ELDON

The Monarchy will be here tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

Fuck.

The students at this academy should never have been drawn into a war between realms. The Monarchy should have been the ones facing this the entire time.

Yesterday went by so quickly once Raven and Zane shared the news, but I get the feeling today is going to take its sweet ass time to pass, leaving tomorrow a million miles away.

I close the front door behind everyone as we start up the path to the academy.

We just have to get through today. Whatever it might throw at us, we just have to make it through.

Brax leads the way while Zane and Creed flank Raven and I hold up the rear. It’s strange how we naturally take this formation around her. It’s never even been a discussion.

“Raven,” Leila calls out, making us pause, and we turn to see her rushing toward us with Grave holding her hand. This is escalating.

“Hey, did you sleep okay?” Raven asks the same question she asked the first time she saw her friend yesterday. Leila nods in response and I notice the way Grave affectionately squeezes her hand.

Raven leaves it at that. She doesn’t delve into anything further in Grave’s presence and Leila seems happy to talk about anything and everything that’s the total opposite of serious in his proximity.

Accompanied the entire way by the sound of the girls’ gossip, we arrive at the academy in no time. Grave pulls Leila off to the side and I turn my back to them and focus on my girl instead. She’s telling Creed something. I can’t hear what she’s saying, but the way she moves her hands so animatedly when she talks warms my heart. She’s intoxicating. Every last piece of her. I’m addicted.

Leila sidles up beside Raven a few moments later and we all instinctively huddle closer together as we make our way through the academy hallways.

“How has your father been?” Raven asks as quietly as possible.

Leila shrugs. “I didn’t go back home. I stayed with Grave.”

“What’s that about anyway? I didn’t want to put a damper on it the other night, but the last time you mentioned him, he was talking about you behind your back,” Raven states, and I beam. Trust my girl to ask the question that has been nagging me as well.

“That’s what I thought, but one of these guys brought it up to him and he was confused as hell, so we talked it over and realized that when Genie is the source of information, said information may not actually be all that reliable.”

That’s more than true.

“How would Genie have known? Fuck, nevermind. She was probably watching you guys too,” Raven says with a scoff, referring to the images she took of all of us with our girl in some compromising positions.

I was ready to tear the entire campus up to make sure no one caught another glimpse of the pictures, but Raven owned it. Just like she does everything else, leaving me speechless and even hotter for her.

As if hearing her name, the she-devil herself appears, placing her hand over Raven’s shoulder to push against my chest.

“Do you miss me yet, Eldon?”

What the fuck? I thought we were over this.

I feel Raven stiffen at her closeness, and have exactly zero patience for the idea of entertaining this girl in the slightest. Giving her attention is exactly what she wants, and I never wanted her to begin with, even less than ever now that I believe her father is Erikel.

Instead of confronting her and exposing what we know, I opt for the more childish approach, even if it makes me cringe.

“Can any of you guys smell that? It smells like… shit around here.”

I don’t even bother trying to knock her hand away as I continue walking, letting it fall off naturally. The smirk on Raven’s face makes it all worthwhile, and the sound of Genie stomping her foot on the marble floor a cherry on top.

Without another word, we step into the classroom to find the new institute students already sitting in some of the seats, including ours. I’m trying to decide whether I should be an asshole or just let them sit there when my gaze lands on Ruben, who is sitting on the professor’s desk.

My chest feels heavy and my stomach clenches. He killed Burton. He killed Burton when I believed him to be a good guy. It’s questionable now, with the information we have learned, but it still drives me insane.

Why would Erikel kill Burton in front of everyone and have Raven bring him back to life, only to off him again and skinwalk around as him? Why not skinwalk as him all of the time so his presence was still on campus? I don’t think we’ll ever know, but my gut tells me it has something to do with the fact that he enjoys stoking fear in others, and his Burton skin just wouldn’t get the job done.

Looking at Ruben now, there’s no remorse. Nothing. Not even the smallest inkling.

