24. Chapter Twenty-Four - Leigh
Sitting cross-legged in the palace gym, wearing my workout clothes with my hair pulled into a high ponytail, I glare at Ravi.
He’s across from me, mirroring my posture, eyes blissfully shut.
“I can feel you staring at me,” Ravi comments, his eyes still closed.
“Are you having trouble connecting to your root? If so, you may need to identify what’s blocking you.”
I glower, even though he can’t see me.
This meditation session is agonizing.
I need to learn how to use my magic to infiltrate dreams.
But Ravi dodged the topic of dreamwalking altogether.
First, he said he wanted to show me how to harness the shadows.
I managed to impress him by creating shadow figures that resembled barking dogs and hissing snakes.
Now, he’s trying to get me to ghost whisper by connecting to my body’s subtle realms and unlocking the seven primary energy centers .
Ugh.
I’m bored out of my mind.
Besides, I can already talk to ghosts just fine.
I need to learn about dreamwalking so I can figure out my enemies’ plans, but I’m afraid to press him too hard.
I don’t want him to guess what I’m up to.
If he doesn’t bring it up soon, I’ll have to.
We’re running out of daylight.
He takes a deep breath.
“You took suppressants for a year. That had to have taken a toll on your psyche. Reflect on how you feel now that you don’t take them anymore to create a clearer pathway between you and the beyond.”
I scoff.
“I am not here to talk about the repercussions of suppressants.”
Ravi cracks a lid.
“Why are you here?”
I frown.
My interest in Ravi begins and ends with Alden.
I see him seated on my throne every time I close my eyes.
It’s a constant, infuriating reminder of his true allegiance.
His allegiance to my rival.
He claims to be a distant cousin, but his true loyalties lie elsewhere.
And this “training”?
It’s my insurance.
My way of making damn sure he doesn’t double-cross me.
“I am here to learn what you can teach me,” I say.
“Well, that requires getting to know you a bit. Why don’t you tell me about your mother?”
My father’s invisible presence hums nearby, radiating unease like my own.
“What about her?” My voice carries a sharpness I hadn’t intended.
“Where is she?” Ravi probes.
“At home.”
“She doesn’t live here with you.” His words don’t come out as a question.
I can’t help but laugh.
She would never.
Though it’s clear Ravi isn’t amused.
His features remain neutral.
“No, she doesn’t,” I admit.
He nods solemnly.
“I see.”
“And what exactly do you see?” I snap.
Ravi exhales slowly.
“Leigh, I’m not trying to attack you. I am trying to help.”
I’m tired of snap judgments, people lying to me, and people trying to control me.
He is collecting information to share with Alden.
Why else would he ask me something so personal?
My mother’s whereabouts have nothing to do with my powers.
“No, you’re judging me. My parents weren’t perfect, but they did their best,” I retort.
Sorry , I project to my father’s lingering spirit.
Gwyn Raelyn was a fantastic father, but he had his secrets.
He never prepared me for the possibility of ascending the throne.
It’s not like anyone plans for their death without some forewarning, but still, I was left clueless about how to rule.
And now, here I am, grappling with the consequences, and he is a ghost making up for lost time.
“My parents weren’t perfect, either,” Ravi admits.
His brown eyes hold a deep sadness, and I feel bad.
Almost.
“Were your parents Lunar Witches?” He nods at my question.
“And they taught you how to use your magic, despite the consequences?” Again, he nods.
“Weren’t they scared?”
“My parents spent time in an asylum, Leigh,” he reveals, and I flinch.
Images from my dream return.
I can’t imagine living in such a place.
“That’s how they met and why they taught me about magic. They wanted to overcome the stigma that the Lunar Witches were something to be feared. We aren’t evil.”
We aren’t, but I’m not the one who needs convincing.
The world does.
“Was your mother or father related to Ivah?” I ask.
Ravi barely suppresses a smile.
I roll my eyes.
“I am not saying I believe you.”
“My ma,” he finally says.
“How’d she die?” The question slips out, unbidden.
I’m supposed to be learning to dreamwalk, but I can’t help myself.
Other than Selene, I’ve never actually known another Lunar Witch.
It seems like we’re all cursed with the same kind of pain.
Ravi hesitates, then asks, “Can we talk about something else?”
My heart aches.
I know how hard it is to talk about this kind of thing.
“I’m sorry,” I manage to say, though it feels inadequate.
Words don’t bring people back.
“I buried her years ago in Glaucus.” His voice is steady, but I sense an underlying sorrow that echoes my own.
I let out a slow breath, fiddling with my sleeve.
“My grandmother is actually there now. It’s also where . . .” I pause.
I don’t want to discuss Psyche Psychiatric.
That chapter of my life has nothing to do with Ravi.
“I know your family had you committed,” Ravi says.
I bare my teeth.
“Have you been keeping tabs on me?”
“You’re my family and a queen. And, I might have done an internet search or two.”
I release a strangled laugh.
Dammit, Ravi .
.
.
I do not want to like him.
I can’t afford to.
But something about his presence puts me strangely at ease.
“You mentioned in your television interview that you concealed your magic by taking suppressants,” Ravi says.
“Will you tell me who gave them to you?”
Something in his posture tells me he already knows the answer.
“An orderly helped by giving me medical grade suppressants. I tried off-market ones before I left Borealis, but I ran out when I got to the hospital. And then, I couldn’t hide my true nature. But that’s all I will say.”
“Was it Anselm Raymor?”
I open my mouth several times.
How the hell does he know that?
“We’re friends,” Ravi says.
“Anselm helped smuggle us suppressants when we lived in Glaucus. He’s one of the good ones.”
I nod, my scalp prickling.
I don’t like that Ravi knows so much about me, especially my time at Psyche Psychiatric, while I know next to nothing about him.
“You said ‘us.’ Do you have siblings?”
A flicker of surprise—or perhaps guilt—crosses Ravi’s face, as if he’s let something slip that he didn’t intend to reveal.
Dammit, we’ve veered way off topic, but now I must know what he is hiding.
“A brother or a sister?” I press.
Perhaps it isn’t him who wants my throne.
Maybe it’s his sibling.
Ravi shifts, unable to meet my gaze.
“We should get back to the lesson . . .”
I shake my head and ask, “Is he or she dead, too?”
Ravi grits his teeth.
“No, my sister isn’t dead.”
“But? Why isn’t she here?”
Ravi tears his fingers through his dark hair, and I tighten my hands into fists.
Yeah, it doesn’t feel good to have your scars prodded, does it?
I can’t think of any good reason why he would keep information about this sister from me.
I want to shake the truth from him.
“What magic do you want to focus on?” Ravi deflects.
“You asked earlier about dreamwalking. Though it should be avoided at all costs, meditation is the easiest way to enter someone’s dream.”
“Ravi—”
“We aren’t talking about her. It wouldn’t change anything.”
My hackles rise.
None of this adds up.
Ravi has secrets, and those secrets are connected to his sister.
Too much is going on beneath the surface.
“If you can’t be honest with me, then we’re done here,” I state, rising to my feet.
Ravi stands his ground, flinty eyes meeting mine.
“You can’t have it both ways, Leigh.”
“Excuse me?”
“You can’t keep things from me and expect me to divulge myself to you.”
With that, he turns and walks briskly out of the gym.
I gape after him, feeling strangely guilty for no good reason.
Clearly, he’s not going to teach me about dreamwalking, so I’ll have to take matters into my own hands, like I always do.