Chapter 18
According to Fisher, Inzer had almost immediately gone to find Sedos after his run-in with Eden and Ares. It confirmed that the guy had lied to him on purpose when he’d claimed he hadn’t traveled to the school with anyone.
Which was a good thing, because that’s what Eden wanted.
He wanted the two of them to lose sleep over whether or not Eden was here for more than a dream job.
Ares had mentioned that Sedos was on the hypovolley team, and Eden found himself standing on the outskirts of the field during his lunch break.
His first two classes had gone better than expected. There’d been a ton of questions from students about his role in Vanity and the ins and outs of being a voice actor, but they’d been respectful and polite. At least, up until the inquiries about his relationship with Ares were asked.
Always from students who were terrible at hiding their desires.
The desperate hope that Eden would deny the rumors and say he and Ares weren’t an item was palpable each and every time, pricking at his possessiveness in ways he wasn’t proud of.
Certainly ways he’d never admit to Lucifer.
Especially not after their fight this morning.
Eden was embarrassingly aware of what he’d been doing now that he’d had time to sit with it. Subconsciously, he’d seen all the gifts and thoughtfulness Ares had afforded him, and he’d panicked that the other shoe was going to drop.
It’d been one thing when he’d agreed to this thinking he wouldn’t fall for the man, when he’d thought he could be satisfied walking away once they’d taken care of Inzer and Sedos. But Ares was unexpectedly making him feel things he hadn’t felt in a really long time.
The delicate touch of another.
The attentiveness of someone who cared for him.
Eden hadn’t experienced those things since his family was still alive, hadn’t realized that he’d missed that type of consideration and connection.
This mortifying revelation had spurred him from the classroom and out into the cold, hoping the chill might snap him out of it.
He was given a two-hour block of time between now and his final class of the day, which left plenty of time to explore more on his own, and somehow he’d ended up peering at the field.
He’d been in the process of wondering where Lucifer currently was when he’d looked down and realized the whole team was at practice.
Thirteen guys dressed in jerseys that were definitely too light for this weather moved about the green, tossing and kicking a crystal ball amongst themselves in predetermined plays Eden couldn’t even begin to follow.
He had very little interest in sports in general, let alone one as barbaric as hypovolley. Still, he’d descended the stone steps, drawing closer as his eyes scanned the unfamiliar faces, seeking out the one on his hit list.
Ares had shown him photos of Sedos, and it didn’t take long to pin him.
Especially since he was the only one currently with a bloody nose.
Sedos was hunched over, both hands covering his face as crimson oozed between his fingers. He was glaring at a fellow teammate, a strong-looking young man who was openly laughing at his injury.
Either Eden was getting better at picking Black Harts out of the crowd, or there was a certain air about them that gave them away. The one mocking Sedos had to be Ellery.
Was he responsible for the broken nose?
Hypovolley balls were made from fringe crystal. Their flat surfaces were somewhat flexible and would bend slightly under force, but the edges were harder than steel. Getting hit by a ball left a fifty-fifty chance of serious injury.
“Dude, what’s with them?” a team member started up the steps then, talking with another one a pace behind him. “Ellery’s been riding Sedos’ ass for days now.”
“He must have done something to piss Ell off.” The second team member sprinted to catch up and took notice of Eden first. He bowed his head respectfully, but didn’t bother lowering his voice, clearly uncaring if some unknown staff member listened in on their conversation.
“I heard he dumped his coffee all over Sedos’ breakfast tray this morning at the cafeteria. ”
“Seriously? Last night I saw him spit in his food at dinner.”
“Childish.”
It really was, and Eden might have been concerned Ares’ friend wasn’t up to the task, if not for the whole bloody nose incident.
“Someone said Ellery slept with Sedos’ girlfriend at that party last Friday. While Sedos was asleep in the bed next to them!”
“Is that why they broke up?”
“He’s escalating. A couple of days ago, he framed him in Professor Rain’s class. I saw him take the Professor’s pen when he wasn’t looking and slip it into Sedos’ bag,” the first player said, glancing over his shoulder at the two down on the field. “Should we like…tell someone?”