Brax huffs, and the second he starts walking, I know he’s going to cause a scene with the person sitting in his seat, but before he can get halfway there, Fitch walks in and the room goes silent. Leila stiffens, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth nervously as he walks to his desk.

“We’ll be taking this class outside today.” He grabs something off his desk and heads toward the door again, leaving everyone to follow after him.

Raven’s hand reaches for mine and I tug her against my side as we join the moving body of students. Once outside, I expect him to lead us to the changing rooms like usual, but to my surprise, he simply stops on the grass beside the double doors.

“In a real-life battle, you won’t have time to change. You will have to fight in exactly what you’re wearing at the time. I think we should approach classes like that going forward,” he states, folding his arms over his chest as he eyes each of us. I glance at the institute students, noting how their clothing is much more appropriate for this kind of thing, but it won’t afford them an advantage over me. I’ll make sure of it. “We’ll be training today with magic only. No swords allowed.”

“What if you’re a healer?” a timid girl asks, nervously tucking a tendril of hair behind her ear as she avoids eye contact with the professor.

“Then, at least, you can mend yourself again and again,” he retorts with a shrug. Does he seem harsher today? I don’t know, but the fact that I truly know who he is and what he’s capable of has made me see him in an entirely different light. I have played with the thought that he is also under Erikel’s command, as compromised as the rest of them, but for now, he needs to be handled like the enemy until we know for sure. “I’ll call out names, and you’ll pair off,” he continues, not waiting to see if there are any further concerns.

Raven’s hand squeezes mine a little harder, and when I glance at her, I find her lips pursed and her eyebrows pinched. Understanding dawns on me. I don’t know how, but it’s just natural to understand what she’s trying to convey.

All anyone knows about her here is that she can bring people back from the dead. They don’t know about the mirror magic and my gut tells me she would like to keep it that way.

Fuck.

“Genie and Lucinda. Raven and Leila. Brax and Baron. Creed and Royal. Zane and Idris. Eldon and Ruben.” He continues on, but I’ve stopped listening. Of course, I’m paired with that asshole.

That’s perfect. Just perfect.

It’s not lost on me that, apart from Raven and Leila, everyone from Silvercrest Academy seems to be paired with someone from Shadowgrim Insititute. Is this to test the strengths and flaws between the two groups of people? Have they been taught differently than we have?

As much as I’m happy to train, instead of using this moment to combine the two academies and create a bond, they’re just continuing to pit us against one another. That’s purposeful. I’m sure of it.

“Pair off,” Fitch orders, and everyone steps away in their couplings.

I squeeze Raven’s hand one last time, the worry gone a little from her eyes now that she’s with Leila, and I turn to find Ruben waiting expectantly.

“I’m sure you know who I am by now,” he states with a smirk. “But I’m having a little trouble placing you. Your name is…”

“You don’t have to be polite with me. We both know you’re darker than this. Wasting time on names feels silly at this stage.” I shrug as I find a good space to face off with him, the pair of us turning to one another head on as his smirk grows.

“You think you know me,” he states with a cock of his brow.

“I think you just told me that I do. I’m just saying not to bother,” I retort, and he flexes his fingers at his sides.

“Is it because I’m from the Basilica Realm?” he asks, making me frown.

“No. I couldn’t give a shit where you’re from.” And that’s the truth. I never batted an eyelid at the fact Raven was from Shadowmoor. You don’t get to choose where you come from, but you get to choose who you are as a person. “It’s how you carry yourself, like a lap dog waiting for his next order.”

I’m provoking him. I know it. I just can’t help it. I hate people with smarmy attitudes and holier-than-thou egos. I don’t have time for it.

Ruben’s hands lift in the next moment, making it clear he doesn’t have time for bullshit either, and I just about manage to deflect the ice coming at me. I turn my body temperature up high, fueling my magic through my veins, and watch the ice melt on impact.

