by K. G. Reuss
“Shit,” Brandon sputtered, backing away surprised. Everyone’s heads shot up to look in our direction.
“Good morning,” Eric called out, smiling. No one said anything as he pulled me into the room.
“Found him.” Damien lowered the muffin he was holding over his head to keep it away from Sloane and just tossed it to her. She didn’t even try to catch it. It bounced off her chest and landed on the floor. “Uh, hey, man. Sleepover?” He let out a cough and glanced at Raiden who had gone as white as a sheet.
“Something like that,” Eric muttered. “Guys, this is Everly. She’s new here.”
“And let me guess, you were just showing her around?” Adam asked with raised eyebrows. Damien snorted and tried to mask it with another cough.
“Everly?” The redhead’s eyes narrowed at me, a sneer on her face. “That Everly?” She looked at Raiden who remained pale and unmoving, his glass of orange juice still in his hand. She looked back at me, a cruel smiling turning up on her lips. “Why am I not surprised to find you keeping Eric’s bed warm? I figured you were easy. No wonder we couldn’t find them last night.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, taking a step forward. Exhausted or not, I’d tear her head off for talking to me like that. Eric gripped my hand tighter and tugged me back to him.
“Amara, knock it off,” Eric snapped. “Everly was just leaving.”
“I’d hope so. She’s not supposed to be here in the first place, right, Raiden? Isn’t that part of our rules? No outside Specials in our dorm? In our lives? Or does that only matter when it doesn’t pertain to those with rank?”
“Eric, take Everly back to her room,” Raiden’s voice was low and dangerous. “Amara, knock it off. Damien, pick the damn muffin up and throw it in the trash then go get Sloane another one from the Sugar Shack. Brandon, get me my paperwork. Adam, go find Chloe, Amanda, and Jared. Tell them we’re having a meeting. Now.”
Everyone scurried away under his authority.
“Come on.” Eric pulled me to the door.
“Wait,” Raiden called out, stopping us. Placing his orange juice on the counter, he crossed the room in only a few strides, his eyes dark and angry.
I thought he’d yell at Eric for having me there. Instead, his eyes rested on me, still hard.
“Are you OK?” he asked, his voice low.
“What?” I returned, surprised, my brows knit in confusion at the question. We hadn’t interacted with one another since the pinning ceremony. That hadn’t been a good time.
“Are you OK?” he repeated, his eyes softening as they swept over me.
“Yeah.” I let go of Eric’s hand as I tried to straighten my messy bedhead.
I didn’t want to talk to him. Whenever we did, we always ended up being nasty to one another. The only thing on my mind was getting the hell out of there. But something about his aquamarine eyes had me opening my mouth and continuing to speak, the butterflies dancing in my chest at his nearness, “I-I fell asleep in Eric’s room last night. We were watching a movie. That’s all.”
“I didn’t ask what you did,” Raiden replied softly. “I only asked if you were OK.”
“I’m fine.” I breathed out, my body trembling beneath his stare. “I-I should go. Um, I can find my way, Eric.” I moved past him to the door, my face burning.
“Hey, wait.” Eric captured my hand and tugged me back to him and leaned his head down as he spoke. “I enjoyed our time together. Let nothing that just happened here make you think you’re unwelcome, OK? I’ll see you at dinner.”
“OK,” I answered, nodding. I looked past him to find Raiden watching us with a hard look on his face. He didn’t waver as he caught my eye. The way he was looking at us frightened me. I backed away from Eric and escaped through the front door, letting out a breath of relief.
That was not going to happen again. I’d take my chances with the bad dreams.
Twenty-Two
Raiden
“My office. Now,” I snapped at Eric. I didn’t wait for him to respond. I stomped off and leaned against my desk, my arms crossed over my chest, waiting for him to enter. He closed the door behind him and turned to face me, his mouth drawn down into a deep frown.
“Explain.”
“She’s exhausted. It worried me. During training she could barely stay on her feet. I wanted to be alone with her—”
“You were alone with her in the gym.”
“No,” he sighed, his cheeks reddening. “Like, she needed to get away. Change of scenery.”
“Your bed is not the sort of scenery you should be changing it to.” I ground my teeth as I glared at him. He grew quiet, his stare focused on a point over my shoulder.
“We’re Conexus. We do not socialize with the rest of the student population—”
“Except her,” he snapped back at me. “She’s the exception to the rule, right? Need I remind you that it was you who decided we should do this? You asked me to befriend her. To look out for her. It wasn’t me! If I take her upstairs, it’s of no concern of yours what happens once I close that door!” His eyes came to rest on me. They had darkened in his anger.
I bristled, letting my arms fall to my side. I took a step toward him until we were eye to eye.
“You’re officially removed as her trainer.”
His eyes widened, his mouth falling open. I turned away from him and went to my desk, my hands shaking. I’d never been mad at Eric to the point where I wanted to cause him physical harm, but in that moment, knowing he’d had her in his bedroom, not just to visit but to sleep over, I was ready to pummel him. I needed to draw the line somewhere. And it was here.
“It’s not what you think,” he whispered.
