Chapter 45
Fortnight
Raven
It’s been a few days since my last incident.
There’s been… several.
The days have turned into weeks, but Cam still assures me that no one knows I’m gone. It’s always the same ‘time works differently here’ excuse.
Training with Elle all day has left my muscles screaming in protest, and I swear a dull ache has settled into every inch of me.
Cam’s been off doing something important most days, at least, that’s what Elle said when she walked me to my room earlier.
She also casually mentioned she had plans tonight she couldn’t get out of, then said dinner would be brought to me.
A quiet, relaxing evening alone is a miracle around here, so I'm taking full advantage.
After spending far too long in the bath, probably pushing the limits of humans and magical tolerance, I finally drag myself out. The oil Elle told me about that first day is laced with magic, literally. And, it helps speed up the healing process. I call it the lavender haze.
As soon as I’m done putting on comfortable clothes and settle in for what I hope will be an uneventful night, there’s a knock at the door.
That must be dinner.
Except when I open it, it’s not dinner. It's Tyler. He's leaning casually against the doorframe, looking like he’s been waiting there forever.
“Hey, beautiful.” He grins.
He looks just like he did the first time I saw him—and yeah, that memory is one I'll never forget. That day had been a hell of a shock.
It was the day after the incident in Cam’s office, when I apparently showed him my thoughts. Something I still can’t get over, and haven’t been able to do since. When I woke up, Tyler was sitting there, lounging like he was enjoying a quiet day off.
Before that, I hadn’t seen him since that night at the bar when we were playing darts. So seeing him here was not what I was expecting. I accidentally almost punched him.
The first thing he said to me was, “Hey, beautiful.” Followed by, “Cam’s off doing Cam stuff, guess you’re stuck with me today.” Stretching like he had all the time in the world.
Apparently, he’d been assigned as my babysitter for the day. And the several days that followed. I didn’t mind, though, we have a lot of fun together. He actually answered my questions, and was willing to come with me whenever I wanted to sneak around.
That whole first day, we just threw sharp things at each other. Which, honestly… Has been my favorite activity so far. Mostly because I hadn’t thrown a knife since I was a kid, and I forgot how much fun it was.
He learned pretty quickly not to underestimate me. His first attempt to test my skills ended with my knife sinking dead center in the target before he even started his lesson on how to throw a knife.
After that, things escalated and we started to get creative.
Tyler also learned the hard way that I don’t miss. He stood there, with an apple perched on his head, grinning like a damn fool. Overconfident and smug. I told him it was a terrible idea, and he told me that he was confident I would miss.
That image will haunt me forever.
That was also the first time I saw firsthand how their fast healing worked.
One second the knife was sticking out of his forehead and there was blood everywhere. The next, there was nothing but smooth skin and that same cocky smirk asking me to do it again.
He had the audacity to laugh while I stood there, crying.
We spent hours like that, laughing and baiting each other until the sky bled into deep purples and golds. Then we’d sit down for dinner, getting way too creative with ways to prank Cam and inevitably getting scolded for the mess.
So the fact that he’s standing in my doorway now, tells me all I need to know.
“Babysitting duty?” I tease, raising an eyebrow. He just smiles and strolls in like he’s got nothing better to do.
“No way. Besides, you know you’d rather hang out with me than be alone. Don’t lie.” He tugs a cart behind him that's loaded with food. “And I brought the Fae wine, in case I needed to bribe you.”
“You convinced me.”
We settle into our comfortable rhythm while we eat. Then out of nowhere, he asks, “Do you ever miss being over there?”
I pause, swirling my drink. The truth is, I've actually been thinking about this a lot.
“You know,” I say finally, “I never loved being glued to my phone for work. Here, there's no alarms, no bills, no schedules. No emails barking orders. The best part is, I don’t have to care what time it is—or live by someone else’s expectations. It’s just… me. Doing my own thing. On my time.”
Tyler watches me, unreadable as ever, then finally gives a slow nod.
“It suits you. You look free, I guess. Happier.”
His lips twitch into a smile, but it's the kind that makes it impossible to tell if he’s being serious or setting up for another joke. “It looks good on you, Bird.”
I roll my eyes, but warmth pools in my chest despite my best efforts.
