5. Raea
Raea
There’s so much I need to do, and I feel like time is slipping through my fingers.
We leave Professor Ainslyn’s office in silence.
We’ve known our whole lives that the Veil protecting our system was weakening. But knowing it and seeing proof of it are two very different things. If the Veil is failing, then our system is vulnerable.
“I need to talk to Kellan,” I mutter, still trying to piece together all the things I need to do and what order to do them in. “After, I need to meet with Aolyn.”
I don’t believe for a single minute she’s involved in any of this, but I need to find out if she knows anything else.
Ryker pauses beside me, wrapping a hand around my waist and tugging me closer as the door slices open to let us back into Taeolyn.
A group of women giggles as they pass us.
It annoys me, but it’s so low on the list of things I need to care about right now.
I miss when the Bond felt like our biggest problem.
“Raea,” Ryker whispers, dropping his forehead to mine. “I don’t like this. I don’t want to leave you alone.”
Our Bond shimmers around us.
I understand how he feels, but we both have things we need to do, and we can’t waste time sticking to each other’s sides. We can’t spend every second clinging to each other anymore. Not with the Veil failing and shadows slipping into our world.
I need time to work on figuring out my magic, figuring out why the gods, the universe, whoever is responsible…chose me, and figuring out what the heck I’m supposed to even do.
I look up into his sapphire-blue gaze and feel the restlessness within me settle just a bit.
“I’m yours,” I whisper, bringing my lips so close to his that there’s nothing but a breath of distance between us.
“But I need to talk to him, and you need to get reports from the Protos. I’ll be okay,” I promise him.
“I have Aksel and Ezra.” I roll my eyes, not bothering to check that both are hovering nearby.
He sighs, closing that little bit of space between us and locking his lips with mine. It’s short and sweet, but I can feel all his emotions in that one kiss. “One hour,” he says, pulling away. “One hour and then I’m coming to fetch you so we can deal with our sleeping arrangements.”
I roll my eyes again and push him away with a breath of a laugh. “Yeah, not happening. I’ll be sleeping in my room. You can sleep in yours.”
A devilish grin spreads across his face. “But sleepovers would be so much fun.”
My cheeks heat at the thought of all the ways I would enjoy it—enjoy him. I clear my throat and inhale deeply. “Nope. ‘Kay, gotta go.”
He chuckles as I pull out of his grasp and head inside, going straight to Kellan’s room.
It feels weird to feel anxious about seeing my best friend. If I’m honest, I’m not sure that title still belongs to him. Best friends don’t hide things from each other, and they sure as hell don’t make each other feel bad.
At the beginning of the year, I wanted nothing more than to Bond with Kellan. Now I don’t even know what to say to him.
I knock twice, nervously tucking my hands behind my back as I take a few calming breaths.
Kellan’s roommate opens the door.
I don’t remember his name.
“Hiya, Princess. Kellan is just in the bathroom. He should be right out.”
I nod as he lets Aksel and me in. Aksel does a quick sweep of the room, checking every corner and even under the beds. Kellan’s roommate doesn’t say anything, but he watches anxiously.
When Kellan steps out of the bathroom a moment later, he freezes. He first glances at Aksel—Ryker’s guard—who I’ve stolen for today so Ezra can catch up on sleep, and then at me.
“Hi,” I say with a trembling voice.
His features shift from confusion, to hurt, to hope. “Hey, RaeRae.” He sighs, closing the distance between us and pulling me into a familiar hug that feels so much like home and comfort I could cry.
Tears sting my eyes as I bury my face into his chest.
I don’t even realize I’m squeezing him that hard until he pulls me out of his arms to look at me. “What’s wrong?” he asks, his beautiful hazel eyes searching my face.
“He’s gone,” I cry. “Kuron is dead.”
I tell him everything that happened. I only briefly mention the meeting with our media teams. I’m sure he’s seen the posts—it seems like everyone has.
“Gods, Rae.” He sighs, tucking me into him and stroking my hair. “What can I do?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper. “I just feel so lost, and so scared, Kel.”
He presses a kiss to my forehead before taking my hand as he stands. “C’mon, I know just the thing.”
Aksel raises a brow when I check in with Ryker on my Prism, telling him to meet me at my room in an hour. I need to talk to Aolyn.
The gravel crunches under my shoes as the three of us enter the Executive Dorm Yard. Kellan had to leave early to get ready for a meeting. I feel the wards wrap around my arms, then my face, before I shake off the feeling.
“Can I be honest?” Aksel asks, still facing Taeolyn which stands at the center of the yard.
I look over at him. “Always. I don’t want anything less.
I’ve been trying to get those two—” I cringe and realize my mistake too late.