I paused my angry shuffling of the papers on my desk and glanced at him over my shoulder, waiting for him to continue.
“I care for her, yes, and you’re right. I do need to be removed from training her. I’m getting too close despite my efforts to keep it professional.” He blew out a breath. I turned around to face him, waiting for him to continue.
“I never touched her. I only wanted to help her. But I’m becoming too invested in this. I’ve been asking her for weeks what’s going on. But she won’t tell me. She’s so ragged and exhausted. I’m worried about her.”
He cleared his throat, his gaze fixed on me. “She’s having dreams. I don’t think they’re dreams, though. I think they’re visions or … or more.”
I frowned. “More?”
“I think she’s Veil walking when her mind shuts down for sleep. I only wanted to make sure she was safe, so I brought her to my room. I knew it was a bad idea. Those worries went out the window when her eyes closed, and she looked like she had a moment of peace. I didn’t want to take it away from her. I’m sorry, man.”
I stared at him wordlessly. He liked her. Wanted her even. But in true Eric fashion, he was just as loyal as ever. I swallowed down my shame at reacting the way I had.
“I wrote down everything she said in her sleep. Here.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper and handed it to me.
A sickness swept through me as I stared down at Eric’s scrawl.
She lives. She became what he feared. Hated. The plan. He’s the center. The Order. She waits for him. The truth cannot be told without them uniting. The war cannot be won without connection. The dead will not remain dead if he doesn’t act. She will die. The other. The other. The other. Ravenger. He waits. Shadow will weep for his loss. He must see past his hatred to claim her for good. The dead. Dead. Dead. They’re here. Right. Now.
“What the hell.” My hands shook. “She said all this in her sleep?”
“Yeah.” Eric nodded.. “Trust me, it took everything I had not to wake her as she cried through it so I could get what info I could from her.” He grew quiet for a moment before speaking, this time his voice a hoarse whisper, “I-I admit to having feelings for her. I admit to the attraction and the joy I had with her in my bed. But man, I never crossed the line w
ith her. I swear it.”
I nodded tightly, my body tense from his words.
“Because of this, you do realize I need to stand by my decision to remove you as her trainer, right?”
“I’d think you were a fool if you didn’t.” He chuckled sadly. “In fact, I was thinking about coming to you to ask to be removed because of my growing feelings. She’s a good friend to me, Raiden. And so are you. I don’t want to lose that. I humbly accept your decision. I’d rather we keep her safe than fight over who gets to love her.”
I let out a sigh. “Eric—”
“I’m not mad, man. I knew I was getting too deep. She’s meant to be yours. She deserves you. Hell, she already loves you. She just doesn’t know it’s you. Maybe this training thing will work out for the best, despite all your reservations about it. You should train her. You can give her strength where I can’t. It’s meant to be.”
“I’m sorry I reacted the way I did. It’s just hard for me.” I shook my head and let out a shaky breath. “I want the best for her, so I tell myself to let her go. That to keep her safe, I need to say goodbye. But it doesn’t matter how many times I tell myself these things or how many times I whisper goodbye to her, I can’t stay away. I’m a liar. I don’t want to be that anymore.”
“Then don’t be.” He moved forward and clapped me on the shoulder. “Now is your chance to get closer to her. Maybe even tell her the truth. She doesn’t know what she is. You could be the one to tell her. When you say those words to her, let her know everything.”
“What if she hates me?”
“What if she loves you?” he countered, lifting a brow at me.
“I don’t know which is worse.” I let out a nervous chuckle. I hadn’t thought about her ever returning my affections, at least not as Raiden.
“Only one way to find out, brother. Now are we going to protect and train up a mancer or what?”
A smile spilled onto my lips.
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
Twenty-Three
Everly
I wandered the grounds that afternoon, confused. Dementon should be my haven. Instead, more things were happening. More secrets. More strange occurrences. With Shadow gone, I wasn’t even sure if I’d be safe now. Add in that members of Conexus probably thought I was a floozie after coming downstairs with Eric, and my stress levels were at an all-time high. And that Amara. I made a mental note to stay away from her.
I still needed to gather myself to go speak to Marcus some more. With so much on my mind, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. The impact from the abrupt stop as I crashed into someone sent me tumbling to the ground.
“Damn it,” I hissed, scrambling to gather the books that had fallen from my bookbag.
“You OK?” Marcus’s rich voice greeted me.
Well, speak of the devil.
“Yeah. Sorry about that,” I said breathlessly, straightening up and taking a book from him as he handed it to me. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“Clearly.” He smirked, his amber eyes sliding over me.
I gave him a forced smile. It seemed fate had me standing in front of him. “So …” I started awkwardly.
“About the night of the dance,” he continued for me, trying to lead the words from my mouth.
“Yeah, about that.” I cast an uneasy look around. Raiden and his group stood on the edge of the courtyard. Damien was saying something to Raiden, whose
gaze focused in our direction. Damn, that boy could make me feel naked with just a look. It sent goosebumps through me—and not the bad kind. The kind that ignited a fire in the pit of my belly. I frowned. Maybe I had issues with bad boys. Or maybe he had a weird power to control the way people felt. It wouldn’t have surprised me. Half the population at Dementon seemed to have a weird quirk about them.