“You look a little red. Is that fire magic you have?” Ruben asks, and I’m surprised he’s not retreating at the imbalance between us. I can melt off snow and ice all day long. He doesn’t give me a chance to offer any kind of response as he aims his magic my way once again. This time, he shoots ice through the air in the form of long spears, two at once.

A fireball is instantly in my hand. I split it in two and toss them both at the incoming missiles. They’re longer than I expect, and although my fire melts them, they don’t completely melt until they’re an inch from my face. It takes everything in me to stand still and not flinch from their close proximity.

Rolling my shoulders back, I aim first, shooting six small balls of fire in his direction, making sure to target different parts of his body to make it harder to deflect. Ruben blocks quickly with ice shields, which manage to slow five of the six fireballs down enough that they burn out before they reach him. The last one does manage to catch his shoulder and he stumbles back a step, a snarl quickly gracing his face.

It’s impressive to see him stop five, though. That’s more than I expected. I guess I should consider that there’s not as much of an imbalance as I initially thought. He put out my fire just as quickly as I melted his ice.

This might actually be fun.

Ice comes barreling toward me a moment later and I bend my knees slightly, getting in the best position to block when my eyes roll to the back of my head. I feel the impact of the ice before I’m knocked to the ground, but everything else fades away as a vision takes hold.

Darkness.

The dripping of water rings out in the distance.

Damp rocks are hard beneath my hands as I push up off the ground.

Blinking does little to clear my vision until it overwhelms me all at once.

Red.

Red everywhere.

It’s not blood… it shimmers like jewels in the sun.

Stepping back from the wall, it becomes clear this is a ruby mine. The way they’re all a part of the walls, embedded between the stones and shimmering in the darkness is special. I’ve never seen it before but I know what it is in my soul.

Inching closer, I run my hand over the jagged edges and my eyes fix on one.

It’s red. Redder than red, yet it’s tinged with what I can only describe as black ink inside it.

Why is it different from the rest?

Poten’s Ruby.

Stumbling back a step, I gape around the space. This is where the Poten’s Ruby is. Hidden among normal rubies. Where did Burton say he hid it? Ashdale? Fuck. In the caves.

It’s hard to make out much more of the space, but a green light seems to flicker in the distance, drawing me closer.

Stumbling over uneven terrain that I can’t actually see, my eyes widen when I get closer to see that the green I’m chasing isn’t a light, but another stone…emeralds, and they’re positioned more specifically than the rubies, forming an archway in the stone cobbled wall.

A shiver runs down my spine when shadows flutter over the archway, beckoning me closer, but when I look around, there’s no one else here with me. Just the rubies and the emeralds.

Red and green.

My eyes startle wide to find Raven hovering over me.

“Are you okay?” she breathes. “I saw your eyes roll, and then the ice hit you, but I couldn’t get to you before you fell.”

“I’m good,” I rasp, more winded than I expected.

“Was it a…” Her whisper trails off as I nod.

“What was that?” Fitch grunts, appearing behind Raven.

“I got lightheaded. I must have been tugging at my magic too much, and then the ice knocked me off my feet,” I mutter, standing to find Ruben frowning at me. I don’t need his attention right now, so I turn away from him.

“Take him to the medical center,” Fitch orders, and when my brothers all appear to help, along with Raven, he quickly shakes his head. “You can’t all go. Just one,” he grunts before turning away, effectively dismissing me.

“I’ll take him,” Brax decides, placing his hand on Raven’s shoulder as she frowns at him. “You’re safer with two of us around than just one, especially when he’s still foggy like this,” he explains, and Raven reluctantly agrees with a sigh.

Her lips ghost my cheek for a brief second before she takes a step back. “Be safe and try to give him all of the details,” she murmurs, and I smile with a nod.

Brax stays right at my side as we step into the academy building and I take a second to lean back against the wall.

“You good?”

“Yeah, I just need a second.”

“What did you see?” he asks, and I blink at him in bewilderment.

“Too much.”