24. Everett

I watchthe winter dawn rise outside my office window, the falling flurries of snow swirling over the fields surrounding Everbound Castle. It should be peaceful, but all I can think about is whether Maven is lying lifeless on the cold ground somewhere out there.

That mental image makes it impossible to breathe right. My chest aches.

Walking to their quintet apartment to see if she"s there would be easy. If she is, I"ll act like a curt asshole as usual and hurry back here to sulk some more.

But if Maven isn"t there…

I realize the window I"m staring at has completely frosted over as my panic spirals and glazes my office with a thin layer of ice. Taking a deep breath, I begin to pace.

I didn"t sleep last night. I stared wide awake at the ceiling, overthinking every possible way my keeper could have been hurt in her mission to get her friend back. Since sleep wasn"t an option, I eventually went to patrol the halls like some of the other faculty members have been doing, just to see if I was lucky enough to find her coming back.

Instead, all I found was a creepy-ass pair of dismembered hands. So there"s luck for you.

Walking to my desk, I straighten what little is on it. I organize it again and again, and then I pace some more before finally dropping into my chair and rubbing my face.

How the hell am I supposed to get through today? How can I keep resisting every single instinct I have toward her? I was dangerously close to snapping yesterday. And feeling Maven"s warm, strong, incredibly fucking perfect body pressed so tightly against me when I rolled her out of the way of Baelfire"s dragon…

Nope, don"t go there. Don"t even think about it.

Too late. I glare down at the erection that"s trying to strain through my pants.

"You"re a helpless fucking idiot, you know that?" I grumble.

"I"m going to pretend you didn"t just talk to your own cock," Silas"s voice says from the entry to my office.

I startle and scowl viciously. He must have used magic to silently open my door and walk in to keep anyone outside from hearing him knock. My face is probably bright red, but I turn back to the few papers on my desk like that"s what I"ve been focused on instead of losing my fucking mind with worry for our keeper.

"I"m busy. Get out."

"No, you"re not," he scoffs, sitting and lounging in the chair across from me as he glances at the ice covering almost every inch of my office. "Tell me, why exactly do you even have an office? I haven"t figured out why you came back here."

"To teach."

"Bullshit."

Yes, it is.

I came here for three reasons. First, I wanted to take a break from modeling for the first time in over thirteen years. Second, there was the whole debacle with keeping Heidi out of Everbound. My parents would only heed my demand that they keep her away from here if I acted as their point of contact at the university.

They were desperate to have someone at Everbound in their pocket after receiving an anonymous tip that the rumored telum would be found here.

I"ve tried to distance myself as much as possible from the Frost family"s shady dealings and dirty money. But when they mentioned the telum, it created my third reason for coming here. I wanted to know if the rumors were true.

After all, the telum is mentioned in my personal prophecy. I hoped learning more about it would shed some light on the disheartening prophecy I received from the temple of Arati so long ago.

But now that I know Maven is the Entity"s weapon, I"m more confused than ever. And as usual, my family complicates things.

Silas picks up the glass of water on my desk which has been frozen solid. He ignores the way I scowl at him as he turns it over curiously.

"Is there a reason you barged in?" I huff.

"The Immortal Quintet almost killed me yesterday."

"What stopped them?"

Silas"s glare is as scarlet as ever. "You"re an insensitive prick, you know that?"

"I meant, why only almost?" I clarify. "I"ve seen how they work. They never change their minds while executing someone, sanctioned or not."

"That prophetess stepped in with peculiarly serendipitous timing and got me out of there. But I came to tell you about this because before Natalya sank her teeth into me, they asked some questions about our keeper. Specifically, where she"s from and whether she"s ever been through the Divide."

My blood runs cold, and ice fractals drift in the air around us. "They"re looking for the telum."

He nods, examining one of his wrists for whatever reason. "Maven has brilliantly downplayed her abilities since arriving. If she continues to act like an atypical wallflower, perhaps they won"t bat another eye in her direction. But now that we"ve seen her lose her temper…"

Watching Maven demolish the rival quintet, it was obvious that she"s a living weapon.

The same one my parents are so desperate to find.

But I see where Silas is going with this. "We can"t let anyone else see how powerful she is."

"She had a dangerously strong response to Baelfire getting hurt," he goes on, and then something like affection crosses his face as he smiles at his own wrist. "And according to Bael, when Crypt came back injured last night, Maven looked like she was going to kill the first person who so much as breathed wrong in his direction."

The idea of anyone being protective of the Nightmare Prince is laughable. But if she was that mad, it must mean she"s…protective of us.

Well, of them.

But still. Maven tried so damn hard to deny the quintet entirely, so the thought of her getting pissed off for any of us has my chest warming. The ice on the window starts to thaw, dripping steadily as I look away from Silas.

