Chapter Eight
Neith
R aiden looks relieved, "Thank fuck for that. I know it's inevitable that they are going to call on me at some point, but I want to get some training in, and maybe even figure out what the color of my wings means before it gets to that point."
"I think that's probably the smartest way to go about it," Sully confirms. "If I were you, I would keep that stronger side of yours under wraps at the Choosing."
"Shit, I hadn't even considered that," Reed curses.
Raiden nods, "I had. I was planning to keep it concealed. I've done it for the majority of my life, so doing it for a few trials at the Choosing will be fine."
Sully nods, "Agreed." Ringing fills the room, and Sully pulls out his phone, rolling his eyes as he looks at the screen. "It's Ty. He's probably checking to see where you are since you were late getting here because you were playing with the kelpies, and then we sort of detoured on the conversation a couple of times."
"Tell him we're leaving now," River says, and we all head out the door.
I wave at Sully just as he answers the phone, and he smiles. "Yeah, yeah. They're on their way now, you impatient fuck."
I chuckle. I'm not sure many people would speak to Ty like that, but Sully and Ty have known each other for a long time, and I guess that gives Sully certain privileges most don't get.
"We're going to have to drive to the academy, aren't we?" I ask as we all get into the van, and Evander gets into the driving seat.
River stretches out on his seat, "You know I love Ireland, but when we go back, I am insisting that we buy a nice big van out there. We can leave it at House. We might have to build a garage or something to keep it out of the elements though. Do you think House would mind if we built a garage?"
I shrug, "You know, I actually have no idea. I haven't tried to add anything to it before. It does it all by itself." I pause as I think about it, "I think it will be fine. House doesn't have any control over the grounds, so I don't think it would mind if we built a garage. I actually told House and Ethel that if we come back on some time off and not because there's a problem, that we would sort out the grounds. They both got really excited."
River smiles, "Yeah, we can do that. I don't know that much about gardening, but I'm sure we will figure it out."
Griff chuckles, "I had a look around. I think there is quite a lot of structural stuff that needs to be done, and we can do that. Plus, Ransom should be able to whip something up that will help with the plant side."
Ransom nods, "Yeah, I can definitely do that. We'll have to do the actual building of the walls and flower beds and whatever else that needs to be built, but I should be able to come up with something that will make the planting and growing a lot easier."
"Awesome, thank you, guys," I reply, and the van falls silent again.
I have to admit that it is nice to have a bit of room in here instead of all being cramped. I was driving the van back in Ireland, and I found it cramped, so I can only imagine what the guys felt since they're all so much bigger than me, and most of them were sitting in the very cramped back.
"How are you doing with the whole royalty thing?" Ransom asks Evander.
Evander's eyes glance in the rearview mirror, looking back at us all, he shrugs, "I'm good. I mean, it was obviously a shock at first, but it won't change anything. Maybe it would if we lived in Trieneliea, but we don't so everything will pretty much stay the same. At least for a couple hundred years. I can worry about it then."
"That's a good way to look at it," Doc agrees. "There's no point in getting yourself worked up about something that is so far in the future and may not change anything anyway."
"Exactly," Van replies. "I do want to go and talk to my parents though. Sooner rather than later, if that's possible, with everything that we've got going on."
"Well, they know about the Choosing. They were helping Sully try to get me out of it, so I imagine that they're going to want to see you anyway," I point out.
"Oh shit. The Choosing, how the hell did I forget that they knew about that?" He grimaces. "Mom is going to be going crazy. I'm surprised she hasn't called me already."
"You put your phone on silent when we were at House," Reed says, the slight tilt of his lips showing that he's amused and well aware of the kind of freakouts that Calia has when she's worried.
Evander's eyes widen, and then he shakes his head, "Yeah, nope. I'm not even going to think about that right now. Besides, I'm mad at them for not telling me they were fucking royalty, so they can wait until tomorrow for me to talk to them."
I chuckle, and the others look at me curiously. I tease, "Real mature. You know as well as I do that you are going to text them either when we get to SID or when we get home. You are definitely not going to leave it until tomorrow and risk your mother's legendary wrath."
The guys immediately burst out laughing at my assessment of the situation while I sit there smiling, and Evander narrows his eyes at me and tries not to smile because he knows that I'm right.
