Grave Secrets: A Dementon Academy of Magic Novel (The Everlasting Chronicles Book 3)

by K. G. Reuss

  “Me too.” He chucked my chin and smiled before pulling away.

  Eric’s house was empty when we arrived. His place wasn’t what I’d expected. I figured he lived in a dorm like the rest of us, and Conexus all lived on the same floor of the building. No, not the case at all. They had an actual house—dark bricks with twisting towers and even an observation turret. The place was massive with manicured flower beds sitting along the edge of campus on a rolling, green lawn. When we entered, I expected to see other members hanging about. Instead, we came into an empty, spacious open plan living room with a kitchen. The floors were a dark mahogany, the walls a deep shade of red. A large fireplace lined a wall, and a sweeping staircase swept up near the back of the living room. I noted the few doors off to the side of the living room, wondering what they were.

  “Come on,” he encouraged, taking my hand and leading me upstairs. I followed him down a long hallway and around a corner before he stopped at a door. It opened without him touching it, and he pulled me inside.

  “Wow,” I breathed out. I hadn’t expected a clean bedroom, considering he was a teenaged guy. Not that I had a lot of experience being in guys’ bedrooms or anything. Dylan’s was always messy.

  Eric’s bed was made. Laundry wasn’t strewn about the floor. He had a few odds and ends on the back of his chair, but that was it.

  “You like?” He chuckled at my expression, releasing my hand and taking his cloak off. I followed suit and handed him my own.

  “It’s nice.” I nodded.

  And it was. It was a comfortable space. There was a TV, chair, bed, a dresser, and a desk. It looked like a normal bedroom. Not at all what I’d expect from a member of Conexus.

  “What would you like to eat?” he asked, turning back to me. “Aside from popcorn. That can come later.”

  “Um, I don’t really care. Whatever you’d like.”

  “Come on, Ever.” Eric chuckled. “Work with me here. I don’t want to get something you’ll hate.”

  “Pizza?” I questioned. It seemed like a safe food.

  “Pizza it is.” He grinned at me. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Make yourself at home. There are a bunch of movie channels. Pick something out.”

  “Uh, Eric?” I asked, biting my bottom lip.

  “Yeah?”

  “What if someone comes in here? What do I do?” I fidgeted nervously.

  “You tell them to get the hell out,” he laughed. I blanched at his words. “Seriously, no one will come in here. We have rules, Ever. We knock before we go into a room. If no one answers, we don’t go in.”

  “Oh.”

  He snickered again before stepping out the door. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes tops. I have an adjoining bathroom if you want to use it. If anyone knocks, don’t answer. OK?”

  “Got it.” A tight smile graced my lips.

  He disappeared through the open door, leaving me alone in his room.

  My eyes flitted around as I took in his space. Eric didn’t have much on display. Photos on his dresser caught my attention though, so I got to my feet to examine them. There was a photo of him and all the Conexus members standing in front of the house. No one was smiling. Figured.

  Another image showed Eric with what I assumed were his parents. Both had blond hair and blue eyes. It was clear he was definitely their kid. A photo of Raiden, Damien, Eric, and Amara, the werewolf Harper warned me about sat in a small, dark frame. Amara’s arms were wrapped around Raiden’s midsection, and his hand was on her waist. Damien and Eric stood on either side.

  I recalled talk of Raiden and Amara being together or breaking up. I hadn’t committed the information to memory though. Either way, it looked like they were together in that photo.

  “She must have the patience of a saint,” I muttered as I eyed the couple. She looked happy in the photo. He didn’t. His lips were set in a straight line, and there was no sparkle to his aquamarine eyes. He looked like he wanted to run in the other direction. A pang of sympathy shot through my heart for him. I wanted to run away too.

  I shook off my morose thoughts. Raiden Hawthorne was a jerk. He didn’t deserve my sympathies. I waited, sitting back on Eric’s bed, not sure what I should be doing. We’d been training hard despite my lack of sleep. Eric had me learning new kicks and moves. He’d taught me how to land and launch into my next attack. We’d even been dabbling in some psychic stuff, like having me guess cards.

