Chapter 5
Chapter
Five
“Have any of you ever been to Draemor?” Delani asked back in the common room after we’d finished a nearly silent breakfast of eggs and salted meat, though I had struggled to eat more than a slice of buttered toast.
Five. Hundred. People.
At least.
Was he…okay?
“When the fuck would we have gone to Draemor, Willawood two?” Sawyer quipped, throwing himself to the ground and starting a repetition of sit-ups.
“Don’t be an ass, Sawyer,” Pia scolded as she gathered herself a cup of water.
“I’m serious,” he huffed through an exhale. “King Hawthorne forbade anyone from crossing the borders of Caelestis.”
“Except for in the line of duty,” Kohen pointed out. “Or—you know. On special occasions…But never to Draemor.”
“Exactly,” Delani attested. “You're all soldiers. So?”
Sebastian has killed over five hundred people? I find that hard to believe.
How is that even possible?
In the background, I heard everyone respond no to Delani's question. Only when my name was added to the mix of voices rattling my eardrums did I snap out of my own head.
“Hm?” At last I moved from where I stood like a statue in the doorway.
“Have you been to Draemor?” Pia asked me, a reddish-blonde brow curled upwards.
“Uh. I…no,” I stuttered blandly while slumping onto the sofa.
“I have,” Sebastian mumbled, dropping to the floor next to Sawyer. He had been waiting in the common room for us after we finished our meal, sitting in his usual pose with a book—a romance novel, based on the title. “I’ve been to Draemor.”
My attention snapped to him as I fully shifted back into reality. “Really? When?”
While his pecs flexed mid sit-up and created bumps on every inch of my skin, he simply breathed out, “When I was nine.”
My mind flashed back to the night he returned from Craterra, after everything had gone to shit. He told me all about the things his father had made him do while growing up, and I wondered if his trip to Draemor held the memory of one of those horrific times.
I wondered if that was when he killed one of his five hundred people.
I never thought something as simple as a number could make me sick, but that one did. That one made me want to gag. Not because it scared me—like he had been so afraid that the real him would—but simply because it made me worry for him.
“Shit, really? I didn’t know that,” Sawyer heaved, working through a repetition of twenty. “Alright, scratch that, Willawood two. One of us has been to Draemor.”
Pia slipped into a seat mid-conversation. “Do you remember it well?”
“Not really. I’m sure I’ll recognize some of it when I get there.” Sebastian hurried through the rest of his set then laid flat on his back to catch his breath.
My eyes drifted to the outline of his ab muscles concealed beneath the fabric of his shirt. I had to practically grab and rotate my own skull to force my attention elsewhere.
“What were you doing there?” Kohen asked him.
“Doesn't matter,” Sebastian deadpanned with a blank stare directed at the ceiling.
“Well, I for one have no intention of going with you guys,” Pia confessed, crossing her ankles. “I’ve had enough life or death situations for the month.”
“I’ll go.” Sawyer jumped to his feet, wiping the sweaty sheen off his forehead by the hem of his shirt. “But I’ll be honest, if I see that bastard, Beaumont, I don’t know that I’ll be able to hold back.”
“Then you will stay here.”
Our heads swiveled to the entryway where Kade stood, a shoulder relaxed against the doorframe.
How long has he been there?
Kade sauntered into the room, his haughty presence suffocating the space.
Sebastian ripped his shirt off as he stood, using it as a rag to wipe his own sweat-slicked features.
Did his abs like…double in size since I’d last seen them? Or had I just taken the delicious mounds of muscle for granted before?
Holy fuck.
My breath snagged in my ribs as his eyes met mine, and he smirked.
Cocky asshole.
He knew exactly what he was doing. Just because I was livid with him, didn’t mean that the sight of him shirtless suddenly stopped turning me on.
Sebastian stopped a foot or so away from Kade, squaring his chest. “Sawyer’s coming. That's not up for discussion.”
Kade straightened his own posture. He nearly matched Sebastian's height, though lacked an inch or two. “He just outright announced how he would be a liability. We already have one of those coming with us.” His golden glare scanned towards me in a demeaning manner.
Sebastian released a life-threatening scoff, his jaw cracking in sync with his disbelief. “You surely did not just refer to Maeve as a liability? Tell me that I misheard you.”
“You heard me correctly,” Kade managed to emphasize while still using a tone of nonchalance. He aimed an open palm at me. “Look at her. Her body is still broken, and she holds power that she can’t possibly contain no matter what she claims. That screams liability to me.”
