by Lynette Noni
Declan grinned. “Nah. Sharing’s good for you.”
Bear rolled his eyes but moved the plate so it was on the table in easy reach of them both.
“I hear you headed out to Graevale today,” Declan said between swallows. “I take it things didn’t go so well with the Shadow Walkers?”
Bear looked at him in surprise. “How do you know about that?”
Declan released a huff of laughter. “You forget—Kaiden’s my best friend. And Alex is terrible at keeping secrets from him. She gives things away without even realising it.”
“And he told you?” Bear asked, feeling indignant on Alex’s behalf—and surprised, since that didn’t sound like something Kaiden would do.
“Well, no,” Declan admitted, scratching his jaw and looking uncomfortable. “He would never betray her trust, even if she doesn’t know how much he knows. I sort of… figured things out on my own.”
Bear just waited, his expression saying Declan had better explain.
Exhaling loudly, Declan said, “You know what my gift is, right?”
“No,” Bear answered, having never thought about it.
“I can tell when someone’s lying,” Declan said. “Or when they’re not telling the whole truth.”
Bear stilled, trying to recall if he’d ever lied to Declan. Nothing came to mind, thankfully, but he still felt somewhat uneasy.
“Despite the mental defences Kaiden has picked up over the years, he can’t block against me,” Declan shared. “Nor can anyone else—other than Alex, of course, but she’s so bad at lying that you’d have to be a corpse not to notice.”
That, Bear knew—with no small amount of humour—was the absolute truth.
Declan popped some cheese into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before continuing. “Anyway, between Kaiden, Jordan, Dix and some of the teachers—Caspar Lennox, mostly—I was able to ask some pointed questions and make educated guesses that led me to filling in the gaps on my own.”
Bear processed that as he took a handful of crackers before Declan could finish the plate off. “I guess it’s not really a secret.”
Strangely, Declan laughed. “Secret or not, I’d be careful not to make it public knowledge, given that it’s technically treason.”
Bear stilled, having forgotten that Alex had been ordered by King Aurileous not to approach the other races. With a wry smile, he said, “I don’t suppose you’d mind keeping this from your grandfather?”
“I might be able to do that,” Declan said, before adding, “but only if you tell me what happened.”
Seeing little point in lying—especially since Declan would know—Bear offered him an overview of what had happened earlier that day and the events leading up to it. He kept the details brief, leaving out some of the more sensitive secrets, like the prophecy and the interference of Marcus Sparker, simply saying that the elders were led to believe they would be safe from Aven’s plans.
“And so now they’re not going to join with us,” Bear finished, dusting crumbs from his jeans. “That’s that. We’re screwed.”
Declan held Bear’s eyes, his gaze steady. “I didn’t think you’d be one to give up so easily.”
Bear blinked. “You call this easy? Did you not hear the part about what Alex went through just to get an audience with them?”
Shrugging, Declan said, “It sounds like she’s done everything she can.”
Bear blinked again at hearing the emphasis Declan offered—emphasis on the ‘she’.
“You think…” Bear considered his words carefully. “You think more can be done? Just… not by Alex?”
“I think more can always be done, B,” Declan said quietly, standing to his feet. The flames flickered shadows over his dark skin as he continued, “The things we want most in life are always worth fighting for. Whatever it takes, however long it takes. We just have to be willing to persevere even when it seems like there’s no point in trying anymore.”
With that, he clapped a hand on Bear’s shoulder, before turning and leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Bear sat there staring at the fire, replaying everything Declan had said and everything that had occurred that day. Anxious and uncertain, he longed for the comfort of a familiar face, so he pulled out his ComTCD and made a call.
“Bear?” came William’s sleepy voice when he accepted the connection, his tired-looking form rising up from the Device. “It’s late. Is everything okay?”
“Sorry, Dad,” Bear said, wincing as he calculated the time difference between Akarnae and Woodhaven. “I forgot how late it is there. I can call back in the morning if you want?”
