Page 44 of The Fate of Eternity

If I could hit the rewind button and lose myself in the moment again, I would. Unfortunately for me, I have classes to attend.

“Ready?”

My gaze finds Kryll in the mirror, a soft smile on his lips as his eyes rake over me from head to toe. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” I murmur, turning toward him as I try to alleviate the weight pressing down on me.

The second I’m beside him, he pulls me in, pressing me against his side in a half hug that warms me all the way to the bone.

“Are you sure? You seem tense, and we all know Brody fucked the tension out of you last night.” The knowing smirk on his face makes me lower my gaze, hiding the heat in my cheeks.

“Honestly, I’m fine. The tension is probably because a simple day of classes feels weird at this point. In comparison to everything else we’ve had going on, it should be a breeze. What could go wrong on campus with a few lessons and a meal here and there, right?” I bounce on the balls of my feet, plastering a smile on my face, and he takes the opportunity to kiss my temple before guiding me into Raiden’s lounge area.

“Don’t jinx yourself,” he says with a grin, giving my arm an extra squeeze, and I hum in agreement. That’d just be the cherry on top of everything else.

Cassian, Raiden, and Brody are all dressed and ready for us. I find myself frozen in place as I take each of us in, soaking in the fact that there’s a room draped in red, green, brown, purple, and gray cloaks, yet so much emotion and feelings, too—not of the angry, war-inducing kind, either. Despite our different origins, our unity signifies everything our kingdom needs and deserves. It’s a beacon of hope among every single person that the origins can come together and overcome any bad blood.

TheLword keeps being tossed around casually, and as much as it panics me, I know I feel it too. Saying it out loud, however, is a different thing entirely. Acknowledging it, though, it becomes abundantly clear that it’s not just about us and what it means to me, it’s what it signifies for the kingdom too.

We’re bigger than us, we’re brighter for them.

Eager to get my focus back on track, I nod toward the door. “I want to stop by the fae building and check in on Flora. It feels like forever since I last saw her,” I admit, acutely aware that it hasn’t been that long, but I definitely miss her presence.

“Lead the way, Dragon Princess,” Kryll whispers against my ear, threatening another deep tinge to my cheeks as we pile out of the room, down the stairs, and outside into the cool morning air.

Instinctively, I draw my cloak tighter around my body, feeling the press of my blades hidden beneath my t-shirt.

“Does anyone else feel all anti-climatic this morning?” Raiden asks, hands tucked in his pockets as he keeps a step ahead.

“Oh, is this morning not all grand and exciting for the infamous vampire?” Cassian grunts, trudging a step behind him. He’s been quiet this morning, no quieter than usual, but I kind of feel jealous of his natural ability to just… be.

“No, asshole, I mean, the three of us have been back on campus longer than you two pesky wolves,” he grumbles, waving a hand between Cassian and me as he peers over his shoulder. “But even though you weren’t here, we were all pining like losers. At the same time, you were off dealing with dickhead dads and wolves and shit. This morning feels…”

“Calm?” Brody chimes in when Raiden trails off, and he simply hums in response.

“I think you need to acknowledge what calm feels like and enjoy it. We don’t need drama every day. It would be nice for us to make it a day, a week, damn, even a month or year without someone coming at us,” Kryll states, and I nod. That would be nice. I’d settle for an hour, or making it till lunch at this stage.

We’re quiet the rest of the walk, locked in our own thoughts as we head over to the fae building. We see a few students, and even though we get the odd look here and there, it’s uneventful as we approach the doors and step inside. I slip out of Kryll’s hold and take the stairs two at a time. Reaching the end of the hall, it feels strange as hell being here, even though my room is here, too.

I consider sneaking inside and taking a moment, but opt against it when I realize there’s nothing in there that I actually miss. Instead, I rap my knuckles on Flora’s door and wait.

And wait, and wait, and wait.

My eyebrows bunch together when it feels like an eternity has passed, and I knock again. My concern only worsens when there’s still no answer.

“Maybe she’s already at breakfast,” Brody offers, scrubbing the back of his neck as he steps toward me. I get the feeling he’s worried for me and not for the same reason as I am. Probably because I’m overreacting.

“Likely,” I murmur, stepping back from her door. “Was she on campus yesterday?” I ask, my gaze skimming from Brody to Kryll and then Raiden, who all nod in response.

“She was raining Hell on us for leaving you ‘unprotected,’ as she put it,” Raiden explains with an eye roll.

“Unprotected?” I ask in confusion, following the four of them back toward the stairs.

“Yeah. Apparently, you should be surrounded by all of us at all times,” he adds.

“Ignore him. She cares, and she was worried you two wouldn’t be safe on your own,” Kryll chimes in, and Brody scoffs.

“I mean, technically, she was right.”

Technically, I can’t argue with that.

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