So now I make sure that all of my weapons are where they’re supposed to be.
I don’t want to die just because I’ve forgotten to put one of my knives in its proper place.
I give the room one last, longing glance. It’s most likely going to be a long time before we can find something this nice to rest. We mightnot even get to sleep somewhere this nice until we get back to the academy.
I mean, they go back to the academy, if that’s where they’re going to go, I won’t be going back there, and I won’t be going back to the compound either.
Not if I can help it.
I pause as it really hits me. I haven’t got anywhere to go.
Nope, I’m not going to worry about that now. There is nothing that I can do to change it, so I’m not going to worry about it. Not yet, at least. Plus, I am more than aware of how dangerous this mission to the castle is, and I am not expecting to survive it. So I don’t really need to worry about what I’m doing after this.
“Good morning, Rast,” Farren greets me with a smile as soon as I walk into the kitchen.
“Morning,” I reply, sounding gruffer than I intended, but I haven’t spoken yet today.
Chapter Ten
Rast
“Help yourself, man. We’re going to eat and then get going if that’s okay with you?” Storm asks.
I nod, “Yeah, that works. The sooner that we can get going, the better.” I sit down and load my plate before I spot the coffee and pour myself a giant cup, chugging that before doing anything else. Once the coffee has kicked in and I’m feeling a little more awake and ready to face the day, I ask, “Has anyone spoken to Laikynn yet? I’m assuming that since they didn’t wake any of us, they had a reasonably quiet night?”
Hades nods, “Yes, he actually just left before you came back. They said that they had a couple of issues with some smaller creatures, but they were more curious than aggressive, so they just chased them off.”
I frown, “That’s odd. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the creatures here being merely curious, but then again, I thought Laikynn’s kind were nothing but aggressive, so what the fuck do I know?”
Loki looks at me sympathetically, “Don’t worry, dude, the longer that you stay with us, the more used to having your perceptions flipped you will be.”
“He’s right,” Hades agrees. “Although I would imagine that’s not exactly reassuring.”
Rival shakes his head, “I mean, at this point, I would be surprised if something was what it was supposed to be.” He grimaces, “Trust me, I get how frustrating it is. I love knowledge. I’m supposed to be the one who knows the answers, or can at least find them, and while that is still true, everything that I thought I knew is turning out to be wrong, or warped, or messed with.”
I watch as Farren gets up, moves around the table, and plops herself down on Rival’s lap. She takes his face in her hands and kisses him softly.
When she pulls back, she says, “I’m sorry I didn’t realize how much it was bothering you. Think of it this way: we may be losing knowledge and finding out that the knowledge that we do have is wrong, but that’s still knowledge. So we are still gaining knowledge. Knowledge that not many other people have, and you are the best person to gather and keep that knowledge safe.”
As she speaks, the frown lines on his forehead disappear.
It has to be magic.
How else did she know exactly the right thing to say to make it better?
I have no other explanation for it.
“Thank you,” he mutters as he kisses her.
Storm clears his throat, “Alright, has everyone finished? Are we ready to get going?”
I nod, “I’m done.”
Everyone helps to clear up the breakfast items and gathers all of their stuff, getting ready to leave.
“How long do you think the walk to the castle is?” Reaper asks me as we all pause before we head out of the door, and Farren says thank you to the house.
“As I said before, I only have a vague idea, but it should be around eight hours or so. We should be able to get there by evening if we’re moving quickly.” I explain.
