Page 22 of A Shadow of Betrayal

Billy nods and steps aside, letting me cross over the threshold and into a huge room with several bunk beds, a couch, three bookshelves, and a roaring fireplace at the far end of it. I try to ignore the eight other sets of eyes that are studying me, three of them standing only a few feet away while the others watch from different parts of the room.

“So, you either have a massive set of balls on you to go head-to-head with Lennox Regalis… or you have a death wish,” Billy says casually, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it while ruffling his dark wavy hair, his green eyes locked on my face as I look around the room, taking in my surroundings. “Which one is it?”

ELEVEN

Meyer

I shrug and take a step toward one of the bunks that appears to be empty; the sheets crisp and seemingly untouched. No personal items or extra blankets are strewn across it, so I point at the lower bunk and raise a brow at Billy, who nods once, letting me know it's free for my use.

“Neither,” I answer him as I walk over and tumble onto the bed. I moan, my body aching as it settles into the mattress. “I'm tired and lost my temper.” Billy's eyes narrow on me, and I briefly think about asking him why they call him Billy and not something more similar to his name, but I shake my head when the throbbing in my temples increases. I don’t have the willpower to care right now. I’ll ask him later.

“I’d be careful if I were you,” a soft voice comes from the bunk above me, and I lean to my side, looking up to find a big set of dark forest green eyes staring over the side at me. “You don’t want to get on Umbra Regalis’ bad side. He has the power and influence to make your life here a living hell,” the boy says, reaching up to flick a piece of his straw-colored hair away from his eyes. “And his brother is worse,” he adds, then shivers like the very thought of him was disturbing before he disappears from sight.

My heart skips a little at the topic of Lennox’s brother, and I look at Billy standing at the foot of my bunk, giving me a strange look. “Creed?” I can’t help but ask, wanting more information about the man I tried to save the other night.

“Razar,” Billy corrects, and I frown. I haven't heard that name yet. “Have you already met Creed? I thought he was out on patrol on the north summit?” Billy continues, his green eyes flickering with the shadows the fire in the hearth throws around the room.

“I…” I trail off, not sure how to answer that question. I mean, yeah, I met the guy as he was dying on my living room floor, but then something knocked me out, and by the time I woke up, all traces of Creed were gone. “Not really,” I finally finish, sounding a little off even to my ears. “I have a question, though,” I say before Billy can ask me anything else. “What's the proper protocol on the names up here? Lennox almost tore my head off for using his name in front of people, but you all seem to be on a first-name basis.” Not that I actually care, but it would be nice to know the rules so that I can stay out of trouble until I can find a way off this mountain that doesn't involve Umbra Hunters chasing after me.

Billy cringes and then nods, giving me a sympathetic look. “Yeah, don’t do that. Not even Monroe calls Umbra Regalis by his given name. It's a respect thing. If you are ranked under an Umbra Hunter, you call them by their earned title unless you have their permission to use their last name during less formal conversations. We use his name in private conversations since there are three Umbra Regalis’, but never say it out of this room, Meyer. In fact,” Billy states, looking around at us all before stepping back and moving to the closet on the far side of the room. “We all should probably stop using their names in private as well. I’ve seen what those three can do to a Demon, and I don’t want to be on the receiving end of their anger. We are no longer at the academy, and I don’t want to risk my Umbra placement by being disrespectful.”

The three sets of eyes that have been staring at me from behind Billy nod in agreement, two of them moving to their bunks, and I turn my attention to the guy who is staring at me, his brown hair reminding me of Theo’s. My jaw drops in recognition just as Billy walks back over with a set of royal blue colored sweats clutched in his hands.

“Here,” he grumbles, tossing the clothes at me, making me tear my eyes away from Theo's friend, who had been knocked out back in McCall, and I watch as Billy moves to the top bunk closest to the fire. I watch him enviously, shivering a little when the draft from the window next to me makes goosebumps rise on my arms and neck. Noting my discomfort, Billy sighs and points to my bunk, “There’s a box with blankets under there. Take off that ugly dress, and get some sleep. Umbra Regalis wants us at the training center before the other bloodlines, which means we have to be up in six hours.”

“What about breakfast?” someone complains, earning a stern glance from Billy.

“We can eat after our morning run and training. Umbra Regalis will be there personally tomorrow, and we need to make a good impression on the other bloodlines. We have a good start, thanks to Jennings,” Bill says, nodding to Theo's friend, who smiles a little. “And we need to remind everyone why they don’t fuck with us,” Billy growls, making my eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

Damn, these guys are kind of intense.