William covered a yawn with his hand before rubbing his eyes and focusing on Bear, more alert now. “No need. What’s going on, son?”
Carefully, Bear said, “If something bad happened and you didn’t know how to fix it, but it needed to be fixed, what would you do?”
William blinked owlishly at Bear. “Am I going to need coffee for this conversation?”
Bear laughed quietly. “You know you can’t have caffeine after dinner or you won’t sleep.”
William grumbled a response too low for Bear to hear, but then his image was on the move. He headed down the staircase of their house and along the hallway, finally reaching his private den. Only after stoking the dying fire and taking a seat in his favourite armchair did his attention return fully to Bear.
“This bad thing that needs fixing,” William said, “is it something you have the power or ability to fix?”
Bear chewed his cheek, thinking. “I think that’s beside the point since someone needs to fix it. And if no one tries, then nothing will change.”
“Can it be fixed?” William asked. “Because sometimes, son, things happen in life, and we just have to deal with them. Tragedy strikes every day. That’s just a part of living—having to make the best of bad situations.”
“But this is a really bad situation, Dad,” Bear said. “As in, the worst.”
William considered that and said, “Then you know what you need to do. And I don’t think you need me to tell you.”
Bear released a deep breath. “It could get me in trouble.”
It was William’s turn to laugh. “Like that’s ever stopped you before.”
Grinning sheepishly, Bear said, “True.”
Sobering, William said, “You know I wouldn’t have you any other way, son. You—and, admittedly, Jordan—may be turning your mother and me prematurely grey, but troublesome or not, I’m so proud of you, Bear. Everything you are, and the man you’re becoming—I’m just so proud.”
Tears pricked the back of Bear’s eyes, especially when he saw them glistening in William’s, too.
In a choked voice, Bear said, “Thanks, Dad. That means—” He had to clear his throat when he couldn’t get the words out. “That means a lot.”
A tender moment passed between them, one that settled the unease that had been swirling within Bear.
“It’s late,” William said gruffly, blinking quickly and giving a quiet sniff. “We both need to go to bed.”
Bear nodded and was reaching forward to end their call when William whispered, “I love you, son. More than you’ll ever know.”
And before Bear could return the words—not that he had to, since William already knew—their call disconnected.
Filled with warmth and a renewed sense of determination, Bear rose and headed up to his room. Jordan was already in bed so Bear tried to be as quiet as possible while he showered and changed into his sleep shorts before crawling under his blankets.
Once there, he tossed and turned. Hours passed before he realised he wasn’t the only one who was restless.
“Can’t sleep?” Jordan asked in the darkness.
“You too?” Bear returned, lying on his back and looking up at nothing.
“I keep thinking about my dad being there today. How he was so close. I don’t—” Jordan audibly swallowed. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d seen him.”
Bear rolled onto his side. Even with the moonlight streaming in from the windows, it was too dark to see anything but Jordan’s outline.
“I hate him after everything he did, after everything he let happen to me,” Jordan whispered. “But… he’s still my dad.”
Bear hurt for his friend. Having only hours ago spoken with his own father and experiencing the love and pride that came from such a pure, uncomplicated relationship, he couldn’t imagine what Jordan was feeling.
“I’m sorry, mate,” Bear said. “I wish there was something I could say that would help.”
“And I wish there was something I could do to make all this better,” Jordan replied. “I feel like… like it’s my fault, you know? Like he was only there because somehow he knew I’d be there. And he wanted to make me pay.”
“Get that out of your head,” Bear said firmly. “You’re not responsible for the actions of your father any more than I’m responsible for whatever Aven does next.”
There was silence from Jordan, enough that Bear wasn’t sure whether he was listening or too lost in his own misery to hear what Bear was saying.
When it dragged on longer, Bear eventually said, “You really want to do something that might make things better?”
Jordan offered an affirmative sound.
“Then I have a plan,” Bear said. “But we both need to get some sleep if we want it to work, since come morning, we need to be ready.”
