6. Zane

SIX

ZANE

It doesn’t make sense. Erikel could have killed Burton and assumed his position as him afterward, but for Burton to have been Erikel this entire time… it’s impossible.

The thought has kept me awake for hours. Staring into the abyss as I lie fuck knows how far away from Raven for the first time since she waltzed into my life. My heart aches and my mind reels with every what-if that plagues us.

Marieta offered us Brax’s room, but it felt too intrusive on our part, so we decided to set up camp in their living room. Eldon is on the sofa directly above my spot on the floor, while Creed fills the one that sits parallel to us. Both lay still and quiet. I’m not sure if they’re asleep or not, but the silence in the room only makes my thoughts louder.

Kicking the sheets off, I sit. The bite of the rug presses into my palms as I push up onto my feet. I need a minute. Somewhere to breathe and distract me from my thoughts.

I edge my way to the door as Creed and Eldon remain still. Pulling it closed behind me, I head for the messy room scattered with all the details of Marieta and Peta’s attempts at escaping. There’s enough in there to keep me busy for a while.

Flicking the light on, I stand and cast my gaze over every inch of the room. It’s overwhelming at first; it was earlier, too. As much as it’s all organized, I have no idea where to begin, but I need to figure it out if we’re going to find our way back to Raven and Brax.

Marieta and Peta have given us the basics, but I need a deep dive into every single detail if we’re going to find a way out of here. The facts laid before me will give me much more intel, which is exactly what we need if we want to be able to find a way out.

Raking a hand through my hair, I shuffle to the far left of the room and decide to start at the first piece of material I come across. It might not be the best plan of action, but it’s the best I’ve got to focus my chaotic thoughts.

Will I ever regret stepping through the emerald gate that led us here? No. I’m certain of it. But that doesn’t stop me from hating my current reality.

I want to be wherever Raven is. Always. And this isn’t there.

Sighing, I reach for a piece of paper taped to the wall. The handwriting is scratchy and rushed, making the words difficult to make out, but it seems to allude to a list of items, which may have been needed in one of their attempts to escape. Sticking the paper back on the wall, I move farther along, ghosting my fingertips over the labeled cabinets.

I crouch down, but the second I balance on my haunches, the room shakes and a soft beeping rings out.

Rushing to the door, I step out into the hallway at the same time Eldon peeks his head out of the living room. Hurried footsteps race down the stairs and both Marieta and Peta appear at the bottom of the staircase a moment later.

“Someone is here,” Marieta murmurs, tying a bathrobe around her waist as she ushers Peta to the door. There’s a glint of silver in his hand and it takes me a second to note that it’s a blade, but within two seconds of them opening the door, it’s discreetly placed in his sheath. “Brax.”

One word and I’m darting down the hallway to the open door. Creed and Eldon beat me to it, following Brax’s parents out onto the deck. The familiar sight of my brother settles a storm in my soul, but when it’s clear Raven’s not with him, my chest threatens to cave with anguish.

Hold it together, Zane. Hold it the fuck together.

Brax’s eyes widen when he takes in all of us, a hint of relief washing over his features as he moves faster, hurrying toward us. Eldon cuts between Marieta and Peta, desperate to get to the guy who has been by his side longer than anyone else, but before he reaches him, Brax disappears before our eyes.

My chest heaves with every breath as I wait for something else to happen, but nothing does. It’s just the five of us standing around the porch, frozen in place as a dark gray hue glows around us.

“He must have woken up,” Peta finally says after what feels like an eternity.

“Woken?” Creed echoes, his voice groggy.

“Yeah. Apart from last night, he only appears in his sleep, and it’s always a brief visit. Not usually as brief as that, but…” Marieta’s words trail off as she wraps her arms around herself. Peta steps into her side, wrapping his arm around her, the pair of them propping each other up as sadness seeps from them.

It’s not lost on me that Marieta swung the door open in a bathrobe while her husband wielded a blade. With the hopes of Brax coming again, all of their cares went out of the window, their safety suddenly a negligible indifference.

“Let’s head back inside,” Peta offers, waving to the door as he guides Marieta.

The door falls closed with a disappointing thud and I glance at Creed and Eldon, who have the same bewildered expression in their eyes that I feel. We’re out of our element. Now more than ever. The fact that we don’t have a familiarity or stronger understanding of everything in the Realm of Shadows only makes it even more daunting.

To my surprise, Marieta and Peta don’t instantly head upstairs. Instead, they step into the kitchen. “Do you boys want a drink?” Marieta asks, inviting us to join them.

I murmur my appreciation as we take the same spots at the table as we did earlier. Peta helps his wife this time while the three of us sit in silence, at a loss for words.

I’m already sick of feeling like this. It’s frustrating as fuck. I’ve never been helpless, and I refuse to start now.

Taking a deep breath, I tilt my head to look toward Peta, but Creed breaks the silence before I get the chance.

“Does Raven ever come with him?”

