Grave Secrets: A Dementon Academy of Magic Novel (The Everlasting Chronicles Book 3)

by K. G. Reuss

  “Give me your hands,” Marcus instructed, holding his hands out for me. I placed my hands in his, wondering what he was doing. “You’ll stay with me tonight, OK?”

  “What? No. We aren’t allowed to spend the night with the opposite sex, and if we get caught—”

  “Listen, I’ve never done this charm in this capacity before, so I want to make sure you’re safe. To hell with the rules. Do you really think I’m afraid of Conexus? Brighton?” He shook his head. “So you’ll stay. OK?” He was no-nonsense, and I was far too tired to argue.

  “Fine.”

  “Good.” He murmured quickly under his breath. The lights flickered in his dorm, causing my heart to pound wildly in my chest. A sweeping surge of heat uncoiled in my head before trickling down through my body. Marcus continued to thread muttered words together. When he stopped speaking, the lights returned to normal, the heat lingering within me.

  “Sleep,” he whispered, releasing my hands. “You should be able to get a good night’s rest. I can’t say how often I can do that. It’s a big spell.” I noted how drained he seemed. “You can have my bed.”

  Before I could protest, he had me by the elbow and led me to his bed. Tucking the blankets up around me, he bid me goodnight and turned the light off as he left. He kept the door open behind him, and I watched with heavy lids as he sank down onto the couch, his eyes closing immediately.

  Marcus wasn’t as bad as they all said he was. Maybe Conexus had it all wrong.

  Twenty-Five

  Raiden

  Damien and Sloane were sword fighting with paper towel rolls in our living room when I returned home after training Ever. Eric laughed at the two of them, but they all halted when I came in. Eric sat forward, concern written on his face.

  “What’s wrong?” Eric trained his stare on me as I threw my cloak on a nearby chair. I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration.

  “Damn, what’s happened?” Damien tossed his cardboard sword onto the coffee table.

  “Ever,” I started. “Tonight was our first night of training together. We trained a little later than what Eric did. When we finished, I planned on walking her back to her dorm. But she said she was meeting someone.”

  “Harper and Abby?” Sloane offered, glancing at me, uncertainty on her face.

  “I wish,” I growled. “She didn’t tell me. The moment we were out the door though, you’ll never guess who was waiting for her.”

  “Who?” Damien asked.

  “Marcus Ambrose,” I finished. “Then they left together.”

  “Where were they going?” Eric asked sharply.

  Ambrose was just as bad as Blackburn. I should’ve followed them, but I forced myself to walk in the opposite direction.

  “I don’t know. If I had to guess, his place,” I snapped. Eric’s face twisted into an angry mask. This had upset him as much as it did me. “And I couldn’t stop them. It wasn’t curfew. I warned them about it though. Ambrose blew me off.”

  “I hate that guy,” Damien grumbled.

  “He’s actually not that bad—” Sloane started.

  I shot her an irritated look.

  “What?” She volleyed. “I hung out with him a few times with Harper and Abby. He’s really not. You guys give him a bad rep because of Nevron, but seriously, he’s kind of …”

  “Don’t say what I think you’re going to say,” Damien groaned.

  “Sweet,” Sloane finished, smirking at Damien whose hands had balled into fists. “Besides,” she continued, rolling her eyes. “You have no proof he’s Cipher. I think this is more about a feud that happened when you—” She gave me a pointed look. “—inducted Amara.”

  “Oh bullshit.” I snorted, moving to grab my cloak. “This isn’t Amara related. It’s about him and Blackburn being snakes in the grass, waiting to strike. I won’t have it happening to Ever. It’s my job to protect her.”

  “Gen,” Damien called out, stopping me as I tugged the cloak back over me.

  “What?”

  “You can’t do anything about it. You have no reason to go to Marcus’s dorm. You can’t. It’ll bring suspicion on us about why we’re trying to watch over Ever. Plus, what’s the point? You’re not with her—”

  “She’s my mancer,” I bit out.