“Ready for what?” Jordan asked, his blankets shuffling as he rolled over to face Bear.
“We’re going back to Graevale tomorrow,” Bear said. “And we’re going to do whatever it takes to convince the elders to listen to us.”
A beat of silence from Jordan, and then, “I always knew there was a reason you were my best friend, you crazy, desperate fool.”
“Ditto, mate.” Bear grinned into the dark. “Ditto.”
Eight
Despite claiming that they needed to get some sleep, Bear remained restless for the rest of the night, unable to manage more than a light doze. It wasn’t even dawn when he finally gave up and pushed back his blankets, with Jordan already awake and on the move, too.
Once dressed and ready, the two of them were debating whether or not to wake Alex and D.C. to take them along when there was a knock at their door. Given the early hour, they looked at each other in question before opening it to discover D.C. on the other side.
“Alex didn’t return to our dorm last night,” she said without preamble. “Soraya didn’t, either.”
Bear felt a stab of worry, but he tampered down his fear and offered the most logical conclusion. “She probably stayed with Kyia and Zain up in Draekora. They would have noticed she was miserable—they must have wanted to keep an eye on her. And Soraya will be close to wherever Alex is, keeping her safe.”
D.C. was nodding her agreement, likely having presumed the same, but Jordan still looked concerned. After everything he’d been through with Aven, he was now more protective—of them all. Alex, especially, since her life seemed to be under constant threat of danger. But Bear knew there was no point worrying until they had a reason to worry, and he held Jordan’s eyes, silently communicating as much. Jordan released a breath and nodded, his tension easing somewhat.
D.C. watched them both and then arched an eyebrow as she gestured to their fully dressed selves. “Let me guess—we’re heading back to Graevale?”
Bear wasn’t able to hide his surprise. Nor was Jordan.
D.C. snorted, noting their reactions. “Please. As if I don’t know how you both think by now.”
“That’s scary,” Jordan murmured, but even so, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her temple.
“You were planning on inviting me along, right?” D.C. asked, her inflection pointed enough that there was only one answer they could give.
“We were just on our way to get you,” Jordan told her quickly—almost too quickly.
If Declan had been with them, he would have sensed the deceit, but thankfully D.C. didn’t have her own inner lie detector.
However… somehow she still seemed to know it wasn’t the entire truth, because all she said was, “Hmm.”
“Let’s, uh, get going,” Jordan said, clearly anxious to stay in D.C.’s good graces.
“How exactly do you plan on getting us all to Graevale?” she asked. “Especially without Alex here to open a Library door?”
Bear already had an answer for that—mostly because he’d been brainstorming options during the hours when he should have been sleeping.
“Caspar Lennox,” he said. “We go straight to him and convince him to take us all there.”
“He’s going to love that,” D.C. said, her tone dry.
“Maybe he’s a morning person,” Jordan said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Bear said. “Because we won’t accept no for an answer.”
Caspar Lennox, it turned out, was not a morning person. He wasn’t an any-time-of-day person, really, but he especially wasn’t a before-dawn person.
Normally Bear wasn’t a before-dawn person himself—and Jordan definitely wasn’t—but the two of them and D.C. had still hurried across the dark grounds, the sky only just beginning to lighten on the horizon. Sunrise was a while off yet, but Bear wasn’t willing to wait any longer for what they needed to do.
And that’s exactly what he told the Shadow Walker teacher when they pounded on his door inside the Tower building loud enough to wake the dead.
Caspar Lennox either slept in his Shadow Cloak or he’d already been awake, because despite the early hour, he’d answered the door fully dressed and alert—if moody. That moodiness only increased when Bear, D.C. and Jordan shoved their way into his quarters, begging him to take them back to Graevale.
They’d been arguing for ten straight minutes when finally Bear said, “Sir, you don’t understand. We have to do something.”
“There is nothing you can do, Barnold Ronnigan,” Caspar Lennox replied curtly. “The elders’ decision is final.”