“Like who? Coach is literally right there. He just watched Ellery toss the ball directly at Sedos’ face for no reason. No one is going to do shit. Unless you want us to be next, keep your head down and wait it out. That’s what Sedos is doing. Ellery will get bored eventually.”
Ellery might, but Eden wouldn’t.
He was getting a real look at the type of power the Black Harts wielded on campus though. Ellery wasn’t even trying to be subtle with his antics, and no one was lifting a finger to even attempt to stop him.
Ellery and Sedos separated, with the latter heading toward a dugout nearby.
Before he could think about what he was doing, Eden pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and went down to meet him.
He stopped at the railing and bent over, holding the small white square out until Sedos glanced up and finally noticed him.
“Uh, thanks.” His nose was crooked, definitely broken in at least one place, but he took the offered cloth anyway.
“No problem.” Eden watched him quickly gather his things and turned to step up to his side when the player bounded up the steps. “Are you going to the nurse's office?”
Sedos grunted, then winced when that caused him pain. “I don’t need a mirror to know this is bad enough to go to the hospital. Forgive me, Professor, but are you new here?”
“Yes, I’m the new classical music teacher.” He didn’t give his name. The bastard clearly hadn’t bothered looking into Eden after destroying his family, but he’d most likely recognize Baldur if he heard it. “Do you need a ride?”
“A friend of mine is picking me up.”
Eden didn’t have a car, so it was good his offer had been rejected. “Shouldn’t your coach be escorting you, since this was an injury during practice?”
“He’s too busy blowing bubbles up Ellery’s ass—” Too late, he realized who he was talking to. They reached the top and stepped onto the main path, and he turned to Eden with a worried look. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of that. I’m just—”
“That’s got to really hurt,” Eden interrupted, nodding sympathetically. “Kudos to you for being brave enough to play such a dangerous sport. I don’t even like holding a hypoball.”
“I don’t usually get hurt like this,” he tried to laugh it off.
“Were you distracted by something today?”
“No, I just…” He glanced down the steps, finding Ellery tossing the ball with several teammates. “I pissed off the wrong guy. It’s fine. You know how it is. We’re all hormonal nightmares. It’ll blow over.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. I can’t even figure out what I did to upset him, which has to mean it wasn’t anything big. Ellery is like this. He’ll pick on someone for a while and then move on to a new target as soon as he’s bored. But thanks for the concern, Professor.”
“Just doing my job.”
“You’ll discover pretty quickly it’s not worth it when the Black Harts are involved.” Sedos caught sight of something over Eden’s shoulder. “My ride is here. It was nice talking with you.”
Eden waved and turned, grinning when he spotted Inzer seated behind the wheel of the white hovercar Sedos was heading toward. His wave intensified when Inzer’s eyes met his and his ex-friend noticeably paled.
He wondered if Inzer or Sedos had heard about Zonnie’s sudden vacation yet.
To buy them time and keep Daven Dephik from realizing anything was amiss, Ares had arranged it so Zonnie’s devices had sent out a mass email alerting everyone to a sudden need for the tropics.
His bank statements had been rigged to show he’d purchased a one-way ticket off planet, and charges were being made daily from Aestas, where he’d supposedly ended up.
All of his friends and family should think he was lounging on a beach right now, instead of buried six feet under, rotting away.
The sight of Eden talking with Sedos had obviously made Inzer suspicious, but he didn’t mind. Let the bastard stew and fret, especially since he already knew that Eden had Ares in his corner.
“Did you see Creation’s drawing?” The conversation between two female art students caught Eden’s attention just as Inzer’s car pulled out of the lot and sped away. “It gave me the creeps.”
“The one with the lady standing in the shadows?”
“Was that a lady?”
“Maybe it was a man. I didn’t look very long.”
“He doesn’t usually draw things like that…”
“If you’re so worried about him, why don’t you bring him something from the school store? He likes those lemon chocolates, the ones with the salt crystals?”