“Yeah?” Marcus pressed, pulling my attention back to him.
“We should talk more. I-I have questions.”
“I have answers.” He gave me an innocent smile. “Perhaps we could meet at my dorm after classes tonight?”
“Is there more you have to show me?” I ventured cautiously. I had to prepare myself for another information dump. “Like a lot more?”
“I’ll show you anything you want.” A teasing smirk graced his face.
I rolled my eyes at him. “Just the necessities, please.”
“My place then. Around midnight?”
“OK. Midnight,” I confirmed, backing away from him. “Don’t forget.”
“Never.” His face was so serious. It made me wonder what else he could say to ruin my world. Turning, I left him standing there, my mind racing with awful scenarios.
“Hey, Ev!” Harper greeted me as I slid into my seat in English class.
“Hey, where’s Abby?” I looked around, not seeing her.
Harper rolled her eyes. “Making out with Devon somewhere. Priorities and all that.”
“Oh,” I chuckled, rubbing my eyes. Even with the nearly decent sleep at Eric’s, I was fading fast. What I wouldn’t have given for a nap. But I knew how that would go.
“You look awful.” Harper looked me over, her mouth turned down into a frown. “What’s going on with you? Are you and Eric, you know?”
“What?”
“Don’t make me spell it out for you.” She glanced at Jason as he came in and sat behind me. “You know. Are you and Eric staying up late together? Alone.”
“Harper, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Eric and I are training—”
“She’s asking you if you’re making the beast with two backs with Craft,” Jason broke in.
I whipped around and stared open-mouthed at him. “You mean—”
“Yeah,” Jason nodded. “You and Craft together?”
“No,” I squeaked out, looking between my friends, my face heating. “You heard what he said at the dance.”
“Good.” Harper nodded at me. “He’s not good for you.”
“Really?” I frowned. “You don’t think he’s good for me?”
“Nope.” She leaned over the aisle, her eyes filled with sincerity. “You belong with someone who challenges you. The way Eric looks at you makes me think he’d give you the shirt off his back without protest. You need a protest.”
She was probably right there. Eric was a sweetheart.
“I think you should hang out with Nev,” she concluded. “That boy is a challenge.”
Jason chuckled. I looked between the two of them quickly.
“I thought you said to stay away from Nev? I distinctly remember the conversation on my first day here.” I stifled a yawn.
Harper shrugged, a twinkle in her eyes. “Trust me. The last thing a girl like you will want to do is stay away from Nevron Blackburn. I said that before I knew—”
“Harper,” Jason warned.
I frowned at him before looking to Harper whose face was flushed. We didn’t get to finish the conversation because class started. But I couldn’t help wondering what Harper meant. More questions. I hated it. Knowing it was probably just some teen drama, I ignored it, getting far more exhausted as the day wore on.
“Hey,” Eric greeted me later that evening as I walked out of the girls’ locker room in my training gear—the all black leggings and tank top embossed with the green and gold psychic faction patch on the upper right of the shirt. His eyes swept over me quickly. “You’re dead on your feet again.”
“I’m fine.” I waved him off and began my stretches.
He gave me a skeptical look before nodding, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat.
“Listen, Ever, we need to talk.”
I widened my eyes, worry coursing through me. We need to talk was never followed up with anything good.
“Come here.” He nodded to a bench by the mats. We walked to it, and I sat down beside him.
“What’s going on?”
“We’ve been training for a month now. Just over, right?”
I nodded.
&nb
sp; “And you’re doing awesome. Better than anyone expected.”
“Eric, you’re worrying me,” I whispered.
“Uh, well …” He let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t mean to. I have some news to tell you.”
I looked at him expectedly, watching as he ran his fingers through his hair, giving it a small tug.
“Just say it, Eric,” I said, frowning. This felt like an awkward conversation that would lead to a breakup if he were my boyfriend.
“I’m not going to be your trainer anymore,” his words came out in a rush, his face flushing red.
“What?” I screeched, jumping to my feet. “Why not? What’s going on?”
“I, uh, I just can’t anymore, Ever.” His blue eyes flashed with sadness, his lips tipping up into a matching smile. He got to his feet and rested his hands on my shoulders. “It’s better this way. I can only teach you so much—”
“Eric …” I shook my head at him. “We-we haven’t even learned everything. I mean, I haven’t. H-how … why? I don’t understand.”
“I know how powerful you’re going to be, Ever. I can’t teach you the things you’re going to need to know.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. Why are you hitting me with this now? We’ve been training for weeks. Why didn’t you say anything?” I bit my bottom lip. “What happened?”
He swallowed, his hands moving to cradle my face, his blue eyes wavering. “You deserve better, Ever. I can’t focus with you.”
“Is this the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech?”
“Yes and no,” his voice was hoarse, his blue eyes pleading with me to understand. “I can’t keep training you. It would lead us nowhere good.”
“Eric, please,” I pleaded, my heart fluttering at his words. “I can’t do this without you. You and I—”
“There is no you and I, sweetheart,” he whispered. “There can’t be. You need to be trained by someone who is more like you—”