Page 18 of Forgotten Arcane

I grin as I look around the familiar entrance hallway of the guy’s place, “Ah it's damn good to be home.”

We all fall silent for a moment as we just stare at each other and try to absorb everything that’s happened over the past week. We’ve all been stretched to our absolute limits, there’s no question about that. Not just physically either, but mentally and emotionally as well. I’m exhausted in so many ways. I don’t think I have been this exhausted for a long time, and looking around at the guys, I know I’m not the only one.

“Right,” Reed starts, “I’ll call and get takeout.”

“Dude, you don’t have to keep your suppression on your magic anymore,” River tells him with a smile.

Without any hesitation, Reed releases his magic and takes a deep breath of relief.

“Whoa,” Coen exclaims.

It’s then that we all seem to realize at the same time that Coen hasn’t been exposed to Reed’s full power like this before.

“Shit sorry man,” Reed exclaims.

Coen grins, still standing next to me and not squashed to the floor, “I’m good man. I don’t know why, but your magic hasn’t squished me to the floor for a while. I honestly thought that you were avoiding me on purpose.”

Reed shakes his head, “Nope. But I’m damn glad that you aren’t affected like everyone else.”

“Me too,” Coen grins. “When did you learn how to control it?”

“It’s not really controlling it, I still can’t release it around anyone else, it just turns out that due to exposure and all of your strength, you aren’t as affected by it,” Reed explains. “I’ll explain it better when I’m not hungry.”

Coen laughs, “Oh, of course, the way the dragons do around their demons?”

Reed’s expression shows surprise, “Yeah, exactly.”

Coen's expression becomes apologetic, “I’m sorry, man, we don’t get taught about that and a few other things until after we leave the MagicalAcademy. I’m sure there are some things that I missed out on learning when Kylen stopped me from going back to the Keep.”

Reed smiles, “Don’t worry about it. I know you would have told me if you had known back then.”

“I would have tried to tell you if I had put two and two together before now as well,” Coen adds.

“We know, man,” Griff says.

Of course, my stomach chooses that moment to growl really loudly. The guys all turn to look at me, every one of them fighting their smiles.

I shrug, “I’m hungry.”

“I’m ordering pizza,” Reed replies with a soft chuckle. He walks closer and dips his head to kiss me softly. When he pulls back, he looks at Coen again, “Do you still have the same order as you used to have?”

Coen frowns slightly, but nods, “Yeah, man, thanks.”

“No problem, I’ll put coffee on while I order,” Reed adds as he walks in that direction, already pulling out his phone.

“Come on, we’ll show you to your room,” River grins.

Coen

“My room?” I question.

I feel like I’m being thrown through so many loops right now that I can’t fucking keep up. My brain, hell, none of me has caught up to the fact that I’m actually fucking free.

I’m free.

My thoughts are so stuck on that one sentence that it takes me a moment to realize that I’ve missed River’s reply. He’s watching me closely, hisexpression knowing, and Neith squeezes my hand, letting me know that she’s caught my lapse in concentration too.

“Are you okay, man?” Raiden asks.

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