Chapter 18
A loud commotion woke me and I shot up in bed, startled and confused. Beside me, Eric looked similarly baffled.
“What the hell is all that noise?” he muttered. He ran to the window and pushed open the blinds with a furrowed brow.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
Eric sighed. He didn’t actually look too upset, but he still scowled anyway. “We’ve got company.”
We quickly threw on our clothes, then made our way downstairs. I realized that I recognized some of the muffled voices outside--in fact, I knew all of them.
“Don’t take a single step closer!” Crystal snapped.
She stood in front of the front door in her wolf form, her hackles raised and teeth bared. I gasped when I saw who she was growling at.
“Guys!” I cried.
Colton and Ramsay stood awkwardly a healthy distance away from Crystal, but their faces brightened when they saw me.
“Mathe!” Ramsay called. “Can you, uh, call off your guard dog?”
Eric huffed in annoyance, but I wasn’t sure who it was directed at. “Crystal, that’s enough.”
“Sir, this group says they’re here for you and Matheson, but I didn’t receive orders to let the other one through,” Crystal growled.
It wasn’t until she spoke that I noticed Ramsay and Colton weren’t alone. Neil stood behind them, looking just at annoyed at Crystal as she was at him. Well,almostas annoyed.
“Oh,” I said. “That’s Neil. He’s one of my family guards.”
Crystal straightened up and lowered her lip to conceal her fangs. “That’s what he said, but I wanted to hear it from you, sir.”
I didn’t bother telling her not to call mesiranymore.
Ramsay practically shoved Neil out of the way as he ran towards me and scooped me up in a big hug. Colton joined in, patting my hair like I was a puppy. I was so happy to see both of them that I barely noticed Neil’s scowl in the background.
“What brings you all here?” Eric asked stiffly.
“Well, we--” Ramsay began, but Neil cut him off.
“Your parents ordered me to see how you were doing,” Neil said, approaching me. “They wanted to know if you’ve accomplished something by now.”
I tried not to wince at his coldly worded statement. “How so?”
“Have you made any progress about the prophecy’s meaning?”
I frowned as the familiar feeling of guilt and shame mixed in my gut. “Well, no, not really. But--”
Neil let out a loud sigh. “You’re coming up on two weeks of this, Matheson, and that gryphon gave us an approximate time estimate of a month. And who's to say if he was lying about that?”
“I agree,” Eric said slowly. I noticed how much more commanding his voice sounded than Neil’s. “But Matheson is doing everything he can.”
“Is he?” Neil shot back. He gestured to Ramsay and Colton. “Because the sentiment I got from listening to these two on the way here is that Matheson is doing a lot of hanky-panky and not much else.”
“Hey!” I snapped.
“Watch it,” Ramsay growled.
Neil glared at us. “It’s the truth, isn’t it? Tell me I’m wrong, Matheson.”