  I flopped back on Eric’s bed and stared up at his ceiling, my eyes heavy. The struggle became too much, and I drifted off.

  I raced through the fog, my feet skimming the rough ground. The dead shrieked behind me, their cries making goosebumps prickle my skin.

  And the monsters made my heart stutter.

  My heart jackknifed in my chest as I gulped in mouthfuls of air. My black hair whipped around me in wild strands. My legs ached from moving so fast.

  “Embrace it, Whisperer!” a voice cackled through the fog.

  “We’re coominnng,” a sing-song voice exclaimed. “We’ll get you!”

  I skidded to a stop on the edge of a massive cliff. The rocks and pebbles from my sudden halt tumbled down, pinging off the edge as they fell. I looked around wildly, knowing I’d reached the end. There was nowhere to go but down.

  “Wake up, Ever,” a familiar voice called out. I’d heard it before. The memory was fuzzy in my mind. “You’re not ready.”

  “Who’s there?” I shivered, my body trembling as adrenaline coursed through my veins.

  "It's me. Marek. We've spoken before. Try to remember."

  Now was not the time to try to jog my memory.

  “The only way out is through,” he continued, his voice tinged with sadness. “This is more than a dream. It’s your worst nightmare if you don’t leave.”

  “W-who are you?” I called out, my voice trembling.

  “Leave here. Show us you’re fearless, Ever. It’s the only way to truly escape. It’s the only way to conquer and be the person you’re meant to be. The end has begun.”

  “No,” I replied, trying to peer through the fog. The sound of the creatures skittering closer made me whimper. “Tell me who you are!”

  “Meet me at the house at the bottom of the hill through the woods when he comes calling for you.”

  “Who? I-I can’t leave Dementon,” I returned, whimpering.

  “They need you. He’ll take you.”

  “Who’ll take me?” I demanded again as the rushing footsteps of the dead and creatures got closer.

  “You need to go! Wake up, Ever! WAKE UP!”

  I slammed back to an awake state, my heart pumping, my skin wet with sweat.

  “Are you OK?” Eric asked, wide-eyed, sitting down beside me. “You were crying in your sleep.”

  I said nothing. Instead, I sat up and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him.

  “No. I don’t think I’m OK anymore.”

  Twenty

  Raiden

  “Where’s Eric?” I asked, looking at the clock. It was almost midnight, and my patrol started soon.

  “Doesn’t he train Ever until midnight?” Chloe glanced up at me from her perch on the sofa.

  “Right,” I muttered. And Damien was out on patrols. I’d be leaving on mine as soon as he, Amanda, Jared and Brandon returned.

  “Hey, Gen?” Chloe ventured.

  “Yeah?”

  “Aren’t you worried about Ever and Eric?”

  I grew quiet as I stared down at my hands. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have. “I don’t know. I guess.”

  Sloane walked into the room just then and raised a dark brow at me. “Did I hear correctly? You’re having more Ever worries?”

  “When isn’t he?” Chloe winked at me. I forced a tight smile onto my face.

  “What we need is to get our hands on that prophecy and see what it says. Then we can figure a way out of your Amara mess so you can be with Ever. She needs you.” Sloane sighed and flopped onto the couch dramatically with Chloe.
“And you need her.”

  “I do need her,” I admitted, running my fingers through my hair. “And you’re right. Seeing the prophecy would be great. It’s just not likely to happen until I can come up with a better plan to get it.”

  “How about we break in and rob the place?” Chloe shot me a grin. The vivacious werewolf was always up for something that caused trouble.

  “I’m game.” Sloane didn’t even hesitate which made me chuckle.

  “While I appreciate the team spirit, ladies, I fear it would lead to more problems than solutions. For now, let’s try to come up with a plan that doesn’t get us thrown into the dungeons or beheaded, eh?” My brow quirked up, teasing.

  “Party pooper,” Chloe grumbled.

  “For real, Raiden, what’s the deal? What are you going to do about Ever? And what if she and Eric get together?” Sloane leaned forward in her seat and stared me down.

