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“Not you. Everyone. Everything.” There was something conspiratorial in his voice, and his smile returned as he stepped back beside me, bent down to pick up a stone, and stood up again. “This town is full of dungeons where you don’t know if you’ll find treasures if you dig deeper, or the next skeleton in the closet of those who play the game of power here.”

With a flourish, he tossed the stone into the sea.

“Bayla!” My head snapped around and I spotted Emely waving at me. “We have to go! Hurry up!”

Whenever I saw this girl, she reminded me that Julian wasn't here, that I was still wearing his sweater as if it would bring him back.

I missed him...

Cody behind me laughed softly.

Overwhelmed, I looked back at the young man who seemed like a child trapped in an adult's body.

Only now did I realize how good it had been to talk to him. That it had filled my head with lightness for a few minutes.

“Here.”

My gaze wandered to his outstretched hand, smeared with black marker, the mere sight of which triggered longing in me, but I quickly buried the feeling and focused on the enamel pin in his palm. A black bird.

“A... raven?”

Hesitantly, I took it from his warm hand.

“I think that as a raven summoner, you should wear an appropriate symbol so that insiders know what secret powers you possess.”

The conspiratorial tone returned to his amused voice, along with that look as if he had just confided something extremely secret to me.

Smiling, I raised both eyebrows.

“Bayla Adams!”

I flinched and looked over to Emely.

Cody walked past me and patted me on the shoulder.

“See you around.”

He didn't stroll back to the party, but toward the forest, dramatically turning back to me one last time and placing his index and middle fingers on his temple with a small smirk before lifting them away with a slight bow.

“And take care of your ravens.”

Confused, I stared after him until he disappeared into the thicket of the forest, leaving me with the sound of the sea and the party music in the distance.

I looked from the pin raven in my hand to the eleven ravens that had gathered around me as if they were actually following me, until a surprised snort escaped me and I finally shook my head and made my way over to Emely.

What a strange guy.

Chapter 47

Larissa

Last Night Stand

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I blinked.

The last rays of sunlight flooded the dense forest.