3. Eldon

THREE

ELDON

One moment, the love of my life is standing before me, an invisible barrier between us, and the next, she’s gone.

Gone.

Like a soft laugh drifting in the breeze, never to be heard again.

My heart aches, my soul burns, and my life feels like it hangs in the balance.

The second she’s ripped away from me, I’m overcome with the need to feel her skin against mine, hear her voice soothe me, and breathe in her scent. It’s an instant, unwavering craving that I can’t shake as it grows, burning through my veins as I stand helplessly in the Realm of Shadows.

One glance at Zane and Creed reveals the same pain in their eyes. Helplessness clings to the air, claiming us as its victim as life seemingly continues on the other side of the gate.

I give myself a moment to dwell, to break, to sink deep into the depths of despair, but that’s it. Not a second longer. We need to be positive and focused if we plan to find a way out of here.

“Come,” Brax’s father murmurs, waving for us to follow after him. Brax’s mother hurries to his side and I watch them for a moment, the way he sweeps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close as he presses a kiss to her head.

We’re not the only ones hurting here, and they’ve been lost to this pain far longer than we have.

Fuck.

“Let’s go,” Zane mutters, patting me on the arm, and the three of us follow after them.

It’s the strangest feeling to walk among… nothing. Not a bird chirping, no rustle of a breeze over leaves, or even the waves crashing in the distance that have offered us comfort at the academy.

Instead, we’re surrounded by an off-white that seems to go on forever. The only thing present is the home before us. I’m sure it would look sweet and comforting in any other setting, but it looks eerie as hell right now.

A white wrap-around porch lures us closer before we step inside the house.

“How is there even a home here?” Zane asks, and I shrug, just as bewildered as him.

“It’s a replica of our home in the outside world. Come, we’ll explain what we can over a drink,” Brax’s mother states, leading the way into a large open kitchen. White wooden cupboards and granite countertops greet us. Small green plants are dotted around the space. The lush colors and added life catches me by surprise, but I keep my thoughts to myself as I take a seat at the dining table with Zane, Creed, and Brax’s father.

We sit in silence, each lost in our thoughts, until Brax’s mother approaches with a tray of steaming mugs, placing one in front of each of us before taking the seat beside her husband.

“Thank you.” I have no idea what it is, and as much as my stomach is in knots, I bring the mug to my lips and take a sip.

Hot cocoa.

Damn, it’s been forever since I’ve had this. My mother used to make it all the time for me when I was small. I smile fleetingly at the memory, a time of calmness and no stress grounding me and giving me the boost of hope I need before reality settles back in.

“Do you want anything to eat?” Brax’s father asks, and I shake my head while Creed and Zane decline too.

“What do we need to know about this place?” Creed asks, cutting straight to the point, and my attention swings to Brax’s parents, desperate for details.

“Well, first, I’m Marieta and this is my husband Peta. Just in case you don’t remember from when you were young. To wager a guess, I’m going to assume that you’re Zane Denver, Creed Wylder, and Eldon Rhodes,” she lists off, pointing at each of us respectively.

“How do you know that?” Zane asks, his smile not quite reaching his eyes as he assesses them.

Marieta smiles softly, taking a sip of her drink before responding. “Creed is the double of his father. I’ve never met anyone as calm and collected as Rosa Rhodes, and the way you hold your shoulders reminds me of Rhys.” She points at Creed with the latter, making a smile appear on his face for a split second.

My eyebrows are almost in my hairline as I gape at her in surprise. I know she knew my mother, that’s how we came to take Brax in when we were younger, but she knows all of our parents? Deep down, that doesn’t surprise me, but it still catches my attention.

“How did you end up here, Marieta?” Creed asks, his jaw tight. I’m sure the reminder of looking like his father isn’t helping him.

Peta places his hand on top of Marieta’s as he addresses my friend. “We were working on an assignment for The Monarchy. After leaving Silvercrest Academy, we were enrolled as researchers in Haven Court,” he explains, and Marieta offers a soft, sad smile.

“A lot of our research revolved around the Basilica Realm, which meant we were involved in battles more than achieving any research most of the time,” she adds, shaking her head, her eyes glazed over as if a memory is playing in her mind.

“We were perfect in battle, darling,” Peta murmurs, making her smile grow wider.

“We were, but we’re getting off track,” she whispers back, swiping a hand at her cheeks before turning back to us. “We were trying to gather intel on magical artifacts that we knew other realms were searching for. The emerald gate being one of them.”

