Chapter 35

CHAPTER 35

CAMERON

D espite it being girls' night, Touron and Curi snuck in to join us for the final movie, something they called a slasher flick but with comedy elements that had us all laughing and groaning over the cheesy lines.

"Why do they always fall over when being chased by the axe murderer?" Ginia asked, clearly annoyed. "Look at her! Get up! Stop fucking rolling about like that!"

"Ginia!" Palia said. "No cursing."

"Urgh!" Ginia sat back in her seat, shaking her head. "Oh for fucksake, just get up. He's bloody walking toward you. You can run."

Palia winced. "This is why I don't like to watch movies with you."

"Just like old times," Touron said.

"I agree with Ginia," Derek said. "She should stand up and run away. This makes no sense."

"She's supposed to be crippled by fear," Sharniza explained.

Beside me, Curi leaned closer. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Serath?"

"He's…coping."

We hadn't spoken much to the group about the Ubron and Serath dynamic. They were still working it out. "Serath spoke to Ubron. They're figuring things out. They've set boundaries." Boundaries where Ubron had promised not to touch me in any intimate way and to announce when he was in possession of Serath's body. "It's going to be okay."

"Yeah, it is," Curi said.

"Why is she just standing there!" Ginia pointed at the screen. "I can't do this. It's giving me anxiety." She jumped up and headed for the kitchen. "Do we have any ice cream?"

Movie night went on till almost four in the morning, and for a little while I truly forgot about the pending storms in our lives. For a little while, things felt like the early days when my only concern had been finding out what happened to Romi.

Afterward, I found Serath in the observatory, watching the fading stars.

"Hey, you coming to bed?"

He held out his arms, and I climbed onto his lap. "Was movie night fun?"

"Yeah, it was."

"What did you watch?"

"Two romantic comedies and some slasher movie that was also a comedy."

He ran his fingers through my hair. "Are you tired?"

I tilted my head slightly. "Are you?"

He kissed my jaw. "No."

I lifted my chin to give him better access to my neck. "Good."

He gently gripped my jaw and brought my mouth to his. His kiss was soft and tentative, a slow burn exploration of my mouth that promised more.

"Let's go to bed," he said against my lips. "I need to be inside you."

"Yes please."

He stood with me still in his arms, and I snuggled against him, my gaze drifting to the window and the academy grounds below us.

What was that shadow on the path headed this way? "Serath, someone's coming here."

He lowered me to my feet, and we both moved closer to the window to watch the figure running toward the tower.

Serath grabbed the telescope and tracked it. "What the…"

"What? Who is it?"

He stared at me in confusion. "It's Flora."

We hurried down the stairs to let her in, almost knocking Levi on his ass along the way.

"What's happening?" He hurried after us.

"Flora's outside," Serath said.

We made it to the main entrance, and Serath hauled it open before Flora could buzz.

She stood wide-eyed, mouth trembling. "Help me. You have to help me."

"What's happened?" Serath asked "Flora, what's wrong?"

"He's gone…Yarrow. Someone took him. I found…I found blood, and this…" She held a note out to Serath. A blood-smeared note.

Serath's frown deepened as he read it. "Fuck."

"What is it?" Levi asked. "What does it say?"

"It says that the faction has Yarrow, and if we want him back, then Cameron and I need to come to them. Alone."

Once again, we all gathered in the lounge. Touron carried Selas down and set her on the sofa, and the twins huddled by the media unit, wrapped in robes, feet clad in slippers.

Shar stood with her back against Derek's chest, his arms loosely around her waist. Her hair was mussed, her lips swollen. It didn't take much to guess what they'd been up to. I hated that we'd interrupted them.

Orix paced, hands on hips as Curi read the faction note that Flora had brought.

He finished, and I held out my hand for it, needing to read it one more time.

We have your brother. If you want to see him alive, then go straight to the tower and tell Serath Halle and Cameron Basque to come to the coordinates below. Tell them to come alone. If the council finds out, or if they bring any reinforcements, then we will kill your brother. Once we have the two gargoyles, your brother will be returned safely to you.

The Faction.

They wanted me and Serath. And they were done messing around.

"No," Orix said finally. "We are not doing this. Letting you both walk into an obvious trap. It's suicide."

"I'm not sure they're bluffing," Levi said. "This faction hasn't had an issue with doing whatever it takes to get what they want. They failed to get Serath at the facility, and so they've turned to cruder methods."

"But why Yarrow?" Shar asked. "I mean, yes, he's a friend of the elite, but if they wanted to blackmail, why not take one of the elite, or Touron, or the twins?"

"We're always together," Touron said. "In pairs or trios, and when we're not, then we're here. Together again."

"Good point," Shar said. "Not easy kidnapping targets." She chewed on her cheeks.

"What if they heard us last night?" Palia said, her eyes darting about the room. "What if this place is bugged?"

"And how would they have gotten in to bug the place?" Curi asked.

"Prasan lived here," Palia replied. "He was working for them."

"Fuck," Curi said.

An ominous silence fell for several seconds.

Orix was the first to break it. "If that is true, if this place is somehow bugged, then they know everything there is to know, which means they'd know we planned to go to Yarrow. Which means…Yarrow might have been important in helping us find them."

And now they had him. He couldn't be of help to us, but he was the perfect bait.

"Please," Flora said. "You have to help him. He's all I've got. I can't…I can't lose him." She dissolved into fresh sobs, and Ginia quickly moved to hug her.

Orix hurried over to the lounge and returned with a notepad and pencil. He scrawled something on it, then passed it to Serath, who then passed it to me.

If this place is bugged, we can't talk here. Elite, meet me in the forest in thirty minutes. Everyone else stay here to maintain a presence and some level of noise.

I passed the note to Levi. "The faction note says we have to go to the coordinates this evening, right?"

"Yes," Serath said, tracking the notepad as it made the rounds.

"Then I'm going to get a few hours of sleep."

"What?" Flora looked horrified. "My brother is out there. In danger. Some…faction has him and you want to sleep ?"

"There is nothing else we can do right now," Palia said gently as she passed her the note.

Flora read it quickly, wiping at her tearstained face. "I'm not leaving. I'm staying here until you tell me how you're going to save my brother."

"You can take the couch upstairs," Orix said. "Everyone, get some sleep. We'll talk in a few hours."

He gave me and Serath a pointed look then headed for the stairs.

Despite what he'd just said, it was doubtful that any of us would get any sleep tonight.