Because after all, hope might be a fleeting feeling, but the destruction it left in its wake when stolen away wasnot.
Chapter 2
The Nuisance
Julian
Present Day – Catastro Sea
The colossal ship rocked mercilessly as the storm took hold of their vessel. Whistling vibrated through the space, causing Julian to clutch Raven’s hand just a bit tighter. He sat carefully on the bed next to her. He hadn’t left her side, except for the necessities, in days. They were in a cabin below deck. A single port hole showing the brewing chaos outside. The room was able to fit the bed she laid on, but there was only a thin strip of floor on the opposite side that was currently occupied by a nuisance.
And at the foot, just enough space for a door.
The door pushed open, brushing the foot of the bed. Julian flashed his gaze upwards, his entire body tensing before registering who the intruder was, before he refocused his attention on Raven.
“Maverick and Enzo have been searching everywhere. There’s still no sign of Ivan,” Levi murmured. “Has she woken up?”
Julian didn’t look up again, his eyes traced Raven’s face. Attempting to recognize every change. Every freckle. Every new scar. As the Host, he had watched her intently through the screen and during the games, but this was different.Tangible.She was so peaceful, so close.
But not for much longer.
His heart pattered painfully in his chest.
They were halfway to Grypheem, and Julian knew that when they arrived, things would get much worse before they got any better.
“I’ll take that as a no.” Levi ducked into the room, finding a corner of the bed to settle onto. “Is she going to be okay?”
Julian’s focus jumped up to the man. Levi was practically green in the face, his skin coated in a sheen of sweat.
An easy target.
Julian didn’t particularly care for him, but he recognized that Raven did. That she wouldn’t be happy to wake up with Levi injured…or…
Just kill him. Only the strong are meant to survive. She doesn’t need him.
Julian forcibly shook the thought from his mind. He was on his second day without his collar—the one Nightingale had taken off of him—and the repercussions of being pumped full of chemicals were having their effect.
His mind was revolting, his entire body weakened and didn’t feel like his own. As if he were in a borrowed set of skin. Thesensation was revolting and it was only dampened by Raven’s presence.
Levi let out a shaky breath followed by a groan.
“You are in withdrawal,” Oleks said from the floor he took up on the other side of the bed.
The nuisance.
He was the only one who wouldn’t listen to Julian. Enzo and Maverick were easy to shove into a cabin for this trip. Even Griffin had left Raven’s side after a practical fight. But not Oleks.
“Withdrawal?” Levi asked, bringing a hand up to his beard and stroking it contemplatively.
Oleks slithered up until he hovered on the other side of the bed. He reached out, brushing Raven’s dark hair from her face.
I should cut his hand off.
Julian clenched his teeth forcing himself to stay still.
“We were drugged for every game. Even in our sleep, they would administer small doses to keep us in a state of fog. With Raven’s injuries, compounded with the extended use of multiple chemicals, it is no surprise that she is still unconscious.”
“Anadil swapped her own medical history with Raven’s. At the beginning of the game her dose was too high, but they lowered it after that point,” Julian murmured.
