29. Raven

TWENTY-NINE

RAVEN

How the fuck does he know about The Monarchy?

I can’t get the question out of my head. It’s playing on a loop, even as I stare at him, waiting for what comes next.

“When?” Genie asks, unfazed, while the rest of us are frozen in place with shock.

“Now.” It’s a barked order, a snap of his teeth as his gaze lands on me for a second. I’m certain he’s attempting to suck my breath from my very lungs from across the way, but that would be impossible. Though, under his treacherous gaze, it feels like if anyone could do it, it’s him.

Fuck.

My back stiffens, and for some reason, my attention is drawn back to Leila, who remains at her father’s side with her head bowed.

Head. Bowed.

She didn’t…

Did she?

But how else would he have known? There’s no other reason for it. Not one.

My heart shreds into a million pieces in my chest.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I’m angry with myself more than anyone. What a fool I am. I should have listened to my doubts and refrained from trusting her. The pain clinging to my every fiber makes it clear I should have kept her at arm’s length. But more so, I’m angry that the hope that was blossoming to full fruition inside of me has been quickly squandered at Erikel’s hands again.

“Everybody make your way to the Gauntlet arena, where we will have multiple gateways set up, ready for the mission,” Erikel declares.

“What mission?” one of the guys from Shadowgrim Institute beside us asks, and before I can even blink, magic is blasted in his direction, setting him alight in an instant, until nothing remains but black burn marks where he stood moments earlier.

What. The. Fuck?

“Any more questions?” Erikel glances around the courtyard with a smug look firmly in place. My fingers twitch, wishing like hell I had the strength and ability to tear this man down on the spot.

With a reaction like that, he made sure no one dares open their mouth now. When he’s certain no one else is going to have an outburst, he waves his hand dismissively.

The crowd starts to move without further question, but I’m heading in the opposite direction.

Shouldering through the crowd, I hear Eldon call out my name, but my sights are set and anger burns in my gut. I grab hold of her arm and shake her.

“Did you do this?” I snarl, not caring if Fitch sees or not. My attention is solely fixed on Leila.

She shakes her head, confusion warring in her eyes, but I’m not falling for that bullshit now. She’s clearly too good of an actor for me and I won’t fall for it anymore.

“Raven, what are you talking about?” she asks, lifting her hands to my chest as I grab her other arm too. My nails dig into her arms but she doesn’t flinch.

“The Monarchy. I want to hear you say it. Tell me. Was. It. You?”

She pushes against my chest and I release my hold on her as she frowns at me with what almost looks like disappointment in her eyes.

“Are you joking with me right now? Of course not. Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know, you tell me,” I bite, stepping closer, but I manage to keep my hands to myself this time.

“Raven, I didn’t do this,” she says calmly, and I scoff.

“Let’s go, Dove,” Zane murmurs, putting his arm around me and pulling me back against his chest.

I glance over my shoulder at him and spot Creed, Brax, and Eldon all right there too.

Fuck.

I exhale harshly, looking away from my so-called friend.

“Get me out of here,” I rasp, looking at Zane pleadingly. He spins me on the spot and starts to follow the remaining members of the crowd heading toward the arena. We don’t make it ten steps before a flash of gold stops before us.

Fuck my life right now. How can hurdle after hurdle continue to fall in place before us? I don’t want it.

I don’t want any of it.

“Son, come.” The golden warrior hovers before us, eyes fixed on the younger version of himself, and I notice Creed stiffen under the command.

Like fuck is he ordering him around right now. That’s not necessary on top of everything else. My emotions are already heightened and this guy is only making it worse.

“No,” I blurt, grabbing Creed’s hand and tugging him closer. He steps to my side effortlessly, but the second he’s there, his father clamps a hand down on his shoulder. A frown quickly etches into Creed’s features at the touch, but a moment later, he nods and takes a step toward him, letting go of my hand in the process.

No. Fucking. Way.

Stumbling over my own feet, I rush around the golden warrior and plant a hand on his armored chest. “What did you do to him?” I snarl, barely containing the rage inside of me.