Marieta looks at him with a sad smile as she shakes her head. “No. I met her for the first time yesterday, but I get the feeling she’s the reason the shadows have become more animated.”

“More animated?” I ask, leaning back in my seat. It’s weird for her to say that when we’re in the Realm of Shadows, and I haven’t actually seen a single shadow yet. That might have something to do with being in here the entire time, but still.

“Oh, you can’t see them,” Peta interjects. “We’ll help with that in the morning. Or when I’ve managed enough sleep to be able to focus,” he adds, and Marieta strokes his arm in comfort.

“What he means is, the shadows aren’t visible to those who aren’t dead. Your soul has never officially crossed over to the other side, so it can’t naturally see the others around you. It took us some time, but we figured out a way to be able to actually know our surroundings. That being said, we have wards in place to protect the house, so you won’t see anything unless we’re outside.”

I nod in understanding. It’s weird as fuck how blind I feel because I’m not dead. I consider if it would be worth it to truly know the world around me.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said last night about Burton and Erikel,” I state, aware they’re in no fit state to help with our visual abilities but hoping they have enough brain power left to help my thoughts.

“Is that why you haven’t slept?” Marieta asks with a raised eyebrow, and I shrug. There’s no point in denying it.

“It can’t be possible,” I continue, noting the confusion in her eyes. “Burton can’t have been Erikel this whole time. It’s impossible,” I clarify. Brax’s parents share a look like I’m a child, one that can’t piece everything together, but I know what I know. “We’ve seen them both in the same place at the same time.”

“Holy shit, yeah. We have,” Eldon murmurs, pointing his finger at me with wide eyes as he realizes the same.

“It could make sense for Erikel to be Burton once he killed him, but the other way around? How is that possible? We even watched Erikel stab Burton before our very eyes. That’s how they learned Raven was a necromancer. They made her bring him back to life in front of everyone. Otherwise, they were going to kill Creed,” I ramble, probably oversharing, but now that my lips are moving, they just can’t seem to stop.

“And multiple times when he first arrived. When he was introduced to us for one. They were both there. Side by side,” Creed adds, backing my thoughts.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Peta says with a sigh, swiping a hand down his tired face.

“None of this makes sense,” I agree. “It hasn’t since it began.”

That’s the truth.

I’ve never known life to be as fucked as this, but here we are. I can’t keep drowning in it. We need to learn how to navigate these waters. We can’t succumb to it, and we can’t do just enough to survive. I’m through with just staying afloat, barely managing to tread water. We need to take action and we need to do it now.

Glancing around the room, I’m reminded that my location doesn’t make that as possible as I would like, but as the doubt tries to cling to my thoughts once again, I shove it to the back of my mind.

“Burton could have projected himself as Erikel while standing in the room. Again, I’m not certain, but as insane as it sounds, it’s possible,” Marieta offers, making my eyebrows pinch in surprise.

“That sounds like a lot of magic all at once.” My magic thrums through my veins in agreement.

“Burton is a powerful man, Zane. They don’t give the role of head professor at Silvercrest Academy to just anyone,” she replies gently, the words much heavier than her tone.

“That still seems like a lot,” Creed states, agreeing with me, but the way Peta shakes his head makes me pause. “And if Raven brought him back from the dead, wouldn’t that allow Burton to travel to the Realm of Shadows too?”

My eyebrows rise at Creed’s realization.

Fuck.

“That could have been his plan all along, yes,” Marieta murmurs, flooding my veins with a nervous tingle.

“When you’re a man on a mission, fueled by the hunger for power, anything is attainable. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but things really are as crazy as they seem sometimes. We will get a better understanding of this, I swear it.” He brushes a kiss to Marieta’s temple before turning back to me. “Go and get some rest, love. I think I’ll spend some time in the room with these guys. Hopefully, we’ll get information overload and pass out.” He chuckles, making Marieta smile as she rises from her seat.

“Goodnight, boys. Please do try and sleep, though. You’re going to need it.”

She slips from the room without a backward glance, and it’s only when her footsteps echo from above that Peta moves. He doesn’t speak, waving his hand for us to follow him. If Creed and Eldon are unhappy with the delayed bedtime, they don’t utter a word of complaint.

Stepping back into the room filled with the proof of their adventures, I let Peta take the lead. He doesn’t go to a drawer or pull a scrap of paper from anywhere. Instead, he moves to the words practically carved into the wall to our right.

His fingers run over each letter, obstructing my view of what has his attention. After a moment of shuffling from foot to foot, I’m ready to nudge him to the side, but he turns to face us before I can overreact.

“I never understood what these words may mean, but now I think I do.” He takes a step back, and the three of us fill the spot the moment he vacates it, eyes scanning each word. The first pass-over turns to garble in my mind, and the second helps me focus a little, but it’s the third pass that has the words settling in my soul.

Follow your heart, find solace in the shadows, and take down the dawn.