6. Eldon

ELDON

Sweat beads down my spine as I dig down deeper into my next push-up. The ache in my muscles is still relatively dull, so I keep going, letting the sounds of the waves crashing in the distance offer a sense of calmness that is much needed.

I slept enough to call it more than a nap, but I’m out here earlier than usual because it felt like my visions were trying to infiltrate my dreams. That’s never happened before, and it didn’t really succeed this time either, but it was enough to leave me restless. Remnants of ravens flutter in my mind, all black, bar one, but I can’t recall anything else.

Shaking it off, I splay my fingers out in the grass beneath me, using nature to ground me, bringing me back to the present so I don’t start digging too deep into my mind again. I’m expecting the guys to show up soon, which helps me focus better too. I don’t want to consider Raven at this moment because she needs to rest, and if I manage to get my hands on her, that would be the last thing on my mind.

A creak pulls me from my thoughts and I tilt my head up just in time to see Brax through the floor-length glass doors. He’s not stepping out of his room, though. No. He’s tiptoeing out of Raven’s.

Motherfucker.

He doesn’t even bother to glance in this direction since he’s usually the first one up, so I get the full view of watching him slip back into his room, leaving the shared living space untouched like he was never there at all. A tinge of jealousy passes over my skin, my face heating with irritation as I work faster and harder at these stupid fucking push-ups in hopes that I’ll cool the fuck down before he gets out here.

Impossible.

My closed-off friend, practically my brother, casually saunters outside. To the untrained eye, it would appear he hasn’t a care in the world. Except I know him and easily spot the crease between his eyebrows. The one that only shows when he’s more stressed out than usual. He’s wearing more than the black boxers he had on earlier, now in black jogger shorts matching my own as he moves over to the weights with a grunt as his offered greeting.

I try to keep my mouth shut, bite my tongue, and act unfazed, but my lips are already moving before I can stop. “Struggle to sleep?” I ask, my tone clipped as I push down once more.

“Yeah.” He doesn’t look in my direction, keeping his gaze tilted to the sky as he starts his weights routine.

“Is that because of all the fucking you were doing or because of everything that happened yesterday?”

I’m certain he almost drops the dumbbells as his gaze whips to mine and his eyes narrow. “What the fuck are you talking about?” His stumble is short-lived as he quickly continues his lifts.

Running my tongue over my teeth, I push down one last time before jumping to my feet, wiping my hands on my shorts as I turn to face him head-on. “Are we not going to acknowledge the fact that you slipped out of Raven’s room just now?”

His jaw ticks but I don’t put him off enough to stop lifting this time. “No, we’re not.”

He tilts away from me again and I reach for my water, gulping down half the bottle before wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “It’s not actually a question, you know. It’s rhetorical.”

“Still doesn’t mean I’m having this conversation with you,” he scoffs in response, which only irritates me more.

I like to be in control of everything, down to the last drop, and that includes the information I know. Especially when I know he’s keeping his thoughts to himself and a lot of shit has happened in the past twenty-four hours. How has it only been that fucking long? I’m tripping out, so I can’t imagine how he feels, but he’s offering no sliver of hope that he’s willing to share either.

Biting back my jealousy, I focus on my friend instead of my own needs. “I know you, man. If you don’t talk about this shit, you’re eventually going to explode, and I’d like to refrain from the hazards that come with that.” My hand mindlessly moves to the scar on my hip from one of the previous times he’s let his emotions build up inside of him. His eyes trail the motion but he continues to ignore me. Excellent. It looks like that’s how we’re playing it then.

I can play dirty if needed, and it seems he needs a reminder of that. “You can ignore me all you want, but you know I’ll call in Mom for reinforcements.” I cock a brow at him, silently pleading for him to challenge me, but all I get is a glare.

“You wouldn’t.”

I shake my head at him. He needs to see the bigger picture and fast. “It’s more than just us now, Brax. It’s Raven too, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep her protected. Even from you.”

* * *

I don’t knowwho I want to get my hands on first; Brax for the shitty attitude he’s been walking around with all day or Raven for bringing his grumpy ass back from the dead to begin with. Obviously, I’m more inclined to not want the latter, but damn, he’s not making it easy.

Classes have continued all morning like nothing happened yesterday, and that’s definitely rubbing me the wrong way too, but there are bigger things to address. Things that impact me on a more personal level. Like the fact that I’m growing attached to a damn necromancer.

A hot one at that.

I should have known this woman was more than any of us could imagine. I should have listened to what my vision was telling me, it was right there in front of me the whole time and I couldn’t decipher it. As it plays in my mind now, while our history professor drones on, it all makes perfect sense.

Pink-feathered raven.

Black and white chess set.

A storm.

Everything shakes with the chaos, but only one piece falls.

A bishop.

The raven slowly moves toward it, rolling it around with its claw a few times before it finally manages to get a good grasp on it and stands it up again. The moment the base of the bishop reconnects to the chessboard, the raven’s feathers turn black.

The only thing that hasn’t technically happened is Raven’s hair turning black. Even as I stare at the back of her head now, it still stands out with the array of pink strands.