My eyes are wide, my restraint diminished, and my body stiff with anger and unrelenting tension.

“Move,” he orders, ignoring my question as he stares at me with no feelings or emotion in his eyes. So similar to Creed’s yet oh-so different without the emotion present.

“No. Tell me what you did to him,” I repeat, feeling the presence of my other men behind me. “I won’t let you take him anywhere.”

I refuse. Not when my gut twists, the wonder of whether my onyx-eyed man is making the decision for himself or not lingering in my mind.

“Raven,” Zane murmurs, but I don’t look behind me. I’m scared if I turn away, Creed will be gone. Instead, I take a step forward and wave a hand in front of Creed’s face.

“What magic do you possess?” My thought rushes past my filter uncontrollably, but it’s not him who answers.

“He has mind magic,” Creed states, his voice monotone and almost void. It sends a shiver down my spine. His onyx eyes are looking in my direction, but it’s like he’s not actually seeing me.

Bile rises up, burning the back of my throat. “Are you controlling him right now?” I snap, glancing at the golden warrior, who sighs.

“I won’t ask you to move again.”

“Good, I’m glad you’re not wasting your breath. Release whatever magic you have on him. Now.” My nostrils flare, my hands clench at my sides, and my heart races wildly. When he doesn’t move an inch, I slam my lips shut and internally growl in frustration. “Do you think you’re protecting him? Because you’re not. What have you done?” I demand. I’m drowning in air, melting from the icy presence of the golden warrior, and sinking in the hardened ground beneath my feet. All three things should be impossible, but in my mind, the world is colliding around me, and I’m helpless to prevent it.

I wag my finger in front of his face, more than ready to repeat my demand once again, but before either of us can speak, Erikel appears.

“Nice work, warrior, gaining the information about The Monarchy from your son. It’s a shame loyalty doesn’t run in your bloodline. But he can redeem himself in Ashdale,” he snarls before sauntering off just as quickly as he arrived.

Gaping in horror at his retreating form, I’m certain I’m going to pass out as I slowly spin around to face Creed again, who remains in the exact same position he was in a moment earlier.

Creed gave them the information.

Creed did.

When?

How?

Fuck.

My pulse echoes in my ears and thunders in my mind as I let the truth wash over me. If I thought I knew what pain felt like, I was wrong. In comparison to this… fuck.

“What did you do to your son?” I snarl, my chest rising and falling dramatically with every breath as I tremble from head to toe. The golden warrior stares at me bleakly and my gut clenches tighter. “Release him. Now.”

A tendril of magic flickers from his fingertips and my heart lurches. I’m ready to grab it, I don’t care if my mirror magic is revealed at this point. I need his hands off Creed right the fuck now.

Extending my hand, the warrior tracks my move, and before I get a hold of his magic, he places his hand on Creed’s shoulder once more. Creed gasps, tumbling to his knees in one swift move, and when his father takes a step away, I let him, focusing on my onyx-eyed love instead.

“Creed, are you okay?” I rush, falling to my knees in front of him.

“He’s alright, Dove. Give him a second,” Zane murmurs, stroking a soothing hand down my spine.

Once again, my vulnerabilities are revealed with my men, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Not a single fucking thing. That’s another situation for later, though. Now, Creed needs me.

He shakes his head, his hands balling into fists against the ground as Eldon drops down beside me to check on his friend.

“I can’t…” Creed croaks, making my heartache. “I can’t believe it.”

“What can’t you believe, man?” Eldon asks, squeezing his shoulder in a silent attempt at support.

Black onyx eyes look up, filled with disdain. “He left me with all of my memories this time and an understanding of what he’s done,” he breathes, his eyebrows furrowing. If he’s confused, we’re all fucked.

“What did he do, Creed?” Brax bites, clearly feeling as annoyed as I am.

“His hand… every time he’s touched me, he managed to see into my mind and erase his presence all at once.” Holy fuck. “Last night, before we went into the guild, he placed his hand on my arm.”

That motherfucking asshole.

I’ll kill him.