  “She’s not your anything other than your trainee,” Sloane corrected me. “She’s just a girl who sees the dead. Without you, that’s really all she is. And since you’ve decided not to do anything about that, she’s just a girl you wish you could be with. Like a crush. So…” She crossed the room in a few quick steps, so she was staring up at me. “Let it go. I have a feeling she knows what she’s doing. You can’t control what she does. None of you can. She hasn’t been happy in a long time. If this makes her happy, don’t you want that for her?”

  I stared down at Sloane, my heart banging painfully against my chest. She was right.Sighing, I took my cloak off and nodded to her. “You’re right. But something is off. We need to find out what’s really going on with Ambrose. Something tells me it’s not good. We can’t do anything about it. Not yet, anyway.”

  “I’ll see what I can do to help,” Eric murmured, frowning. “But since I’m not her trainer anymore, our communication is limited. I don’t have a reason to really talk to her now.”

  Damien sighed. “Gen just needs to get all this shit with her sorted. If she needs him, he’ll know anyway, so consider her safe. Besides, it’s like Sloane said, Ever is a smart chick. She can handle herself. So let her.”

  I glowered at Damien. I needed to go to sleep so I wasn’t thinking about whatever Ambrose had up his sleeve. And Damien was right. If Ever needed me, I’d know. Eric prodded my thoughts.

  “I didn’t want to say it out loud, but Ever told me her grandma went here. I forgot to tell you with everything going on. I’m sorry.”

  “What? When did she tell you this? How did she know?” The information rocked me. I’d dug through everything I could on Ever and never found traces of her family having gone to Dementon.

  “When she stayed here. She said she saw a picture of her in the Welcome Hall. She didn’t elaborate on it. I didn’t push it. I think it’s something to seriously look into. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “You’re right. It doesn’t. Everything I’ve looked at suggested she’s just an anomaly. Is she sure it was her grandma?”

  “Without a doubt.”

  “I’ll look into it. Thank you for the information.”

  “Of course. I’ll do some digging too.”

  I nodded and broke off our connection. This information had me floored. I needed to sleep on it.

  “I’ll see you guys later. I’m going to bed. Sloane.” I turned back to her when I reached the stairs. “You have patrol in the morning with Amara. Try to get along.”

  Sloane rolled her eyes before smacking at Damien with her cardboard sword. He wasted no time in grabbing his and returning her volley. But Eric, he sat on the couch, his brows crinkled as if in deep thought. If I knew Eric, I knew he was trying to figure out what the hell was going on with Ever and Ambrose and what the business with her grandma was.

  That made two of us.

  Twenty-Six

  Everly

  I woke from a deep sleep, feeling slightly more refreshed. I still dreamed, but they’d seemed so far away. I’d only slipped in and out of the gray world for moments, before returning to a deep slumber. In the quiet of the night, I could feel them though. On the edge of my sleep. Waiting. And that alone made me apprehensive and ruined my night. I vaguely remembered I was in Marcus’s bed.

  Sitting up, I peered out to the living room where he slept peacefully on the couch. Sunlight filtered in through the windows, and birds chirped outside.

  I decided I should probably get up and make myself look slightly presentable, so I hastily freshened up in his bathroom, using my fingers as a brush and splashing water on my face.

  I walked out to the living room and sank down onto the chair next to Marcus,
wondering if I should wake him. He looked sweet curled into a ball, his mouth slightly opened. Nothing like a terrifying warlock. I was just about to leave and come back later when he stirred.

  “Morning,” he mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. His black hair was a mess. He ran his hands through it quickly, yawning. He must have changed into his pajamas sometime in the night. I bit back a smile. He looked normal in fleece pants and a tank top.

  “Morning,” I replied.

  He cast me a lazy smile before getting to his feet.

  “You can make coffee. I’m going to get a shower. Then we’ll go.”

  “Go?”

  “Yeah, I’ll show you something. It’ll be easier than just telling you.” He got to his feet and walked to his bedroom without waiting for me to reply.