As much as it all makes sense, it feels like it’s stifling the air between us since there hasn’t been a damn minute to go over everything. That’s all going to change tonight, though. I’m done with waiting around. The second classes are finished for the day, we’re hashing this out. She looks at each of us with trepidation in her eyes, like she’s waiting for a witch hunt or something.

By the end of the day, this woman is going to know that if a witch hunt ever came, we’d all be shoulder to shoulder with her, ready to bring this whole fucking place to its knees. I’m not stupid, I’m aware she’s spent a long time taking care of herself, but not on my watch. Not now. My little bird isn’t facing the world alone anymore, nor is she withering away in a cage.

She’s mine, ours, and she’s going to learn what that actually means. Brax too. Whether he likes it or not.

Someone scraping their chair along the floor jars me from my thoughts and I quickly realize the class is being dismissed. Rushing to my feet along with everyone else, I manage to sidestep Zane, beating him to Raven’s side.

She blinks up at me knowingly, and I smirk. Leila takes her left side, knowing full well she’s earning glares from the other guys, but I think Raven secretly loves that Leila doesn’t back down from us. If I’m honest, it impresses me too. Most girls would be trying to befriend her just to get closer to us, whereas Leila couldn’t seem to give a shit whether we’re in the room or not. If anything, she’d like to steal Raven for herself to do whatever girly bullshit they get up to.

Not tonight, though. Tonight we’re making waves with the new revelations of her magic.

Reaching for Raven’s hand, I run my thumb over her knuckles as we head for the door, Zane leading the way with a grumble, Creed right behind him, while Brax keeps a step behind the rest of us. It should be weird that we instantly found the need to surround Raven and protect her, even when moving from class to class, but nothing else has ever felt as right as that.

Once we’re through the door and heading toward lunch, I lean in close, the smell of her vanilla shampoo consuming my senses as I press a kiss to her temple. I want to convey how I feel about her without words, which is hard as hell for me since I’m better at expressing myself that way, but her clasp on my hand tightens at the touch and fills me with hope that she understands.

I’m here, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

The noise around us gets louder with all the chatter as we step into the dining hall. I expect Raven to try and direct me to the table she sat at with Leila on her first day here, but for the first time, she doesn’t fight our pull as we gravitate toward our usual spot.

Leila pulls out her chair at the end and Raven grabs for the next one, but before she can take a seat, I lift her up in the air, her back to my front, before I take the spot and place her on my knee. The squeak that parts her lips makes me grin.

Zane snags the chair to my right, his hand instantly reaching for Raven’s thigh as I breathe her in. Creed and Brax sit across from us, not uttering a word, but the disappointment that Raven is already occupied is evident. Creed’s lips purse in distaste, while Brax’s frown only deepens as his jaw repeatedly tics.

“How are you going to eat with me in your lap?”

I grin, my hand finding the bare skin at the hem of her skirt, and I trail delicate patterns over her thigh. “Little Bird, what if I want to be eating you?”

She shivers against me, a slight hum vibrating in her chest as she leans deeper into me. Her tongue sweeps across her bottom lip as she tilts her face to look me dead in my eyes. That should be my warning sign, but I’m too absorbed in her to notice.

“Do you want to spread my legs wide open and eat me out on the table for everyone to see, Eldon?” The purr from her lips stuns me, my eyes fixed on her mouth as I nod. “Do you want to feast on me? Make me yours in front of the whole academy?”

“Fuck yes.”

I have no control. None.

Her hand cups my cheek, her thumb stroking over my lips as my cock stiffens in my pants and my heart pounds in my chest.

“Don’t get his hopes up, Raven. That’s not going to happen and you know it,” Zane murmurs from my right, killing my fun. It startles me for a second that he can hear us and I chance a glance at Leila, but she’s occupied ordering her food. If she can hear us, she’s not letting on.

“Creed let me,” Raven retorts, quirking a brow at Zane, and I frown for a second, trying to understand what she means. Then I remember when I found the pair of them out in the woods, putting on a little show, but still, it was only me who watched.

“I can make everyone see nothing but darkness if that’s what you need right now, Raven,” Creed chirps in from across the table, a slow smirk lifting the corner of his mouth, and my cock throbs.

I’m about to answer for her when a flickering blue flame appears to consume the ceiling for a moment, garnering everyone’s attention and settling the room in silence. It disappears just as quickly and Professor Burton appears in its wake.

“Students, I apologize for interrupting your lunch, but I have news that cannot wait.” Fuck, what now? I glance at Zane, then Brax and Creed, before settling on Raven. The uncertainty is clear. “Due to the unforeseen circumstances that took place yesterday, we had to advise The Monarchy who, in return, insisted that a parent and guardian visitation be organized.” The disapproval is clear by the glare on his face, but we all know The Monarchy overrules everyone else, so he doesn’t have a say in this any more than we do. “With that in mind, a family dinner has been arranged for tonight as a matter of urgency to put their minds at ease.”

He disappears without another word, leaving everyone to gape at the now blank space. Our parents are coming. The worry on Raven’s face has me on high alert and the knowledge that my plan to talk this shit out with her has been delayed irritates me. But there are some positives to the situation.

Although it might pause my Raven issue, I can defend her from her family and it, thankfully, aids my point with Brax. My reinforcements are coming, and the side-eye he gives me tells me he knows it, too.