The second girl laughed. “How do you know that?”
Eden stopped listening, taking off in the direction they’d just come. He hadn’t been shown the location of the art building during the tour yesterday, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Ares had left it out on purpose.
He was calling the Black Hart within minutes, shoving the earbud into his ear so the call would be private as he continued down the paths, looking for a sign for the right building. His first attempt went unanswered, and with a curse, he stubbornly hit the redial button.
“Starling,” Ares finally picked up after the third try.
“Where are you?”
“Is this an emergency?”
“Lucifer.” It’d been hours since their fight, and while part of Eden was tempted to ignore what he’d just heard—because it served Ares right after the shit he’d said—the other part was…anxious. What if he was in the throes of another episode, seeing things that weren’t really there?
Ares sighed, the sound weighted and filled with all the annoyance of a kid being chided by their parent. “I’m at studio b6.”
Eden caught sight of a large sign printed in gold hanging over a four-story white and glass building. “Wait for me.”
He hung up before the Black Hart could rebut with a snide remark.
* * *
Most of the walls within the building were made of glass, allowing natural light to pour in. Spaces were left open, only divided into sections and rooms when necessary, so Eden got a look at many students lost in their own worlds as they worked at an easel or over a slab of clay.
B6 was all the way up on the top level, and he’d taken the elevator to get there, not wanting to waste any time despite his interest in the artists.
The whole place felt buzzing yet peaceful, the type of feeling one could only find during bursts of creativity.
It’d been a long while since he’d felt that sort of elation himself, and he was drawn to it now.
But Ares had to come first.
The Black Hart would be useless to him if he lost his mind in front of people and ended up committed.
At least, that was the reason Eden told himself as he made his way down a sprawling hallway with buttery yellow floorboards, peeking not so subtly into glass rooms as he went. B6 was at the far back, and he found the door open already.
The walls connected to the hallway were frosted, but when he stepped inside, the entire outer wall was made of windows overlooking the east quad and the forest it led to.
Ares sat in the center, his back to the glass, an easel blocking most of him from Eden’s view. The sounds of graphite rolling over paper filled the room, and on a small square dais a few feet away, a bowl of fruit modeled for him.
For the first time ever, the Black Hart didn’t seem to notice Eden.
He approached leisurely, taking the opportunity to look his fill without having to guard his reactions.
After their argument this morning, concealing his attraction was even more important than ever, especially since it infuriated Eden that he still felt it at all.
If anyone else had threatened to lock him up and make him the equivalent of a sex slave, he would have either punched them or fled.
A smart person would be on a plane, halfway to the middle of nowhere, with the plan to hide away forever.
Yet here Eden was, hovering just over Ares’ shoulder, admiring his work like it wasn’t baffling that those hands currently creating such delicate lines were the same ones that had peeled the flesh from Zonnie’s bones layer by layer.
The same ones that could bring unimaginable pleasure when those long fingers buried between Eden’s cheeks and prepared him for—
“You’re here,” Ares sounded one part relieved and two parts fascinated, as if he hadn’t actually expected Eden to keep his word and show up.
Clearing his throat, he straightened. “You don’t seem like you’re losing your mind.”
Ares' brow furrowed. “Who said I was fracturing?”
“No one specifically,” he was forced to admit. “I just heard…Well. It doesn’t matter since you seem fine.”
“Did you come running because you were worried about me?” He tried to hide his smile, but Eden saw it anyway. “I thought you’d avoid me.”
“You made it pretty clear I can’t avoid you.”
“I thought you’d be angry then.”
“I am angry.”
“But you still came to check on me.”
“Lucifer?”
“Yes?”
“Care to explain to me what this is?” Eden pointed a finger at the drawing, specifically at the odd shape sketched behind the bowl holding the fruit. He’d been working on an apple when Eden had arrived, so the figure had obviously been an early addition, but…
He doubted there’d been a legitimate shadowy figure posing for him.
Maybe he wasn’t fracturing entirely, but it was clear Ares wasn’t as unaffected as he made it seem.