"And she came back safely from that little rescue mission?" I ask tightly, trying to act nonchalant.

"She did. I wanted to give her more time to sleep, so I haven"t had a chance to ask her about it this morning." He pauses and then grumbles, "I also didn"t want to walk in on the off chance Crypt is naked in there."

Dear gods. She actually slept with that unhinged freak in there?

"He better not be messing with her head."

"We"ll remove his if he does."

Silas finally stands and then pauses, staring at something on my wall. I realize it"s the portrait I decided to finally hang up recently. The blood fae"s face darkens with warning.

"Who is that?"

He"s deeply annoyed at the idea of me hanging up a picture of some random girl, which makes sense. If any of the others were pining after someone who wasn"t Maven, I would be beyond irritated.

But it"s a picture of Heidi, my half-sister. Of course, Silas doesn"t know that because he"s never heard of her. No one here has. She was kept hidden away by her dad and my mom, who both deserve gold medals for being the most uncaring, negligent parents in the universe where Heidi is concerned.

Heidi turned twenty-one last summer, but I would rather sell my soul to Sachar, judge of the Beyond, before I ever see my sister set foot in this school. My parents were all for sending her here to let her sink or swim alone. They had the gall to remind me that weak legacies aren"t "meant" to survive. It was a godsdamned miracle that I convinced them to let me be their point of contact here in exchange for keeping Heidi hidden safely away in the rural town she"s grown up in.

Because we all know she wouldn"t survive a day here. Heidi is a shifter, but she"s one of the few remaining who isn"t an apex predator of any kind. I"ve kept her at a distance all our lives for her own good, but I still know what my sister is like. She"s sunshine personified. She"d probably let a fellow legacy stab her and then apologize for spilling blood on their shoes.

"I saw how Maven looked at you yesterday," Silas murmurs dangerously. "She doesn"t hate you, not even with the shit you pulled to hurt her at the inn. It"s possible she might even care for you. And if she does, and you"re in here drooling over some tramp?—"

I freeze his mouth shut before he can unwittingly say another word against my sister, giving him the same withering look I used to use on photographers who tried to get handsy.

"I don"t drool over anyone because, in case you forgot, my curse would fucking kill them. Now get the hell out of my office."

Silas uses magic to unfreeze his mouth. He moves toward the door but sighs and looks over his shoulder. "I mostly came to assure you that she returned safely last night. I know I would be spiraling if I couldn"t check on her. None of us envy you."

His expression is almost…kind.

Which is way too fucking weird. If he and Baelfire hadn"t told me all about Maven killing the changeling, I"d be positive this wasn"t the real Silas Crane.

"If you"re even thinking about pitying me, I"m going to give your dick frostbite," I warn. "Just get out."

He snorts in amusement and finally leaves me alone.

The Immortal Quintet are like helicopters today, watching all legacies. They hover in the halls, check into classrooms, and in general, freak everyone the fuck out.

Their hired hands are equally annoying, and when I see one of them staring at our quintet from beside the doorway during Fiend Studies, I stare them down until they get the shivers and leave.

The only thing worse than being watched so closely?

Baelfire Decimus and Crypt fucking DeLune.

I don"t know what the fuck happened to them, but the dragon is panting after Maven even more ridiculously than he has to date—which shouldn"t even be possible. If this were a children"s cartoon, his eyes would be hearts popping out of his head every time he looks at her.

In the hallways, he tries to hold her hand.And citing "exposure therapy," she lets him for a little bit before slipping her glove back on and returning to the careful act of being a wallflower.

Meanwhile, whenever Crypt isn"t haunting us in Limbo, he"s looking at Maven like he wants to devour her. And I mean more than usual—which, again, should not be possible.

Then there"s the dynamic between Crypt and Baelfire. It"s weird as hell. I don"t know why they seem so off around each other, but it makes me think I"ve missed something. Again.

I make the mistake of staying with them for the first time during lunch in the dining hall. When Baelfire tries to get Maven to sit on his lap during lunch so he can hand-feed her, I finally can"t take it anymore.

"That"s it. Why the hell can"t your lovesick lizard keep it in his pants today? What, did you finally decide to fuck him or something?" I snap.

Maven takes another bite of steamed carrots. "Yep."

Oh. I"m an idiot.

Silas chokes on his water, and Baelfire looks smug as shit.Crypt"s eyebrows raise, and he tips his head. I can"t help noticing that he removed all the piercings from one of his ears. Weird, but then his fashion choices have never made sense to me.

"That explains why he popped into your dreams so damned much last night," he drawls. "I don"t mind your sex dreams in the least, but I must say the collar and leash were an interesting addition."