Rushing to my feet, I spin, searching for him, but Brax stops me in my tracks, turning my attention back to the group.

“Wait, so he knows that we know about…” Zane’s words trail off and Creed drops his head in defeat.

“Fuck. But if Erikel knew that, I’m sure he would have made us aware,” I mutter, confused by all of the information.

Creed shakes his head. “He showed me.”

“Showed you what?” I ask, dropping back down beside him. Reaching out to tilt his chin up, I look into his eyes, desperate to understand.

“How Erikel found out, but he also showed me what he did before that.” I gulp, waiting for him to explain better. “Erikel reads my father’s mind. He doesn’t offer the information, the bastard just takes it.” Just like the golden warrior does, it seems. “He demanded my father learn of any information I may have, and my father knew he had to give him something. So, he placed the memory of us knowing about Burton in a stone by the entrance and offered him The Monarchy instead.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Are you sure? He could just be bullshitting you,” Brax grunts, and despite his harsh tone, I agree. This is all so far beyond my understanding, anything is possible now.

“He didn’t tell me. He showed me. It doesn’t make sense, I know. None of this does, and I don’t understand how Erikel isn’t able to see that he did that, but I believe him. Despite how much all of this hurts, I do.”

“Sometimes our parents are just shitty, though, Creed.” I startle at the sound of Leila’s voice and my heart drops to my feet.

Shit.

Clambering to my feet, I turn to face her. “Leila, I—”

“Don’t apologize, Raven. I understand. I do. But I would never. Not unless someone was able to do to me what they did to Creed. But from a young age, my father taught me how to block people from my mind,” she explains, reaching out to stroke her hand down my arm.

Fuck, she shouldn’t be comforting me right now. Not when I’ve been a total bitch. I also need to add it to my immediate to-do list to know how to block people from my mind too. We all do.

“I’m sorry.”

She gives me a pointed look for uttering the words she told me not to say, but fuck, she deserves more than that. Especially since the real reason they know is because of Creed, and I’m not getting mad at him like I was at her.

Creed rises, Eldon along with him, and we all turn to face the path to the arena. I don’t want to go, I don’t think any of us do. Not when we know The Monarchy is so close to coming for us. And especially not when we know what’s hidden in Ashdale. Eldon’s vision offered us that.

Despite my reluctance, there’s no alternative for us in this moment. No greener grass or glimmer of sunshine on the horizon. Nothing.

Silently, I grasp Creed’s hand and the six of us fall into line, joining the students heading toward the same doom as us. It doesn’t make sense why we all have to go, but nothing Erikel does makes sense to me. We’re definitely wired differently; there’s no doubt about that.

As we step into the arena, a chill runs through my body. It shouldn’t be colder in here than out there. I glance through the crowd, noting a lot of worry and confusion written on the faces of the students from Silvercrest, while those from Shadowgrim seem calm and collected, but I guess this isn’t the first time they’ve been uprooted.

They’re a lot more acclimated to Erikel and his ways, a feeling I hope to never know myself.

We near the portals and Grave appears out of nowhere, standing firmly beside Leila. That’s when I realized that I haven’t seen Fitch. Which seems odd. He’s always protecting her or tearing her away from stuff like this. Why didn’t he interject while I was shaking her, either?

“Leila, where did your father disappear to?” I ask, glancing back over my shoulder at her.

“I don’t know. He was mad at seeing me with Grave. That’s why I was standing with him in the courtyard. He had been in the middle of berating me about my body and my sins when the siren rang.”

It still doesn’t make sense. There are so many layers to all of this. There’s no escaping the carnage.

Confused as hell, I step up to the gateway when it’s our turn to pass through. My heart is galloping uncontrollably as I feel the soft sand beneath my academy-issued shoes and a shudder runs down my spine.

I’ve been here once before at the hands of Sebastian.

The Bishops found me that time. Now they’re here with me. Talk about full circle.

Once the last people are through, the gateways disappear and everyone’s attention turns back to Erikel, who grins from ear to ear as he addresses us with his arms flung out wide. “We better move fast before the darkness comes.”