Page 78 of Rose and Shadows
No fucking matter what.
14
~Lazriel~
Battling hidden demons.
That was why I’d originally come here.
And spent so much time in that fucking ring.
Graverun.
Where I’d established my rep not only as the king of the brutal underground fight venue here at Wraeven Academy, but as the king of the entire place itself.
Being revered for what I could do in the ring was the first time I’d experienced anything other than rejection from non-hybrid beings.
I’d gotten a little carried away chasing that high, needing to feed that addiction for three and a half fucking years spent here.
Until they’d come into my life and shifted things in so many ways.
After that, the thrill hadn’t been the same.
The damage, the scars, feeling like a caged beast in my own body… all that had been redirected into something else, reframed entirely.
I hadn’tneededthis place anymore.
I’d realized it properly the first night I’d come back here after Velra and I had been away for a while—and while Sylas had been underground. I’d taken on a fight with a Light Fae and it had done very little for me.
Until I’d used it for another purpose.
It had become about training, putting my wolf and vampire into practice in equal measure—often both at once because I’d become so adept at it—under high pressure combat situations. Taking my dad’s advice and basically running with it.
Those original demons I’d been fighting for so long had faded.
Thanks to our foursome and what we did for each other—and to each other.
Settling into that special bond… it had meant everything to me and soothed me. In a way I’d never actually imagined being possible.
And there’d also been my dad, finally being able to build a relationship with him, the things he’d shown me and taught me.
But then after the… the captivity… it had destabilized that for me.
Or at least threatened to.
I’d been trying to focus on my classes, taking comfort in the break from all the insanity. And mostly, in the incredible, unbelievable news that Velra was pregnant with our baby.
That was what had kept me centered and kind of grounded, preventing a whole lot of painful fallout from that nightmare Victor had subjected me to from slamming into me.
Our little baby.
Our growing family.
But I hadn’t seen Velra much today. She’d been in classes for hours and then studying to catch up on what she’d missed as well.
And I was supposed to be doing the same.
I was actually late for one of my classes right now.