My lungs restrict and I see his jaw clench.
Kuron will never be here again. A lump lodges in my throat.
“I mean, Ezra,” I say quietly. “I just want you to be honest.”
As if summoned by our conversation, Ezra clears a path through the dorm, his long strides closing the distance between us.
Aksel nods, then briefly glances to Ezra before saying, “As much as I agree that optics look horrible, it would be easier if you and Anders stayed in the same room.”
Ezra’s nostrils flare as he takes up my other side just as we begin our ascent to my room on the fifth floor—down the hall from Ryker.
He wouldn’t even be suggesting this right now if they didn’t know about the Bond, about our fated prophecy or whatever.
We had to tell our guards. Rune, Ezra, and Aksel are the only three who fully understand the weight of what we’re dealing with.
As much as I wanted to tell my parents, I couldn’t.
It wasn’t because of their reaction about Ryker and me being fated to Bond—or mate…
it’s just that I would have been locked away in the palace.
I’d like to think that they’d be understanding and supportive, but I know they still see me as their little girl. I can’t blame them for that.
My mother said they tried for years to conceive a child, but it never happened.
The healers claimed my mother was barren.
Then one day, she had to leave a bruncheon because she got ill and when she saw the healers, they were baffled by my conception.
My mother and father had barely been together because it was too painful. Infertility had stolen her hope.
When I was born, I was coddled. I hardly left the palace. The kingdom all wanted a glimpse at their princess, but my parents refused.
It wasn’t until my third birthday that I was finally brought to the capital for the priestess to bless me.
Ever since then, they’ve always had a hard time letting me go.
I see how they hesitate even if I ask to run in the gardens with Kellan.
It’s always met with a ‘Be Safe’ or ‘Make sure you have your Prism on you.’
When we reach the fifth floor, I turn toward the two men walking at my side. “What do you think?” I ask Ezra. “There won’t be any way for Anneli and Maya to spin this. If I’m caught sneaking out, it will be all over the system in a matter of hours. If we talk to Aolyn—”
Ezra holds up a hand, halting us in the hall and stopping my train of thought. “I don’t think you should stay with Prince Anders. I think there could be other options, but first, I would like to figure out what Princess Aolyn knows and we can go from there.”
With that, he knocks, waits for Aolyn to answer, then does a sweep of the room while I stand awkwardly outside next to Aksel with Aolyn looking between the three of us, confusion written all over her beautiful features.
When Ezra clears the room, we take a seat in the living space.
“A,” I start. “I have some things to tell you. I need you to be completely honest with me—”
“I am. Promise. I’d never lie to you.”
In my periphery, I swear I see Aksel roll his eyes. I kind of like him. He’s a breath of fresh air. He isn’t overly formal, and he treats us like we’re normal people.
I exhale slowly. “Okay, well, I think your father sent men to kidnap me.” The color drains from her face, but she remains silent.
“There was a creature on the transport—” I think I’m going to be sick.
I can still smell its rotten scent, feel its oily skin on mine.
“I think it was part of the shadows. They were on the transport too.”
I tell her about the creatures, about how they killed some of the staff, how they could have killed me. I tell her about Kuron even as my heart squeezes so tight I feel like I can’t breathe.
When she asks about her father’s role, I repeat the phrase from the three men who attacked us on the launch pad. “We have orders to bring her to the King.”
Aolyn’s body is stiff and trembling, her eyes glassy and distant. “How could he do this?” she mutters, more to herself than to me. She rises mindlessly. “I knew he was doing her bidding, but this…this is—”
Aolyn rushes to the bathroom, breathing through the anxiety attack. She’s been having them more and more lately.
I exhale and glance toward the door. She believed me. She didn’t deny it. Honestly, I’m so shocked. How did I get this loyalty from her? I feel guilty. Maybe I should have delivered the news softer.
Who is this ‘her’ she’s talking about?
I glance between Aksel and Ezra. “Well?”
Aksel rubs a hand along his jaw and looks to Ezra. Before Ezra can answer, Aolyn appears again.
“I need to go home,” she says from the doorway.
“I need to get more information. Raea.” She steps closer, standing in front of me now.
“I want you to know I didn’t know, but I will do whatever I can to get you more information.
I don’t agree with what he’s doing. He’s…
” She shakes her head. Her crystal blue eyes turn to Ezra. “She isn’t safe anywhere, is she?”
Ezra looks pissed when he responds, “No, I don’t think so.”
Aolyn nods. “I’ll go. I’ll send whatever I can back.”
I’m about to protest, but she grabs her Prism and connects with her mother, walking into her closet to begin packing. I blow out a long breath. “Guess that solves that.”