  Getting up, I hastily threw together a pot of coffee, noting the brand he used. Forsenia Rose. I’d never heard of it before. Whatever it was, I had to get some because it was awesome. Moments after I’d poured myself a cup of the steaming hot nectar, Marcus emerged looking put together. He poured himself a cup then sat on the couch.

  “I’m glad to see I didn’t kill you.” His golden colored eyes flashed with humor. I scowled at him.

  “Did you have any doubt?”

  “There’s always a small chance.” He shrugged. I stared open-mouthed as laughter erupted from him. He’d been all offended last night when I’d asked. “It’s true. Plenty of things can go wrong with casting. I try to take into account all aspects before I place a charm that strong on anything. Did it work?”

  “Well, like you said, I’m not dead,” my voice was sour.

  “Not that.” He waved my words off. “The dreams. Did it help?”

  “Somewhat. I still had them. Just not as bad or as long.”

  “Progress.” He grinned at me over his cup. We sat in silence for a few moments before he stood up and took my cup from me, placing it in his sink.

  “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

  “Don’t sound so excited,” I grumbled, following him to the door.

  “Believe it or not, I am a little excited.” He turned and offered me his hand “Are you ready?”

  “We’re really not going to talk here?” I tentatively placed my hand in his as he pulled open his front door.

  “And miss parading you on my arm around campus? Not likely.” He chuckled, his amber eyes twinkling. I scowled at him, a move which made him laugh a little more, before he steered me from his dorm.

  “Marcus Ambrose. And Everly Torres,” a honeyed voice met my ears. I turned around to find Amara and Sloane walking toward us adorned in their all black uniforms. I’d only ever had the one encounter with Amara, and I hadn’t been looking for a repeat soon. The girl had mean queen scribbled all over her in bright red letters. “Why am I not surprised to see the two of you together?”

  “Because we’re two beautiful creatures who went home together. We were bound to find something to do after hours,” Marcus returned, a giant smile on his face as he surveyed her.

  I shot him a warning look, the jerk.

  He winked at me. The last thing I wanted was someone thinking I’d had a steamy sleepover with the amber-eyed weirdo. Hot weirdo, but weirdo just the same. “What brings you over to my neck of the woods?”

  “Just keeping the campus safe,” Amara tittered, tossing her red mane over her shoulders.

  Sloane remained quiet at her side, her dark eyes darting between me and Marcus, a frown on her lips.

  “Well, aren’t we a lucky lot?” Marcus smiled again. It didn’t reach his eyes. “Say, how is your general doing? I don’t see him stalking around much on campus these days. I know he’s taken Ever on as a trainee, so he must be up to something.”

  “He’s doing well. As for him taking this thing as his trainee, well…” She sneered at me, disdain all over her face. “Raiden always did have a soft spot for the less fortunate.”

  I glowered at her, grinding my teeth, all my willpower going into restraining myself from lighting her ass up like one of the candles from training.

  Her eyes raked over me, so much disgust in them that even Sloane looked from her to me with uncertainty.

  “We’re engaged,” Amara continued, her eyes narrowed in a warning to me.

  “Amara,” Sloane hissed, glaring at her.

  Amara’s lips turned up into a silky smile, completely ignoring Sloane. Her eyes were locked on me as she continued, “We’re in love. We set our engagement party for the spring. We’ll marry by summer.”

  I let out a soft snort I tried to mask with a cough. Amara was made for the moody general. What I couldn’t figure out was why she thought I gave a damn. Sure, there was that weird feeling I got whenever I was around him or thought about him, but General Hawthorne and I didn’t get along. He was a manic case of odd and confusion—two things I didn’t need more of in my life.

  I rubbed my chest, an ache within it despite me telling myself I didn’t care.

  “Engaged, eh?” Marcus raised his dark brows, a smirk on his lips as he glanced at me. “Well, I suppose congratulations are in order. At least when the general stole my girl, he made something of it.”