“I can’t accept that,” Bear said. “I won’t accept that. Not without trying one more time.”
“If Alexandra couldn’t convince them after triumphing over their greatest warrior, what chance do you believe you have?”
Bear could almost hear the unspoken ‘foolish human’ tacked on the end. Teacher or not, Caspar Lennox was still a Shadow Walker with all the ingrained prejudice held by the rest of his race. He might not have been as bad as some of the others at Graevale, but he certainly wouldn’t be offering ‘free hugs for humans’ anytime soon.
“Like Bear said, we have to try,” Jordan jumped in. “And maybe because we’re not Alex, they’ll be willing to listen to us. To our stories.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Or to mine, at least. I know firsthand some of the horrors that Aven is capable of; what it’s like to be Claimed by him and have no choice over what you say and do. Maybe they need to hear what I went through to finally understand that the danger is real.”
Caspar Lennox didn’t say anything, but he did watch Jordan carefully, his features pensive now rather than showing flat-out refusal.
“Don’t make me pull the ‘Princess Card’,” D.C. threatened, arms crossed.
The Shadow Walker’s eyes swung to her. “You are not my princess, Delucia Cavelle.”
“But I am a princess of Medora,” she returned, “and you might not be human, but you live in this world, don’t you?”
Bear wasn’t sure where D.C. was going with her argument, since it wasn’t like she was planning to—or even able to—kick Caspar Lennox out of Medora. The Shadow Walker seemed to be thinking similarly, since his dark brows were arched. Amazingly, however, there was a hint of a smile touching his lips before he quashed his humour.
“I do not believe this is wise,” he said, his expression grave once more. “The elders made their decision and they will be insulted by your arrogance in questioning them.”
“Our arrogance?” Jordan scoffed. “You’re kidding, ri
ght?”
“Nevertheless,” Caspar Lennox said, a warning in his tone, “I will take you. But on your own heads be it.”
Bear tensed at the Shadow Walker’s last words, but then he shook off his trepidation. This was what they needed to do. Whatever it took—Bear wasn’t willing to give up.
“Thank you, sir,” he said, with feeling.
“Do not thank me, Barnold Ronnigan,” Caspar Lennox said, holding his gaze. “You will soon see this as the folly it is.”
“Folly, shmolly,” Jordan said. “How long until they’re awake?”
Caspar Lennox looked at him as if he didn’t understand the question.
“You know,” Jordan explained, “so we don’t make them any grumpier than they already are by waking them up.”
“I would suggest you refrain from calling the elders ‘grumpy’ while in their presence, Jordan Sparker,” Caspar Lennox said. “And to answer, my race does not need to sleep as yours does. The shadows provide our energy—and the night is full of shadows. The elders will be in the Obscuria. They will not, however, be pleased to see you.”
“We’ve already covered this,” Bear said, pushing aside his shock of having lived nearly eighteen years without learning that the Shadow Walkers didn’t need to sleep. “Let’s not hash it out again. You said you’d take us—so let us deal with the consequences.”
Caspar Lennox bowed his head. “As you wish.” He glanced between the three of them and shared, “I can only travel with two at once.”
Bear looked to his friends and offered, “You guys go first. I’ll be right behind you.” His eyes moved to Caspar Lennox in warning as he said, “Right, sir?”
With a longsuffering sigh, the Shadow Walker nodded his head. “I shall be back momentarily.”
And with that, he wrapped his hands around Jordan and D.C.’s arms, shadowing them straight from the room.
Bear had never given thought to how much time it took to walk through the shadows, but as the seconds turned to minutes while he waited in the professor’s dark quarters, he began to wonder if Caspar Lennox had lied to him. He calmed himself with the knowledge that Graevale, while not plotted on any human maps, was speculated as being in the southeast mountainous region of Medora—a considerable distance from Akarnae. It made sense that it would take a few minutes to travel there, leave Jordan and D.C. somewhere safe, and then travel back again.