  “Nothing. I’m doing nothing about her. As long as she’s happy, then I need to not interfere. If something happens with her and Eric. . .” my voice trailed off. The idea was painful. Would they fall in love? It was clear he cared for her. She didn’t shy away from him. She’d even asked me if I was him when I’d visited her as Shadow.

  Somehow the story of how I went to her room to say goodbye bubbled out of me.

  “It’s not goodbye, Gen.” Chloe rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around me at the end of my tale, giving me a tight hug. “It’s just a pause for now. We’ll get this figured out.”

  “Yeah.” Sloane joined in.

  Sighing, I hugged them back, the three of us locked in a tight embrace.

  “Whoa, what you guys doing there?” Damien asked, barging into the living room with Amanda, Jared, and Brandon. We pulled away from one another, and I rose to my feet.

  “Just giving the ladies some love,” I joked.

  Jared and Brandon snickered.

  “Not all the ladies,” Amara’s voice rang out as she entered the room, a sour look on her face.

  Sloane gave me a look that said she was glad she wasn’t me.

  “Anyone seen Eric?” Damien asked, ignoring Amara. I looked from her to him, frowning.

  “No, he should be at the gym training Ever.”

  “Not there.” Amanda tossed her cloak onto the couch. “We figured we’d swing in and check on how she was doing with him. Place was empty.”

  “What?” I bristled at the information. Where the hell were they? Many ugly scenarios flooded my mind. I stalked forward and grabbed my cloak.

  “Oh, relax,” Amara said with a snort, glaring at me. “You knew this would happen.”

  I closed my eyes, rubbing them. I couldn’t handle it. The jealousy ate at me. This wasn’t the man I was before all this shit went down.

  “Maybe he took her out on the grounds to work on some stuff,” Jared offered.

  “Doubt it,” Brandon said, dropping onto one of the chairs. “We patrolled the entire grounds. They weren’t there.”

  I couldn’t deal with it. I stormed out the front door, headed toward Ever’s dorm.

  “What do you plan on doing if you find them together?” Amara huffed, rushing to keep up with me as I stalked across the grounds.

  “They aren’t together. There’s a logical explanation for this.”

  “Yeah, they’re making out somewhere.”

  I stopped, my heart pounding painfully.

  “Do you think that?” I asked, looking at her.

  She let out a sigh, gesturing around. “Yeah, I mean, why wouldn’t they be? I’m not trying to hurt you either. I-I know that you care about her. Like… I don’t see why but whatever. You assigned Eric to train her. To befriend her. To keep her focused on him. If it’s not him, it will be someone. You need to accept that and let it go. We’re getting married, anyway. It’s not like that can be changed.”

  “Yeah,” I murmured, the thought of the prophecy on my mind. Maybe we won’t marry, Mara. That’s why I cared. Maybe I thought I could fix everything with Ever. Be with her. Keep her safe. Make her mine if she’d have me. Forever.

  I started toward her dorm again.

  “Raiden, think about it before you go.” Amara tugged on my arm, too keen on the man I was. I kept walking. “Do you want to know that badly?”

  “I have to know.”

  Sighing, she fell in step beside me. Once we reached Ever’s building, she moved to the shadows.

  “Don’t do anything dumb,” she hissed at me as I melded so I was invisible and slipped into Ever’s dorm.

  It was empty. I checked everywhere, even her closet. I sank down on her perfectly made bed, frowning. This made little sense.

  Where were they?

  “Eric,” I called out in my mind. He stirred without hesitation. That was a good sign. That meant he wasn’t doing anything he shouldn’t be doing.

  “Hey,” his voice sounded off. It was just in our heads, but it was different. Tentative. He was more soft-spoken than usual. “What’s up?”

  I paused for a moment. Letting out a sigh, I replied, “Everything OK?”

  The breath I was holding burned my lungs as I waited for him to answer.

  “Uh, yeah, man. Everything’s fine. Is something going on?” his voice changed, becoming the Eric I knew. He wasn’t doing anything he couldn’t drop to come to my aid if I needed him.

  “No, Amanda said you weren’t in the gym with Ever. And she’s not in her dorm—”

  “How do you know she’s not in her dorm? Are you in her room?” The disapproving tone made me bristle.

