Page 90 of Shattered Veil
To my surprise, they both back down, though Lochan still glares at Marius.
“I think we all need a breather.” Standing here, in the middle of my five mates, it’s a lot.“I need you all to leave for a bit. We can talk later, okay?”
The guys exchange looks, clearly reluctant to leave me alone. Marius smirks, making no move to exit.
“All of you,” I say firmly, meeting each of their eyes in turn.“I need some space to think.”
Callen nods first.“Of course. We’ll regroup later to make plans.”
He magics up a portal and walks through, followed by Tiernan. Lochan keeps looking back at me as he walks towards it. It’s weirding me out.
Rory lingers.“You sure you’re okay, love?” he asks softly.
“I’m fine, Rory. Just need to clear my head.”
He nods, squeezing my shoulder before stepping through the portal. I watch as it blinks out of existence.
Marius remains, leaning against the wall like he has no plans to go anywhere.
“That means you too,” I say, glaring at him.
“We’ll talk soon,” he says. It’s not a question.
As I watch, Marius’s form starts to blur at the edges, like a charcoal sketch being smudged. The shadows deepen, growing denser until they’re almost solid. His features become indistinct, melting into the darkness. Just before the darkness takes him completely, Marius winks at me. Then he’s gone, leaving nothing but empty air where he stood moments ago.
Cool trick. I’m impressed with how effortlessly he controls his shadow magic. Not for the first time I wonder about his background. He’s clearly skilled, he had to have learned that somewhere. From somebody.
My stomach growls, reminding me that I haven’t eaten since yesterday. I sigh, running a hand through my tangled hair. Food. I need food. And coffee. Definitely coffee. All the coffee. I decide to make a quick run to the dining hall.
“Oh!” Eira’s standing at my door when I open it.“Brigid, hi.”
“Eira?” I blink.“What are you doing here?”
Her eyes widen slightly.“I, um, I was just coming to see if you wanted to grab breakfast together.”
How long has she been out here? I start replaying everything that was said in my room.
“That’s... thoughtful of you,” I say.“I was actually just heading down myself.”
“Perfect timing then!” Eira chirps, but there’s something off about her cheerfulness. She keeps looking over my shoulder, into my room.
As we start walking, I sneak glances at her. Her face is carefully neutral, but there’s tension in her shoulders. She knows something. Or thinks she does.
“So,” I say casually,“how long were you waiting out there?”
Eira stumbles slightly, recovering quickly.“Oh, not long at all. I only just got there when you opened the door.”
But there’s a note in her voice that makes me think otherwise. Maybe it’s my trust issue rearing its ugly head again.
Or maybe not.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Marius
Professor Azareon drones on about the Harrowing, and I slouch in my seat, bored. The only thing interesting here is Brigid, but she’s staring straight ahead and is pretending not to notice me. But I catch her side glances when she thinks I’m not looking.
“Congratulations to those who survived,” Azareon intones.“You’ve proven yourselves worthy of the academy’s legacy.”