“Don’t start,” I warn, but he just laughs, leaning back in his chair with entirely too much charm for someone who’s just sitting.
I’m not going to lie, it took me a few days to get used to how good-looking everyone is around here. You get used to it, but every once in a while, I still get caught staring. Which everyone finds hilarious—especially when it's at Tyler.
He's tall, with muscles that look like they were carved out of stone and that cocky charm he wears like armor.
His dark blonde hair is always messy, like he rolled out of bed and somehow made it work.
Tattoos wind down his arms, cutting over muscle in a way that I really don't want to notice.
He's a walking distraction. And yeah, maybe I stared a little too long once or twice.
Apparently that was enough fuel for teasing I'll never live down.
“I still don’t know how humans do it every day,” he continues, shaking his head. “Wake up, eat, work, come home, Netflix and chill, repeat. Sounds like torture.”
He pauses, like he's thinking too hard. “Some things over there are pretty amazing, right bird?”
He’s been calling me Bird since the moment I woke up that day, and the first time, I’d nearly choked on my drink, which, of course, only made him double over in laughter. Turns out, he was the one who called me that the night of the ball. Something he confessed with zero remorse.
He still swears he knew I had magic from day one.
I still don’t believe him.
Tyler never had to worm his way into my heart, he just strolled right in like he belonged there. And now I can’t imagine life without him in it.
He straightens, closing his hand around mine. “You know I’m here for you, right?”
I meet his eyes, and the sincerity in them makes my breath catch.
“Always.” The single word carries a weight I didn’t realize I needed. A promise he makes without hesitation, and just like that I'm unsteady.
I open my mouth to respond, but the intensity of his gaze keeps my words lodged in my throat. All I can do is nod and offer him a small smile. And by the way his expression softens slightly, he understands.
A comfortable silence stretches between us, while we finish eating. And the whole time, I'm drowning in my own thoughts.
I thought those tequila shots were strong, but the Fae wine is next level. That stuff will fuck you up if you have too much. I found that out the hard way the first time Tyler handed me a glass—grinning like the menace he is. Everyone else got a kick out of it.
Cam didn't. He forbade Tyler from ever giving me more than one glass again.
I will say, though, the taste is way better than that shit they call liquor in Scotland. It tastes like grape juice. If grape juice could light your whole body on fire.
“You know what’s wild?”
He refills both our glasses with wine as I watch the deep violet liquid swirl higher than it should. Bold of him considering Cam's little rule.
“What?” I ask, wary of the sudden shift.
He leans back in his chair, tilting it onto two legs. “As good as you are at stabbing things, you’re the worst at sneaking around.”
I snort. “We get caught, because you talk too much.”
He gasps, like I wounded him. “I do not talk too much! I talk just the right amount. You just have commitment issues.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh my God. What does that have to do with anything?”
“No, hear me out.” He insists, grinning now. “You’re one of those people who thinks they can just go through life solo, you’re all… I don’t need anyone, I’m totally fine on my own, but really, if you just learned how to trust people…”
I pause, eyeing my wine. “Tyler, I don’t know if trusting people will make me better at sneaking around.”
“My point is, you have all of us, even though you don’t want to let us in. But I think you like us.” He takes a big drink, then sets his glass down, wiping his mouth.
I open my mouth to argue, but…
Shit.
He’s right. I’ve gotten close to all of them since being here.
Even Lynn has taught me some things in the kitchen during our morning breakfast routine.
Yet, I still find it hard to trust them.
It’s hard to let them in when I know they’re all keeping secrets from me.
But all that aside, I really do like them all. A lot.
Tyler grins, clearly reading my expression. “See? Told you.”
I sigh, leaning my elbow on the table. “Fine. Maybe I do like some of you.”
Tyler claps his hands together. “A win’s a win.”
The weight in my chest eases and the heaviness of the last few days shifts into something lighter. I don’t know how he does it, but he has a knack for making things feel a little less impossible and I love him for it.
“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”
He leans back in his chair again with a smug grin. “A pain in the ass you can’t live without.”
I roll my eyes, wanting to push his chair over. “I take it back. I hate you.”
He laughs, tipping his head back, but when he straightens, I can see the worry in his eyes. “You ever think about what comes next?”
I frown. “What do you mean?”