“I can turn you into a liability if you don't shut your damn mouth,” Sebastian growled, clenching his fists by his sides.
“Would love to see it, Hawthorne.”
“You wouldn't. Trust me.” Sebastian moved forward, putting himself in Kade’s face.
“Fuck, just kiss already. This tension is killing me.” Sawyer closed his eyes and imitated a wet smooching noise.
A laugh managed to fall from my lips despite the hand I swiftly used to conceal my mouth.
In response to my non-so-discreet cackle, Kade’s undeviating attention settled upon me.
He stepped toward me, his long strides eating up the space between us much too quickly. To my surprise, he outstretched his hand. “I haven’t formally introduced myself. Kade Lyrise. Pleasure to meet you.”
Just to piss Sebastian off, I rose and accepted Kade’s gesture, my finger grazing the ruby along his knuckles as I shook. “Maeve Willawood, the liability.”
Kade’s teeth shone white with his smile. “Sense of humor. I like it.”
“Fire wielder,” I noted, nodding towards the rock that held his power. “Seems fitting. We haven't spoken much, but you seem to have what I would call an inflamed ego.”
While my smile broadened, his faded to black.
Kade dropped my hand and pivoted on the heel of his boot to readdress Sebastian. “Meet me at the stables tomorrow morning. I’ll show you our strongest horses and we can discuss who comes to Draemor.”
Without waiting for a response, Kade silently stomped out of the room.
Sebastian teased a hand through his dark locks. “I don’t like that guy,” he spat, dropping to the sofa where I had been sitting, likely in hopes that I would join him.
I didn’t.
“Jealous?” Pia chimed, a teasing smirk fighting its way onto her face.
“Why the fuck would I be jealous?” Sebastian growled.
“Because he’s kinda hot and his balls are definitely bigger than yours,” Sawyer mocked, not even trying to hide his smirk.
“Do you like your balls, Sawyer?” Sebastian pulled his shirt back over his head, covering up my enticing view. “Because all it will take is one swift flick of a blade to shut you up.”
“Tough crowd.” Sawyer produced a disgusted grimace and folded his hands over his manhood.
Sebastian’s sight settled on me as I took a chair on the other side of the room, banging my knee against the armrest as I sat. Biting my lip to suppress the curse forming on my tongue, I recoiled in pain, Kade’s reminder of my broken body proving to be accurate.
Gods fucking damnit.
If I was going to make this journey to Draemor, I actually needed to take care of myself. Which meant resting so I could finish healing. Although I had plans for the evening—plans that were the opposite of medicinal. But what would one hour of training hurt? I’d take it easy afterward.
I pushed myself back to a stand almost immediately. “I’m gonna go take a nap. I’ll need the energy for when I attempt some wielding tonight. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
With my foul mood in tow, I left without another word, repeating the number five hundred in my head as I escorted myself towards the staircase that would lead to my room.
Halfway down the corridor, Sebastian called after me. “Hey! Wait up.”
I almost didn't stop, but leisurely came to a halt, though I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing my face. “What?”
His scent surrounded me, exposing how close he already stood. “Can we talk?”
“About?” Like I really had no idea what he referred to.
“Maeve, turn around.”
“Please,” he added when I hadn’t moved.
With a sigh, I adjusted my stance to meet his tensed figure. “What do you want to talk about?”
He frowned. “Everything. The journal. This plan…Us?”
“Oh, speaking of the journal.” Holding a finger up, I ignored his request and rummaged around in my pocket. I pulled the leather-bound book out and thrusted it into his chest. “Here. Take it back. I’m done with it.”
His hand settled over where mine still lay against his sternum, the touch sending electricity straight to every nerve in my body. “You read it all?”
“Mhm.”
His eyebrows gathered. “And?”
Releasing my grip on the journal, I slid my hand out from under his before pivoting to continue down the hall. “I’m somehow even more pissed at you.”
“This training arena is incredible.” My head swiveled up and around, surveying the entirety of the space from the fifteen-foot high ceilings to the rows of stacked benches that lined one of the side walls.
My body felt well rested after my nap, though my mind was a different story—per usual. I was far from convinced that this session would go well, but I had to at least try. There was no time to waste.
“It’s pretty impressive, that’s for sure.” Delani stepped onto a light-gray mat, one of many in the rectangular gymnasium. “I’m excited to see your powers in action.”