25. Archer
ARCHER
M y stomach grumbles, hunger making its presence clear, but I’m too distracted by the girl across the room to pay any mind to the plate of steak in front of me. Hours have passed, but her words from earlier replay in my mind constantly.
“I’m eternally grateful that you found me and helped me, but that does nothing to eradicate the pain you’ve already caused.”
“I became a fake-ass angel, living her fake-ass life.”
I know that feeling of being fake; it intertwined with my life from the second I was born, and hearing her say it only makes it more real.
Yet, as I sit here, a shell to the world as I hide myself behind the facade that is my life, she sits across the room with a group of friends…
smiling. It’s not fake either. I can tell the difference, with or without the change of temperature in my hands.
The curl of her lips meets her eyes, which widen on occasion as she talks expressively.
My nostrils flare at the guy sitting to her right.
He’s a Fire Protector too, but I can’t recall his name.
He’s friends with Toby, Meadow’s fated mate.
His proximity to her makes my blood burn, but instead of making a scene and forcing her to hate us even more, I clench my fist around my fork and stab at a piece of steak.
Dropping my gaze to my plate, I sigh.
It’s better like this. The distance helps me to think without her tainting my view. But it does nothing to stop the longing churning in my chest.
“Any news on Odesa and Logan yet?” Teddy asks, tearing me from my thoughts, and Baron grunts.
“Nothing has changed.” The disdain in his voice is clear, a startling fact when I consider how in love with Odesa he was. Now, it’s like none of that ever happened.
“Why are the professors dragging their feet?” Sax grumbles, taking a bite of his burger as he glances at each of us, but it’s Teddy who answers.
“They usually wouldn’t do anything. It’s usually a matter of consequences in a highly magical surrounding.
It’s only because Hugo is adding pressure that it’s being turned into anything at all,” he admits, and I roll my shoulders back, silently appreciative of the support Ivy has, even if it isn’t from us.
Baron slams his fist on the table, rattling the cutlery as he purses his lips. “If they’re not going to do anything, then they can leave it to us.”
My eyes seek her out once again, as if it’s the only thing they’re trained to do.
“Maybe we shouldn’t be handling things as if she can’t,” Sax breathes, interrupting my one-way stare off as I tilt my head at him.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I grunt, my food forgotten once again.
Sax shrugs. “I just mean that maybe we should see what she wants to happen with regards to the situation.”
“And how is that going to help?” Baron mumbles, scrubbing at the back of his neck, making Teddy sigh as he sits taller.
“Because it seems Ivy has spent her entire life being ordered around. Hugo already told us that, she just told us that, and all we’re doing is more of the same.”
I gape at him. The truth in his words and how they resonate with me is overwhelming.
“Hey, Arch.” The chair on my right scrapes along the floor as my veins turn to ice.
“I’ve already told you to fuck off today, Bonnie. Don’t make me repeat myself,” I bite, grabbing the back of the chair before she can take a seat.
She pouts her lips and flutters her eyelashes in an attempt to seduce me to her will, but all it does is piss me off even more.
“Don’t be silly, Archer. I was just?—”
“You were just leaving.” The command comes from a female voice, and for a split second, my heart stops and my cock stiffens. It’s impossible for me not to imagine Ivy behind the command, claiming what’s hers, but the idea is quickly squashed when I glance around Bonnie to see Francesca.
Her hands are planted on her hips, her mouth set in a thin line, and Bonnie doesn’t even try to argue back. With a flick of her hair over her shoulder, she saunters off with a huff, leaving me to gape at Francesca in awe.
“You need to teach me how to do that,” I grumble, releasing the chair as she takes a seat and rolls her eyes.
“You need to keep your dick to yourself, and you won’t end up with these issues,” she retorts, and I give her a pointed look.
“Or maybe it’s because Bonnie wants a reaction out of you, Archer. She doesn’t care how she gets it; she just wants it. She has no interest in Francesca like that,” Sax offers, and I scrub a hand down my face, tired of the matter already.
“Archer isn’t mentally capable of processing that, Sax,” Francesca muses before clearing her throat, any hint of humor gone as she takes a deep breath and presses her palms against the table.
Her magic activates. Not visibly, but I’ve felt it enough times now to notice the outside noise quiets and the tiniest blur hazes over the rest of the room.
We’re in one of her bubbles. Her magic is getting stronger, her abilities honed more and more with practice, and it’s a far cry from her attempts two years ago.
Regardless, it means whatever we speak of now is only for us.
The others inch closer, everyone’s food completely forgotten as we lock in.
“Have there been new findings on the blackout?” Sax asks, and she nods.
“Your own respective sodality leaders are supposed to tell you, but it’s clear the four of you are a package deal at this stage.
” We all nod in understanding and appreciation that they don’t drag this out like they used to.
“There’s noise that they have boots on the ground in the Fifth Kingdom already,” she states, and a chill runs down my spine.
“There are talks of an outpost between the Second and Third Kingdoms having weak spots, but they’re investigating.
None of that really matters without confirmation, but the reason I’m speaking with you is that they can sense the energy already depleting, and we need to be prepared for another ceremony. ”
“How long?” Teddy asks, and she grimaces.
“Two weeks, three if we’re lucky,” she admits, and my eyes widen in surprise.
“A ceremony usually lasts months,” I blurt, spiraling into the memory of the last ceremony as Francesca shrugs.