  “I was just worried.”

  He sighed. “Listen, we need to talk. In the morning.”

  “OK.”

  “I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow.”

  He didn’t wait for me to answer. He broke off the connection and all was silent in my head. And he hadn’t told me where she was. Wherever she was, she had to be safe because the pull for her wasn’t there. At least not the one that screamed at me to save her. The only one that remained was that dull ache at not having her.

  Twenty-One

  Everly

  We fell asleep beside one another after uselessly trying to watch a movie with my head on Eric’s chest and his arms wrapped firmly around me. I’d told him things. The dreams. Shadow saying goodbye. My fears. What Marcus had shown me at the dance, minus all the major details I was still trying to work out, like my grandma still being alive. But I did tell him she went to Dementon.

  Eric swore he’d protect me and try to find answers. And even when I woke up drenched in sweat, whimpering from being chased again, he was there to tug me closer and whisper I was safe.

  When I woke up more rested than I had in weeks, he was already awake, lying in bed on his back, my head still on his chest.

  I was grateful for how he took care of me. And I needed sleep so bad. At least I’d finally gotten some.

  “Morning,” he murmured the moment my eyelids fluttered open. I glanced out his window. Sure enough, sunlight was streaming in.

  “Morning.” I cleared my throat, awkwardness washing over me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-I mean, I shouldn’t have—”

  “It’s OK,” Eric soothed, cutting me off. “It’s not a big deal, Ever. I wanted you to stay with me.”

  Something in his voice told me it might be an enormous deal even if he wanted me to stay. I needed to walk down those stairs and hope no one was down there to see me leave. I didn’t want anyone to think other than he and I watched a movie last night.

  “It kinda is.” I sat up and pushed my hair out of my face and rubbed my eyes. When I pulled my hands away, Eric was sitting up beside me, staring at me. “What?”

  “You’re just beautiful.” He smiled at me. “I shouldn’t say things like that to you, but I thought you should know.”

  “Thanks.” I returned his smile, heat rising in my cheeks.

  “Well.” He took my hand in his, giving it a slight squeeze. “We should go downstairs and face the music.”
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  “Will there be people downstairs?”

  “Yeah, unfortunately.” He gave me a tight smile. “I’ll take care of it, though. Don’t worry.”

  “Should I? Worry?” I asked as he pulled me to my feet.

  “Maybe a little.” He threw me a lopsided grin over his shoulder as we approached his door. I didn’t get to say anything else because he pulled me from the room and down the stairs.

  “Oh my God, Damien! You’re such a pig! You eat everything! I told you I wanted a damn muffin!” Sloane shouted at the large shifter as he held a muffin—apparently the last one—in his hands.

  “Babe, if you want it, come get it,” he teased her, his eyes bright with amusement, his dark hair a tousled mess.

  “I swear I will turn you into a punching bag and beat the living crap out of you,” Sloane seethed, her hands lighting up with a golden color. Damien didn’t look the least bit afraid.

  “Sloane, sweetheart… I’ll give you the muffin on one condition.” Damien grinned at her.

  “What’s that?” she snapped, her dark eyes flashing with anger.

  “Kiss me.”

  “How about you kiss my as—” her words faltered as Raiden walked into the room from a door situated off the side of the living room. A girl was with him. A beautiful, red-haired girl. Amara.

  “Adam, did you ever get the information on that haunt I asked for?” Raiden asked as he walked into the kitchen and pulled a jug of orange juice out and poured himself a glass. “The Order extended that region’s time on it, but we all know it needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later. I’m expecting deployment any day now. And has anyone seen Eric this morning?”

  “Yeah, I got the information,” Adam answered. “I gave it to Brandon to give to you. And I haven’t seen Eric since last night before he left to train.”

  “Gave me what?” Brandon asked, coming in through the front door.

  “The haunt papers,” Adam answered.

  “Oh, yeah. I put those on my dresser. I can grab them,” Brandon answered. He came in our direction and stopped dead in his tracks as Eric and I stepped off the last step, Eric’s hand wrapped around mine.