"I'm not going to do that," he retorts somewhat halfheartedly.
"Dude, she's not wrong, and you know it," Doc chuckles, raising his eyebrow and daring Van to argue.
Doc's words trigger a full verbal sparring match between all of the guys, and I end up laughing so hard that I know my stomach muscles are going to be sore tomorrow. The more I laugh, the more it seems to encourage them, their smiles widening and happiness lighting their features.
Eventually, they calm down as we pull through the gates of SID. It's heading into the evening now, but it's not late enough that the place is empty, and it's still teeming with life and even more busy than it was when we arrived during the day last time. I would have thought that it would be the other way around, but then again, all of the students live here and have free time in the evenings, whereas in the day, they're in classes.
As soon as Evander parks, I double-check that I've still got the flash drive and haven't somehow lost it, and then follow the guys out of the van.
"We need to be on our guard. I forgot to check if the Draconian Team is here. If they are and we run into them, don't let them goad you, and we all need to behave like nothing has changed when it comes to Coen," Evander explains.
We all nod in agreement.
"I'm happy to avoid them at all costs," I grin, and then frown slightly as I add, "except Coen, I would kind of like to check on him."
"Yeah, me too," River agrees. "Although, I do agree that right now it's probably best that we avoid them."
"Agreed," Doc says.
With that settled, head up the giant steps and inside the vast and impressive building.
I'm going to hate having to keep my mouth shut or, more likely, keep my knives in check if we do run into the Draconian Team. Hell, I would happily test out my connection to Asael and try to call on him. I would enjoy cutting their heads off. Actually, that's a really good point. I should probably try to call on Asael just in case I need him at the Choosing. Who am I kidding? I am definitely going to need him at the Choosing. He seems to know when I'm in danger, but what if, for whatever reason, he doesn't realize that I'm in danger and I need him? I would like to know with absolute certainty that he's going to come if I call for him, just like with the kelpies.
I'll add that to my training schedule. The next couple of weeks are going to be a bit intense. I have to make sure that I'm in top physical form so I don't die. I can't die in front of thousands of supernaturals and then pop back up asking for some form of junk food. That would definitely raise questions, and since in my research, I never found a supernatural that actually died and then came back to life, not as many times as I have anyway, and the guys haven't mentioned that they know of a supernatural who dies and comes back. I'm assuming that I get it from my mother who was an extinct, and I'm assuming a forgotten kind of supernatural. Meaning that it's super rare and I definitely shouldn't be doing it in front of thousands of supernaturals who could possibly want me for nefarious reasons.
Fun. Not.
Rare supernaturals are wanted supernaturals. Look at River, he's a kitsune with six visible tails, that makes him rare and therefore hunted. If it was known that he had nine, then the hunt for him would be relentless, and he would always be looking over his shoulder and waiting to be attacked.
"Can we stay for dinner?" River asks as we pass the dining hall, and his nose lifts into the air.
I don't need a supernatural sense of smell to know that whatever they are eating in there smells absolutely divine and makes my stomach growl.
Van chuckles at the sound and answers River. He glances down at his watch. "If the dining hall is still open when we finish talking to Ty, then we can eat here."
"Awesome," River grins and then picks up the pace so that I have to rush in order to keep up.
Stupid guys and their stupid long legs.
We go through all of the same checkpoints that we went through the last time that we were here and run into a couple of people to whom the guys say a quick hello, but fortunately, we don't see the Draconian Team. Thankfully, when we get to the hall where I heard Rebecca, I don't hear any more blasts from the past, and the voices stay at the murmuring level that they like and don't rise in warning, which I am relieved about.
Reed knocks once on the door at the end of the hallway and then opens it, allowing us all inside first before he follows in behind us.
Ty smiles as we all walk in, "Hey guys."
"Hey, Ty," Van replies.
Everyone takes seats, but before I take mine, I unzip my pocket and pull out the flash drive, handing it to Ty. He immediately puts it into his computer.
While he waits for it to load, he says, "We'll get this out of the way first. I just need to check that we have all the information that we need in order to start the search for him and bring him in. In theory, it shouldn't take too long to locate him as he doesn't shy away from the world since he is so sure that he can't be brought in. However, we have got word that he's in a country that doesn't allow extradition, so we're going to have to wait until he comes back. We don't want to risk tipping him off that we're looking for him and have him stay there."