There is a chorus of groans, but everyone moves to their beds, a few of them walking over to the walls where more sconces spread light through the room, and snuffing out the golden flames as Theo’s friend steps toward me, his anxious green eyes flickering toward Billy before he looks back at me and smiles. “Bathroom is over there,” he whispers as he moves to the bunk on my right and sits down, the mattress creaking under his weight as he shifts back and crosses his feet under him.

“Thanks... Uh... Jake?” I ask, trying to remember his name. A soft smile crosses the boy's freckled face, and he chuckles.

“Jordan,” he corrects softly, and I cringe and nod.

“Right, I knew that,” I whisper as the room slowly darkens. The strangers around me settle into their beds for the night as they extinguish the candles around the room until the fire next to Billy’s bunk is the only source of light and warmth. I can hear the howling wind and shiver, glad they left the fire going as I slowly lift myself up, wishing I had the sense not to lie down until I was ready for bed. Now I have to heave my tired body off the mattress, and I feel fifty times sorer than before I laid down.

“You good?” Jordan asks, his voice pitched low so as not to disturb the others, and I nod out of instinct, not wanting to show any weakness. That's what Lennox had said to do, right? I bite my lip as I shuffle over to the door Jordan pointed out, glad to have a small amount of light to navigate the foreign room so I don't run into one of the other bunks. When I get in there, my hand instinctively moves to find a light switch, and I curse, mentally facepalming when I remember there is no electricity.

Leaving the door open a crack to let in some of the soft light from the fire, I stand in front of the old-looking mirror and grimace at my disheveled appearance. If I look this bad in the dark, I can't imagine how bad it would be in full, detailed light.

“Maybe it's a good thing I don’t have light,” I grumble to myself, reaching around to undo the zipper at my back. I shrug off my diner uniform, letting it fall to the ground as I toe off my worn and now wet sneakers, then grab the sweats Billy gave me, happy to find they are soft and on the thicker side as the chill from the room makes me shiver again. I leave my dirty underwear on, hoping I have the time to wash them in the morning since I'm far too tired to do it tonight. Once dressed, I open the door a little wider to have a bit more light and squint in the dimly lit bathroom, finding a weird-looking toilet and a sink with an odd handle attached to it.

Grimacing, I step up to the sink while yanking the rubberband from my messy hair, letting the dirty blonde locks fall around my shoulders, and use my fingers to untangle the tresses. After a few minutes of trying to tame my hair, I give up, my hurt shoulder aching and my arms feeling like they have weights strapped to them, making them heavier than normal. I stifle a yawn, my eyes watering with the intensity of it as I quickly weave my hair into a simple braid, deciding it best to minimize the snarls that I’ll have to pick through tomorrow.

Grabbing the well-worn wooden handle in front of me, I move it up and down, pumping the water until a small trickle begins to fall from the spout. After a few more pumps, I have a steady stream of ice-cold water, and I steel myself as I cup my hands under the stream, letting the cold liquid pool in my wounded palms before I take a deep breath and splash the frigid water on my face, hoping to wash off some of the grime there.

I inhale at the sting the cold water brings to my cheeks and use my uniform to wipe off my face, then stare at my haggard appearance. I turn my attention to my beat-up hands, then my arm and sore shoulder, rubbing the tender muscles a few times while my heart pounds so loudly in my ears that I’m almost positive the people in the bunks closest to the bathroom can hear it.

“What the hell do I do now?” I whisper to my reflection before I let my eyes fall shut, a tear slipping down my cheek as longing for home hits hard. My worry over Milo increases until all I want to do is curl up on the floor and cry. It might seem silly to some people to cry and worry about a pet, but he’s all I have left. Grandpa gave him to me when I first came to McCall, and he’s been my little buddy ever since.

Mentally berating myself for being so weak, I push back my emotions. Then tell myself that Dan will go to the cabin when I don't turn up for my shift on Wednesday and will help Milo when he finds him there alone. Milo will be fine. Dan always gave him extra snacks and loved on him whenever he came to visit Grandpa. I have to keep my attention on getting out of here.

Swallowing hard, I grab my soiled dress, deciding I don't have the energy to figure out the weird looking shower stall that stands in the corner of the room, and leave the bathroom, tiptoeing over the creaky floorboards of the room I have yet to really get a good look at, then fall back into bed. When my head hits the pillow, a weird crinkling sound comes from beneath it, and I dart the hand that isn't sliced up under the thin pillow and wrap my hands around something that hadn't been there a few minutes ago.

My eyes widen, and my stomach growls in response when I pull out a protein bar. Confused, my eyes dart to the right, finding Jordan smiling at me as he huddles under his blanket, then winks before he moves to his back, and his eyes close as he falls asleep. I watch in stunned silence until Jordan's breathing levels out, his chest rising up and down as he sleeps.

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