“They’re hitting us harder than usual. We need to keep our guards up and be prepared.”
“What’s the plan?” Baron asks, and she sighs.
“Unknown, but the concern is unsettling.”
Isn’t that the truth?
Glancing off to the right, my gaze finds the rose among the thorns in the distance. Only this time, her eyes are on me too. A split second, pupils dilating, and then a flash of hair as she turns away. I have to fight a grin as I turn back to the table.
A flash of her attention, and I feel rejuvenated.
“We need to push to be more involved,” Baron states, and Teddy scoffs.
“That’s because you can’t handle a lack of control.”
Nobody argues, not even Francesca, as she lifts her palms from the table and stands. “It was a pleasure as always, boys,” she mumbles, nodding, and Teddy grins.
“We’re not boys, we’re men.”
She doesn’t bite back a response as she turns on the spot, disappearing into the sea of students, leaving the four of us to ruminate over the information she offered.
Once again, despite my efforts, my gaze drifts across the dining hall to one blonde Fire Protector hellbent on occupying my thoughts.
The Rejuvenating Ceremony Francesca mentioned replays in my mind, reminding me of her soft skin and even softer moans.
What I wouldn’t do to have my tongue against her heated skin again.
Fuck.
“We need to break her down,” Teddy murmurs, yanking me from my thoughts, and I reluctantly turn to him, only to find that Sax is also staring in that direction.
“We’re coming on too strong with all of us at once,” he adds, and Teddy nods.
“And? That doesn’t change anything,” I state, despite my length thickening in my pants.
“We need to grovel for the shit we caused,” Sax declares, and Baron scoffs.
“I’m not groveling for shit.”
His brother glares at him, but after a few moments, he simply shrugs. “That’s your choice, but I’ve made mine.”
“And what’s that?” I dare to ask, and he grins.
“The rest of you can pretend, but I can’t deny the ache I’ve felt in my chest for the past two years. It’s softened since she arrived. I want it gone altogether, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.”
“You mean since we ripped her from her life,” I mutter, and Teddy hums.
“We did her a favor. If she can’t see it that way yet, I’m more than happy to convince her.”
“We agreed that you wouldn’t use your magic on her,” Sax warns, and Teddy rolls his eyes.
“I didn’t mean like that.”
“You’re interested too?” I blurt, and he shrugs.
“I’m curious,” he admits, casting a glance in her direction again for a moment before he returns his eyes to me. “But when she was injured, my soul felt like it was shredding into a million pieces.”
“It’s your bond, not you,” Baron adds with a huff, and Teddy shrugs again.
“Maybe so, but?—”
“I thought you didn’t believe in love? I thought you said everything worth loving leaves?” Baron spits, outraged, and Teddy rears back.
“I didn’t say love. I said curious.”
“It’s your choice, but count me out,” Baron bites, rising from the table in such a hurry that his chair topples over behind him. He doesn’t care to correct it as he storms through the dining hall like a trapped bull determined to escape.
“Well, that was pleasant,” Teddy muses, and Sax sighs.
Their relationship is strained. For the first time ever, they’re standing on opposite sides of the fence, and it’s clear he’s struggling to handle it. I don’t know what to say to him; there are no words of wisdom I can offer because I don’t really understand their dynamic, so I say nothing instead.
As if sensing the need for a distraction, my bag vibrates on the floor at my feet, drawing my attention from the mess around me. The smile ghosting my lips in anticipation of my mom’s name flashing across the screen is quickly reduced to nothing when I see my father’s name instead.
I’ve avoided him for weeks. His messages through Coal, my sprite, have gone ignored. For him to call me directly means I have a choice to make. Handle him now or risk facing him in person.
“I’m out,” I mutter, not waiting for a response as I hike my backpack over my shoulder, hitting the answer button the second I’m outside. “Father,” I breathe, and he snarls through the line.
“Why have you been avoiding me?”
I crack my neck from side to side, trying to ease the tension building inside of me, but it’s impossible. “I’ve been busy.”
“You’ll do well to remember you’re a representation of my name,” he hisses, and I roll my eyes, appreciating the fact that he can’t see me right now.
“How could I forget?” I muster with a fake smile, hoping it will filter into my words, but I fail miserably.
“Continue, and I’ll make it impossible for you to ignore me.”
“You already do, Father. Where are you anyway? Are you home with Arabella? Did she have a?—”
“Would I be calling about business if I were at home?” he snaps.
Fucker.
I’m glad he isn’t home so my sister doesn’t have to hear or see this side of him, but it also means she’s likely to miss her tutoring session. The chances of this asshole making sure it happens whether he’s there or not doesn’t even exist.
I hate him with every fiber of my being.
I hate that there’s no escaping him even more.
But most of all, I hate what he’s done to my mother.
She’s a shell of the person she once was. Not that I would know, it’s only in old recordings and pictures that I’ve seen a different side of her. By the time Arabella and I came along, she was already too far gone.
Approaching the Fire Protectors’ dorms, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Was there a point to your call?” The venom is clear in my tone, but to my surprise, he doesn’t acknowledge it.
“Don’t avoid my call again. The next one I make will be a command, and you will follow through.”
“And if I don’t?” My chest burns with every breath as I await his answer, but I can almost sense the sickly, sinister grin on his lips before he even speaks.
“Then your mother’s next overdose won’t be a trip to rehab, Archer. It’ll be a trip to the morgue.”