I nod, "That's a good idea. I also think that it would be a good idea to make sure that the team that is involved in bringing him in are the only ones, other than you, who are aware that it's going to happen. I know that it is very unlikely that you have any of his spies in your ranks, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Especially where Dimitri is concerned."
Ty nods, "I couldn't agree more. His constant avoidance of the law is proof of that." He pauses and studies me closely, "Are you sure that you want to be involved in his capture?"
For the first time, I genuinely think about going to get Dimitri. I think about the emotional turmoil that it's going to have and how vicious he will be once he realizes that I am the one who helped to capture him, and it makes me ask why?
Why am I willingly offering to put myself in the position where I'm going to be verbally attacked, possibly physically attacked, by someone who I once thought of as mine and who once treated me with such kindness, and yeah, love that he would have cut the throat of anyone who dared speak to me the way that he does now.
Tears prick my eyes. I'm not okay. I don't think I will ever be okay.
The sudden switch made me, and actually still makes me question if anything that we were was real. Then I remember the way he cradled me in his arms, protecting me as I desperately tried to hold onto consciousness, the deep wound in my stomach threatening to take me to the Darkness as pain tore at me. He got struck many times, getting injuries that should have made him falter, and at the very least, should have made him put me down, but he didn't, not once. I had no idea that he was injured until we got to safety.
It wasn't until we got to safety and back- up, not until he saw that I was being cared for and that I was going to be okay, that he gently kissed me and then collapsed.
He nearly died for me. No, there's no fucking sugar-coating it, there's no nearly about it; he did fucking die for me. It took strong as fuck magic to bring him back, and it is only because of the kind of supernatural that he is that he was able to be brought back at all.
My mind tries to wander to what happened to me in those moments that felt like hours. I refused to leave him, neither did Coen or Kar, and looking back, I would swear that what I now recognize as my magic stirred and did something. I don't know what, and I can't be sure that I'm right, but it's a thought that makes me shy away from the memory even more. Not because it was bad but because it was once one of my most favorite memories, and now all it does is cause me pain.
It's because of those moments that a part of me refuses to let him go. I don't think it ever will.
I realize that it's been a while since Ty asked me the question, and all of the guys are looking at me with a mixture of understanding, sadness, and anger, too.
I shake my head and answer honestly, "I don't think it's a good idea."
Ty nods and doesn't say anything else as his eyes go back to the screen. River reaches across from his seat beside me and takes my hand in his, squeezing it gently and rubbing soothing circles on the back of it. It's strange how soothing it is, and more than that, how my raging emotions are instantly calm. I have to admit, at least to myself, that I fight the urge to crawl into his lap. That wouldn't exactly be professional, and considering we're currently sitting in our boss's office, it's probably not a good idea.
"Would you still like to be informed when it is happening, or would you like to be kept out of it completely?" Ty asks me, his eyes on the screen as he taps away.
I get the sense that he's doing it deliberately to give me time to think. He is a thousand times better than my boss at HID.
"Can I be told when he's in the supernatural prison, please?" I ask, and he nods so I can continue, "If you have trouble locating him for whatever reason, then let me know. I'm sure I could probably help out. I was with him for a long time, and I learned his habits and movements pretty well."
"Are you sure?" Ty asks.
I nod, "Yeah. I would rather not be involved, but it's more important that he is caught and brought in, so yeah, call me if you need assistance."
"Got it. Hopefully, it won't come to that," Ty says. He finally looks up and smiles, "There is more than enough evidence here for us to bring him in. You have been extremely thorough and left nothing to chance."
I nod, "I knew that I needed to make sure that I had enough. I knew that if I didn't get enough and he slipped through the cracks again, then he would absolutely know that I was the one who gave them the information, and he would kill me. Fortunately for me, even though it didn't work and HID didn't do what they were supposed to do with the flash drive, they did decide to employ me, which kept me safe from Dimitri."
"He really left you alone just because you were with HID?" Ransom asks, doubt in his voice.
I nod and shrug, "Even he won't risk a full war with the humans."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Ransom replies, although he still seems to be a bit unsure.