I slunk into the room. My entire body felt heavy, drained of energy. It was like all of the adrenaline that had carried me from one fight to the next had left the building, and now I just felt sore and exhausted.
‘Rage is going to kill me. Maybe you should go over and explain everything to him,’ I told Honor as I crashed onto the couch. The soft crushed velvet folded around me, and I yanked a blue knitted blanket draped over the back of the sofa until it fell over me. Oh, this couch was nice; it was so deep it was almost the size of a twin bed.
‘I can’t go back,’ Honor said. ‘The door won’t open for me.’
‘You already tried?’ I asked him, pushing up on my elbows.
He jumped up onto the couch and then curled up at my feet. ‘I was going to pop over and explain things to Rage. The door burned me. But even if I could, I wouldn’t leave you. This place seems sketchy. Rage would want me to stay with you.’
Honor was right, but I still felt bad.
‘Rage?’ I tried again, picturing him in my mind’s eye. How his upper lip curled into a smirk—and how his emerald eyes flashed with heat as he hovered over me.
The darkness and silence pressed against me, and when I felt sleep dragging me under, I sighed. ‘Please forgive me, Rage.’
I think I sent that thought to Honor, but I was too tired to care.
“Morning, sunshine,” Reyna said, jabbing me in the ribs. “You need to get up.”
I groaned, peeling one eye open as she withdrew her foot from where she’d prodded me.
Reyna was holding a steaming cup of coffee in her hands, and I sat up with a smile, reaching for the mug. There was my Harvest girl.
She jerked the mug back and held it close to her chest. “This is mine. Make your own.”
Ugh. Black sheep of the family. Clearly. “Your sister Kaja brought me coffee all the time.”
She snorted and waved her hand dismissively. “My sisters are weak.”
“Hey!” I snapped, ready to defend my bestie. “Your sisters are—"
“Lovable. Kind. Caring. I know. But they’re also weak sauce.” Sipping at her coffee, she glared at me over the rim.
“Why are you mad at me?” I huffed, pushing the afghan to the end of the couch while trying to detangle my legs.
“Because. I only had two hours of sleep—” she raised her eyebrows “—because of you. Kian and Snade had a pair of henchman sniffing around the spirit compound, probably trying to take you out before you could complete the initiation.”
My eyes widened.
Take me out.
“How do you know it was Kian … and Snade. Also, who is Snade?”
“Snade is the high mage of fire,” she said, sitting at the now empty space on the couch. “His cousin is Master Carn—from Alpha Academy.”
I scowled at the mention of my lame-ass fire teacher.
She waved me off as if she knew I’d have a million more questions. “And as for the henchmen, Bruno and Max got them, so thanks for your concern.”
“Sorry—”
“I know it’s not really your fault. Still, whenever they catch one of those bastards, it makes me paranoid, so I stayed up roaming the halls to make sure no one else got in.”
I gulped. “Who are Bruno and Max?”
She grinned—a fierce and wild look that made me draw back. “Magicked-Dobermans. Meanest suckers in the entire realm. Remind me to introduce you and the black furball to them so they know you’re friendly. It’d be bad news if they killed you, thinking you were an intruder.”
Honor peeled back his lips and snarled.
“Are you serious?” I asked as my eyes narrowed. “Or do you have a really sick sense of humor?”
“Both,” Reyna said and took another long drink of her coffee before she stood. “The summons said to be in the quad at 6 o’clock. You’ve got twenty minutes to eat, shower, and be ready to rock and roll.”
Summons? Twenty minutes!
I burst from the couch and ran to the kitchenette, only to see she’d brewed an entire pot of coffee. Scrambled eggs and buttered toast sat in a skillet on the hotplate as well, enough to feed at least three of me, and I furrowed my brow as I tried to figure out the second eldest alpha heir from Harvest Clan.
“May I have this?” I wouldn’t touch it if it was her breakfast—even though I wanted to.
She nodded. “I made extra.”
A smile pulled at my lips. “That was sweet. Reminds me of Kaja.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “I put some of my battle clothes on the counter in the bathroom.” She shooed me. “Now, hurry up and get ready. I’ll meet you outside.”
Then she left the office and shut the door.
Did she say battle clothes?
Hah. Gramps was right. Reyna was a total sweetie with a hard exterior. Well, maybe not total sweetie, but I liked her.
I shoveled eggs and toast into my mouth in between gulps of the lukewarm black coffee. It all tasted meh, but I was beyond caring right now. This initiation was the only thing standing in the way of me getting to see Rage, and I needed to make sure he understood why I left.
After setting the mostly-full skillet on the ground for Honor, I jumped into the shower.
Reyna had left me stretchy black pants that looked and felt like leggings, as well as a long sleeve cotton shirt. Both the top and pants had leather pieces sewn into the fabric placed strategically on the elbows, forearms, upper arms, chest, thighs, knees, and shins. There were even pads built into the clothes. Geeze. What kinds of things were involved in this “initiation?”
I guess there was only one way to find out.
Once I was ready, Reyna escorted me back to Grandpa’s castle at a full-on sprint.
“If you’re so much as a minute late, you can bet your ass Kian’s going to pull a stunt,” she said.
Was a day off from life-threatening danger too much to ask? Or maybe even twelve hours? Apparently, for me, the answer was yes.
“Kian’s going to pull a stunt no matter what time I show up,” I said, pulling to a stop when my side twinged. “If I don’t slow down, there’s a good chance I’ll throw up my breakfast.”
She reluctantly slowed.
“How’s Gramps?” I asked, keeping a brisk pace.
She swallowed hard. “Still asleep—or he was when I left. He gave strict instructions to not be disturbed until it’s his turn for your initiation.” We stepped into the night-darkened foyer of the castle to find my aunt pacing and muttering to herself as she wrung her hands.
“If she’s not here soon…” Sariah said as she reached the end of the room and spun, her gaze brightening as soon as she saw me. “There you are!” Sariah raced over to me, tugging me close for a tight hug.
The scent of freesia and cocoa powder clung to her, and she patted her hand down my back, almost like she was assuring herself that I was all in one piece.
“I wanted to come say hi to you when I got home but knew you needed your rest.” She pulled back and studied me. “You look so much like your mother.”
Her words gave me sentimental whiplash, and emotion clogged my throat. I was so happy to see her again.
“So do you,” I told her, taking in her silvery hair and sharp chin. I was long overdue for a visit to the spirit realm to actually get to know my mom and bio dad, but that was one more thing on my to-do list that’d have to wait. 98.5% lame.