Page 67 of The Fate of Eternity

Raiden indicates for me to let him hold Addi as we follow after the stomping wolf, and I scoff, shaking my head as I carry on. “You have to share, Kryll,” he grumbles with a pout, but I don’t bother to engage with him and his dramatics.

As we approach the gates, Flora clears her throat, glancing at me from the corner of her eye. I tilt my head at her and she offers a tight smile. “I know there’s a lot going on, which is probably why everyone’s extremely aggravated, but do you think it could have something to do with the new magic?”

“New magic?”

She nods, glancing at Addi’s face before sliding her focus back to me. “The fated mates. I can feel it around the five of you. Damn, it’s so strong I’m certain if I squinted, I’d see it too.”

My eyes widen in surprise. It takes me a moment to connect the dots. She’s a mind fae. That’s how she made The Councilcrumble back there. I hadn’t considered the fated mates being a factor, but there hasn’t been a moment to think.

“Possibly,” I breathe, and Raiden scoffs.

“I feel like my blood is literally thrumming with every breath I take. It’s definitely doing something,” he states with a shrug. “But we’re not all that good at talking about shit without our girl grounding us and making us see sense,” he adds, earning a hum of amusement from Flora.

Joining Cassian at the gates, there are no guards spread out like usual. Only one man stands with his arms folded over his chest as he glares at me.

“Where the fuck have you been?” he snarls, making my back stiffen as my grasp tightens on Addi.

“I could ask you the same question, Beau,” I bite back, furious to see him standing here so expectantly when we desperately searched for him earlier.

He frowns at me, making it clear that he has no clue what my issue is, but he thankfully lets us through the gates. Once he’s locked it behind us, he finally takes note of my girl in my arms and her friends who are with us on this little adventure.

“Catch me up to speed,” he orders as he waves for us to follow after him. Despite my irritation at him, I do. I tell him everything. From the fight with Vallie in the dining hall, even though I’m sure he’s heard all about it, to the human-origin leader luring us off campus. His facial features don’t change when I explain what The Council has done or the extra steps they planned to take with the puppet magic shit. To his credit, he just absorbs it all.

“I think that about sums it up,” I state with a sigh as he continues to walk us around the grounds’ perimeter. However, despite my ramblings, I’m still aware that he’s not taking us toward the main academy, nor the origin buildings.

“You’re forgetting the glowing part,” Brody states, raising his eyebrows at me, and I roll my eyes.

“I’m pissed at him. I was withholding,” I grumble, which earns me another pointed look, except this one is from Flora.

“Now isn’t the time for sibling squabbles,” she states, earning an amused smirk from Beau for a split second before it quickly disappears again.

He doesn’t say a word like I expect him to. Instead, he waves us down a dirt path. “Follow me.”

“Where are you taking us?” Cassian asks, also aware that we’re on the opposite side of campus compared to our rooms.

He glances back over his shoulder, his eyes searching mine out first before he answers. “My house.”

“House? Why?” I ask, acutely aware that he’s never let me go to his place on campus. Some bullshit about space and the fact that he’s a professor here.

“Because everything is a shitshow here, and you clearly need time since you’re the center of it all,” he offers, which makes sense, but it startles me that he can see that too.

As we veer to the right, following the dirt path, a house comes into view and my eyes widen.

“That’s some house,” Raiden states as I simply gape at it, and Beau chuckles.

“I’m a dragon prince. What else were you expecting?” he retorts, making me roll my eyes.

House is an understatement, but more so, I’m questioning how I’ve never noticed it on the grounds before. It’s a two-story monstrosity with pointed rooftops that are segmented into wings with long, stained-glass windows. The frames are black and the walls are even blacker, with a view over a stream to the right. Even with the height, it seems to be shielded by the trees that line the dirt path.

He leads us inside, the colors not getting any lighter, and it weirdly suits my brother. He’s fun sometimes, but otherwise, he’s an enigma. He has layers of darkness and pent-up emotions and nobody to share them with.

The entryway has a staircase leading up to the right, with doors framing the rest of the room. He heads toward the back, waving for us to continue following him until the kitchen comes into view. It has black marble floors, black gloss cabinets, and a black dining table.

”Your eye for color is… something,” Flora muses as she takes it all in and says exactly what I’m thinking.

My brother doesn’t offer a response, not that she seems to mind. Instead, he double-checks that the back door is secured before leading us to the left. “There are two rooms here. Make do with them as you please. Just don’t go upstairs. The bathroom is through there, and you know where the food is. The living room is the other door off the kitchen. Again, just don’t go touching my shit upstairs,” he repeats with a grumble before he starts back toward the front door.

“Where are you going?” I ask when it’s clear he’s not openly offering an explanation, and he shrugs, a tight smile ghosting his lips as he grabs the door handle.

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