My eyes snappedopen and I found myself back in my bed.
I was tucked in and wearing two fucking robes over my pajamas again because I’d been in that awful state he’d caused in me.
It was gone now. Completely. The warmth and sense of life from the dreamscape remained rolling through me powerfully.
But I was shaking.
Just my right hand, though.
I eased it from the covers and opened my closed fist.
Relief sang through me as I saw I’d accomplished what I’d intended.
There, within a sphere of layered frost was a shimmering sliver of midnight-blue and amber—the magical manifestation of the warmth he infused me with at the very point of contact with my being. Basically, it was the key to a living equation for me to figure out how the living warmth worked.
It hadn’t exactly been easy to keep off his radar. Using Necromancy would have set off alarm bells instantly. An illusion wouldn’t have gotten past him. So instead, the entire time we’d been in that place, I’d had to balance my Wraith frost and my shadows together to blend with the water to conceal what I’d been able to pull from him.
I smiled to myself as I hid it away with a flare of my amber magic. “Thanks, Mom.”
I gruntedas I walked back in from the balcony.
I’d performed Soul Track on the surrounding area of the Loxley Academy campus this time—and not just as a practice exercise. Honestly, after that first time when my glitching had stopped screwing with me, and I’d been able to carry it outperfectly, it had come so easily any other time I’d tried it. I had it down very well now.
But this morning I’d also had to applyillusion breachingbecause I’d felt resistance.
After doing that, I’d then been able to see the unit of The Shadowed stationed on the periphery. The protection Grandpa had employed after my abduction. In secret and off the Guardian Movement’s radar—and everyone’s. He had his magic-wielders shielding his vampires from the sun—all near-Ancient-level vampires. Basically some of his best. That was how concerned he was. And although I’d been told about it and I’d given the go ahead, that protection had doubled over the last few days. Since I’d reached new heights through my training with Dad—and Mom joining us to help me fuse my Wraith magic and Necromancy into hybridized spells. And of course I’d only agreed to the protection in order to calm my family, put their minds somewhat at ease.
Just… seeing it this morning brought home to me how much I had to keep things off their radar whenever I could. Especially what had happened earlier with Ruxnoth pulling me into that dreamscape. The lengths my family was prepared to go to for me… it was too much, too fucking dangerous for them. And this increase in protection now… because I was reaching new levels with my Necromancy, they all thought—Ruxnoth had even said it in that dreamscape—the time was fast approaching where he’d come for me again.
Not just my family either.
My loves.
Evira had given up her title because of me. And, yes, with her creating Exalt, I had seen that it had worked out well for her. She had another purpose now, and without the Crown Heir title weighing her down, she could be free, explore, and push boundaries with Exalt, something she’d been working on for thelast couple of weeks, and getting really wonderfully into. But the dangerous aspect concerning her abdication, was that she was prepared to challenge the Dracoryn Realm because of me. A fierce, protective dragon warrior like her wielding intense power while in that state of mind… fuck, all it would take would be the slightest provocation against me and all hell could break loose for her.
Vaxan had violated a law of his kingdom to activate his vibrational tracking in order to locate me when Ruxnoth had taken me. That was no small thing. And I knew him so well at this point—he wouldn’t back down, he wouldn’t apologize, he would stand his ground. And it worried me as to what form that would take. I was on tenterhooks waiting for when he’d be called back into the Basilisk Dominion by his ruling parents to answer for what he’d done. The fact he hadn’t already been didn’t exactly bode well. There had just been a lot of texting and calls with his parents so far, and he’d told us, “everything is as it needs to be”. That was it.
And Zayn… I was becoming increasingly concerned about what he might do—or reveal—where my feeding habits were concerned. Yes, I’d had it out with the three of them, and Vax was drawing on his resources to help me, but it would take time. And, honestly, I highly doubted a solution would be found from any amount of resources. Because what Ruxnoth had done to me was a unique creation from his warped magic. It was something that had never existed before. In the meantime, I’d been feeding from Zayn, but I’d even been needing that more and more, and I’d had to deny myself to avoid him noticing my desperation—not that I’d always been successful with it. Because if he thought things were going too far, Zayn might try to bring in outside help, like my parents, in the name of helping me.
I couldn’t have that.
I couldn’t have anything risking my training with my dad.
I couldn’t have anything risking me being ready.
I ground my jaw—this fucking feeding issue… all because of what Ruxnoth had done to me with that… heat.
“It feels amazing.”
“It does, hmm?”
“Yeah. Vibrant. Sparkling. Warm.”
“That is what I intended to gift you.”
I grimaced at the memory of the first time he’d done it.
I couldn’t… replicate that with anything since he’d let me go free.