“Why would someone be searching for access into the Realm of Shadows?” Creed asks, leaning back in his seat with his arms folded over his chest.

“Imagine being led by darkness, desperate to hold reign over all of the realms, all while desiring the magical abilities of a necromancer without the power to control the shadows yourself.”

Her words hit hard. Not because they don’t make sense, but because they do. It definitely makes sense for someone like Erikel. But why use Raven’s necromancer abilities to bring people back from the dead and not force her to control the shadows? Why continue to search for artifacts?

“Clearly, controlling someone to orchestrate the shadows still isn’t enough. Erikel must want the power for himself,” Zane states, answering my thoughts.

I nod mindlessly. I’m never going to understand Erikel and his thought process.

“That’s what they don’t understand about the emerald gate. If it senses ill intent, it will never appear,” Peta explains, repeating what Marieta said when Brax and Raven were standing on the other side of the gate.

“But it showed itself to you.” I glance between them as they nod in agreement.

“It did, which feels like a cruel joke at this stage. Our intention was to understand it and protect it,” Marieta murmurs with a hollow chuckle.

“That’s exactly what it’s allowed you to do, unfortunately, from in here instead of out there,” Creed says with a shrug, gaining Brax’s parent’s attention as they stare at him in surprise.

“Have you kept track of how you’ve tried to escape?” Zane asks, redirecting the conversation, and they both nod.

“Good. We’re going to need to take a look at that,” I add, and Marieta exhales softly, a smile touching her lips.

“That sounds perfect. We definitely need another set of eyes to take a look over everything. But it’s not just a file or scrap of paper. It’s a whole room. Once you’ve finished with your hot cocoa, we can show you.” I take a deep breath, relief and hope desperate to blossom in my soul. “How is your mother?” she asks, glancing over the top of her mug at me.

“She’s good. I haven’t been able to hear from her in a few weeks with all of the mess at the academy, but she’s as amazing as ever,” I explain. “Although, I definitely use her as a weapon against Brax when he’s being quiet. She always helps bring out his softer side,” I add. I don’t know why until I see the happiness shimmering in her eyes. She needed to hear that.

“Thank you,” Peta mutters, comforting his wife, who clears her throat and turns to look at Zane.

“And how is Rhys?”

Zane scrubs the back of his neck. “He’s keeping his head above water while everything is coming to a head at The Monarchy.”

“And putting you guys first, I assume? His love for you and your sister, as well as your mother, is unparalleled,” she states, making Zane smile as he nods.

“And your father?” Peta asks, turning to look at Creed.

“Mine?” he retorts with a frown, confusing Peta, who nods slowly.

“Yeah, of course. Zeek is my best friend. Always. I’m going to have to have words with him if I ever get to see him again if he hasn’t told you that, too,” Peta insists, leaving Creed to gape at him before he quickly clears his throat and sits up in his seat.

“We believed he was killed in battle in the Basilica Realm,” he breathes, making Peta’s eyes widen in horror.

“No. I’m so sor⁠—”

“Until he reappeared a few weeks ago under their control,” Creed interjects, and I’m certain Peta is going to pass out with the information.

“Under their control as in…” It’s Marieta’s turn to comfort her husband this time, desperate to clarify what Creed means as she rubs her hand down Peta’s back.

“As in, he’s the leader’s guard. Dressed in golden armor stained with blood and merciless when following his orders.” Creed’s voice grows hoarse as he spits the words out, and Peta’s head falls into his hands.

“I’m so sorry, Creed. I can’t imagine how any of this feels for you, but I can tell you with certainty that your father is one of the best men I know,” Marieta insists. Creed nods, looking away.

I have no clue what time it is right now, but earlier, when we were still at the academy, we learned that Erikel knew The Monarchy was coming to help us because Creed’s father managed to find the information for him. At the same time, he managed to hide other facts from Erikel, so once again, we’re left with a very unclear picture of his intentions.

“So, it’s officially all gone to shit out there then,” Peta states, and I laugh.

“To summarize, yeah.”

“I thought it would have happened sooner than this, if I’m honest.” He says nothing else as he finishes his drink and takes his mug to the sink.

“And Brax?” Marieta murmurs. “How did he die?” The memory floods my mind, and my hands clench involuntarily at the pain. “The first time he arrived, he left just as quickly,” she adds, and my chest clenches. Knowing he made it all the way to the Realm of Shadows before finding his way back to us makes it all the more real.