Now it"s Maven"s turn to choke on her food. Bael gives her bedroom eyes while Silas offers her his water. Crypt leans over and kisses her cheek, laughing.

They"re all getting closer to her.

And I"m not. I can"t.

I knew it would hurt to be left out, but this is fucking unbearable. I stand up and walk away quickly, ignoring how Maven"s gaze follows me as I leave the dining hall.

Combat training is less brutal today than it was the last two days. Instead of fighting in Everbound Forest, we run defensive training drills instructed by an air elemental named Agatha Angely. She"s one of the few fellow instructors I actually respect. During the training drills focused on evasive maneuvering and ways to break out of holds the Undead typically go for, the others make sure I"m never paired with Maven. I appreciate that and hate it at the same time.

But she notices.

I know she does because when the others aren"t looking, she arches a brow as if expecting me to explain why we"re all working to keep distance between her and me.

I just act like an asshole and ignore her completely.

But when combat training is over and we make our way back into the castle, Maven stops us from turning down the hall toward the quintet apartment.

"We"re not done training. Where are the private exercise rooms?"

Damn it. I forgot that she thinks we"re all sloppy and told us we needed more training.

"I have shit to do," I mutter, turning to leave because I"m pretty sure I can"t take another few hours of watching all of them together.

It"s not jealousy, and it"s not that they"re so obsessed with her that bothers me—it"s that I can"t join them. I keep trying to find something about her to hate to delay falling for her, but there"s nothing.

Not even the fact that she"s the Entity"s weapon bothers me. It just makes my stomach clench with dread at the idea of my parents finding out.

But before I can leave, Maven"s gloved hand slips around mine, and she pulls me back.

Immediately, my heart begins pounding with erratic excitement, the traitorous little bastard. I pull away with a scowl.

"I don"t need more training."

"Tell that to your hands."

Damn it. As they usually are when I"m struggling to control my emotions, they"re covered in frost. I can"t formulate an argument, and the others also can"t seem to think of an excuse for me to get out of this. So, I grumble under my breath as Silas leads us down several flights of stairs. When we descend past the point where regular mage lights are stationed, he calls up a fae light to illuminate the way.

We reach an area that clearly used to be dungeons. But instead of iron-barred cells and rats, Silas opens a door at the far end, and I find that we"re looking at a large exercise room full of training mats with a large mirror along one wall of the room. Silas sets up more fae lights in the room, and Maven nods approvingly, shutting the door behind us.

"Perfect. Let"s start with Crypt."

The Nightmare Prince flickers into existence right beside her with a twisted smile. "And what exactly are we starting, love?"

She looks him over analytically. "I saw the others in action," she says as if that explains everything.

"Dreadful, aren"t they?"

"Fuck off," I say at the same time as Baelfire.

"I haven"t had a chance to see how you are in combat," she goes on, folding her arms as she glowers up at Crypt. "But if you can lose an ear, you can lose much worse."

I must be missing yet another thing because I don"t get the ear comment at all, but the Nightmare Prince just waggles his eyebrows. "Like my cock? You wouldn"t want me losing that, hmm?"

"I was thinking your head, but feel free to prioritize the much, much smaller one," she shoots back smoothly.

I cough, Baelfire bursts into laughter, and Silas smirks. Crypt just looks delighted.

"Did you just trash-talk me, darling? Hardly fair, considering you haven"t seen it. Ask nicely, and I"ll show you how very not little it is."

I hold up a hand. "Nope. Everyone needs to keep their fucking pants on."

Crypt grins. "Unless we want to use this room for an orgy instead."

"My vote"s with him," Baelfire says, raising his hand.

Maven looks slightly flushed as she rolls her eyes and turns to Silas. "Never mind. Let"s start with you."

He folds his arms defensively. "The others need training far more than I do."

"Oh, my gods. This is like dealing with four butt-hurt toddlers," Maven huffs. I can"t drag my eyes away as she ties her hair into a high ponytail, exposing her very kissable neck. "Look. Obviously, you"re all powerful legacies, but you can"t rely on your abilities alone. That"s where your blind spot is and why we"re here. So in this room, there will be no magic, no ice, no shifting?—"

"It"s not like I can right now, anyway," Baelfire injects.

"—and no slipping into Limbo during combat or whatever other shit you can do," she adds, glancing at Crypt. "In here, it will be pure, physical combat. I"m going to kick your asses until you all stand a better chance of making it out of First Placement and future combat alive. I"m not losing you guys."

My protest dies on my tongue with her last words, and my heart sort of melts into a gooey puddle of mindless warmth.

I"m not losing you guys.

Meaning…me included?

I swallow and look away. "Yeah, okay."

The others mutter their agreements, seeming equally flustered.

"Good. Then let"s begin."