  I looked at Marcus in surprise. He and Amara had been together? I supposed I could see that. They were both insanely beautiful.

  “It’s not like that—” Sloane started, looking at me apologetically.

  “It is like that,” Amara bit back. “He’s truly amazing.” She sighed happily before she focused her attention back on me, an ugly tilt to her lips as she glared. “And what about little Everly? How’s your romance with Eric going?”

  I stared at her stupidly. This girl had some serious issues in the form of crazy.

  “I guess not that good since you’re coming out of Marcus’s room this morning,” she continued in her syrupy sweet voice. “Just so you know, you should probably just stick with Marcus. You’re not one of us. You’re just a plaything until the real thing comes along. Plus, judging by how easy you are, I’d say you’ll have lots of options if Marcus doesn’t do it for you. God knows he didn’t do it for me. You can have my sloppy seconds.”

  “You’re out of line, Amara,” Sloane seethed.

  I was so not in the mood for a mean girl. I took a step forward, ready to pound her into the ground when Marcus’s hand caught mine, tugging me back to him, his arm winding around my waist as he held me tight.

  “Don’t let her bait you,” Marcus whispered quickly in my ear. Only he didn’t make it look like just a whisper. He put the effort in to make it look like he was whispering sweet nothings in my ear, his lips brushing against me. “It’s what she wants. If you react, she can punish you.”

  I ground my teeth together before tipping my lips up into a tight smile.

  “Congratulations on your engagement, Amara,” I said, hoping I sounded as nice as I was aiming for. “I’m sure you’ll make General Hawthorne thrilled. Misery loves company, right?”

  Marcus let out a loud laugh at my words. Even Sloane’s lips turned up slightly. Amara? Not so much. Her fists clenched and unclenched as she glowered at me.

  “Watch yourself, Torres,” she hissed, moving closer.

  Marcus’s arm tightened around my waist until he was a vice on me. I had to give him credit. At least he knew I’d pounce and claw her eyes out.

  “Your days here are numbered. The Nattie world chewed you up. The Special world will swallow you whole. And no one will miss you once you’re gone. You are a nothing to everyone. Your own father even tried to kill you, and let’s be fair, even you couldn’t finish the job. How many times did you try and fail? Two? Three? That should tell you something. Freak.”

  I stiffened as she stared smugly at me, the backs of my eyes burning. How did she even know any of that? I didn’t want to cry. Least of all in front of her. But damn my self-esteem if a tear didn’t trickle out. Sloane grabbed Amara’s arm and pulled her away from me as she cast me another apologetic look.

  “
Must be that time of the month, huh, Amara?” Marcus called out as Sloane continued to pull her away. Amara gave him the finger, a move that caused a bitter chuckle to leave his lips.

  Once they were far enough away, Marcus turned, his eyes sweeping over my face.

  “She’s a bitch, Ever. Let nothing she said bother you. She’s always been that way. She’s jealous by wolf nature. You’re prettier than she is, and she feels threatened by it.”

  I wiped at my eyes quickly, drawing in a few breaths to compose myself.

  “Don’t do that again.”

  “What?” He looked at me, his brows crinkled.

  “Use me to make her jealous. She’s a cold, calculating mean girl with a hint of power here. I have enough crap going on in my life. I don’t need anyone adding to it.”

  “It’s not like that,” Marcus insisted as I walked away from him. He fell in step with me. “I know her. And, I know what’s going on.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked, still walking.

  He took my elbow, steering me in another direction.

  “Aside from her jealousy? The war with the Cipher is getting heavier. All of Conexus is feeling it. The rumors of a mancer being born are making it worse. Both sides are searching for the key to ending this war. And that’s what I want to talk to you about.”

  “I want no part of some supernatural free-for-all. I’m here to hone this ‘gift’.” I made air quotations as we walked. “So that maybe I can go to college and have a semblance of a normal life. Forgive me when I say I really don’t give a shit.”