“It was during an attack at the Shadowmoor outpost,” Zane states. “We were ambushed by the Amayans and one of them managed to get to him, then Raven’s abilities finally came to her.”

“Came to her?” Peta asks, standing behind his chair now.

“Yeah, that’s a story for another time, but she didn’t know she was a necromancer until she was a wreck hovering over Brax’s body. Her cry was… gut-wrenching, and a moment later, his eyes were open again.”

“She’s not like any necromancer I’ve heard of before,” Marieta whispers, dabbing at the corner of her eyes again.

“She’s not like anyone we’ve ever seen before,” Creed reiterates, swiping a hand down his face.

“Let’s take a look at the room, shall we?” Peta offers, and we all nod in agreement.

He leads the way back into the hallway, turning us toward the end of the hall. I don’t know what I expect to see on the other side of the door, but it’s not this.

Paper litters the entire wall, words scribbled everywhere. Items littered around every surface seem just organized enough to be considered categorized. There seems to be some kind of color coding going on: yellows, blues, pinks, and greens.

“This is everything we’ve tried so far, and these are options we’re trying to put together,” Peta states, waving his arm around the room.

Fuck.

“We’re stranded and helpless,” Creed grunts, and I take a deep breath, refusing to let that be the truth.

“That’s what we’ve been for all these years. I don’t want to give you false hope because I sure as hell don’t have any,” Marieta states, running her fingers mindlessly over the papers on the wall.

“You best start believing in it.” Her eyes widen in my direction as I stand tall.

“You can’t be sure.”

“No disrespect, Marieta. Brax may be your son, but you don’t know him as well as we do. He won’t rest until we’re all together. For his sake, for yours, ours, but most importantly, for Raven’s.” My words hang in the air for a few beats and I’m certain she’s going to brush me off, but to my surprise, she takes a deep breath, standing taller as she nods.

“I hope so.”

“I know so,” Zane clarifies, making her smile.

“So, what’s going on out there?” Peta asks, and I realize they’ve caught us up to date on things in here, but they have no clue what’s happening in the real world.

Where to even begin?

Planting my hands on my hips, I exhale. “Everything seemed to be okay from our perspective until Erikel arrived. There were a few attacks we were made aware of, and we were on a visit to Shadowmoor outpost when it was attacked, but everything really did go to shit when he showed up.”

“Erikel?” Marieta frowns, knitting her hands together.

“He’s from the Basilica Realm,” Zane explains, and she gulps, turning to look at Peta.

“I thought he was dead,” she breathes. “I watched you kill him,” she adds to her husband, who looks as defeated as she does.

“So did I.” Peta looks our way. “Are you certain it’s him?”

I shrug. “I didn’t know this man existed until he appeared at the academy. I have no idea.”

“It has to be him, though, right? Who else could it be?” Zane asks, his brows knitted as tension ripples through me.

“Do you know what Erikel’s magical abilities are?” I glance back to Marieta, who nods.

“He had the strongest telekinesis abilities I’ve ever seen.”

“Anything else?” I push, my heart starting to gallop.

“No… why?” Peta answers, casting his gaze over each of us.

I gulp, turning to look at Creed and Zane, who both look at me with the same uncertainty in their eyes that I feel deep down in my soul.

“We have witnessed an ability from him that we believe he keeps secret, but we also haven’t seen him use any telekinesis,” I breathe, and Peta scoffs.

“Impossible, that man used his abilities every second of every moment,” he insists. “What have you seen him do?”

I wet my lips, looking down at the scattered sheets on the floor before returning to them. “We’ve witnessed him skinwalking.”

Peta goes still, his jaw slack as Marieta lifts a hand to her chest, shaking her head softly.

“That’s inconceivable. He… there’s only ever been one skinwalker. If Erikel had been one, he would have been captured by The Monarchy instead of slaughtered.”

“It doesn’t make any sense. We’ve seen him shift before our very eyes. He can do it,” Zane insists, and Peta finally moves again.

“Or the person doing the skinwalking was doing it.”

If I thought all of this skinwalking bullshit was too much before, it just went to a whole other level. Fuck. No wonder my head is pounding.

“Who was the only known skinwalker?” Creed asks. Marieta and Peta look at each other for the longest moment, like they’re trying to piece it together, but it doesn’t seem possible to them.

“Tiran, Tiran Burton.”