Veiled Spirits - Page 68

“Is making beds massive a perk of being older than time itself?”

After snorting, Levi shakes his head at me. “I’m not that old, little raven. And it’s a perk of my magic. It has nothing to do with age.”

I guess that means I’ll never get cool powers like him. Lame. I want a refund on my super uncool powers. Maybe there’s a magic manager I can speak with to fix it.

While I’m lost in my tired thoughts, Luca lets go of me. He walks into his closet and comes out a moment later holding a deep blue T-shirt. It’s slightly faded and looks super soft. Luca hands it to me. “You can sleep in this tonight. Go change in my bathroom, then we’ll get you to bed.”

Too tired to argue with him, I do as he says, much to his surprise. When I walk back into the room, I see all of them already in the bed. There’s a space in the middle between Luca and Cain that I’m guessing is for me.

Padding over to it, I knee walk toward the head of the bed. Luca holds the covers open for me. Once I’m under them, Luca turns me to face Cain and starts spooning me. Cain snags one of my hands, and someone else turns out the light.

“’Night, boys,” I mumble, my eyes already feeling heavy.

I get a chorus of good nights from all my mates. My eyes then slip shut, and I fall into a deep, dreamless sleep, safe in between all of them.

CHAPTER 34

IZZY

“Ihate this place,” I grumble as I gaze up at asshole central. Oh, I’m sorry, I mean council HQ. Same thing, really.

For the past week, I’ve been oscillating between being completely and utterly terrified that all of my mates know what I am and being hopeful.

I know it’s naïve to hope that there’s some way we all make it out of this, so I try to crush the tiny flame of hope in my chest. Yet it’s still there, taunting me with everything I want that’s just out of reach.

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I gaze up at the ostentatious council compound.

While the sandstone walls and slate roof are fairly tame, the fountains that bubble out front are made of pure gold. Inside, the floors are gold marble, encrusted with diamonds in some places. The gold theme continues with gold-leaf-accented ceilings, crystal and gold chandeliers that light every room, and gilt frame portraits of all the current and former council dudes that line almost every wall.

Along with all the gold, the council headquarters is also massive. It’s about a ten-minute walk to go from one end to the other of a single wing. The council compound has three separate wings. One wing is where they conduct council business, like the monthly council meeting, and councilor offices. Another wing is the mage prison, and the last is for experimental magic. I’m betting we’ll find what we’re looking for in the experimental magic wing.

Dad turns around and gives me a look to shut it while looking pointedly at the few stragglers rushing inside. I mime zipping my lips, and he just shakes his head at me. We’re showing up late, so fewer people see us here. My dad is going to have to book it to get to the council chamber on time.

We walk up the stairs to the wrought-iron front door. The intricate scrollwork is dusted with gold leaf. Just in case you forgot that the council is rich for a moment. Dad pulls open the door and ushers us through.

Just inside the door are two mage security guards. They nod politely to Dad, Bishop, and Levi and sneer at me. I sneer right back because fuck them. The amount of power a person has shouldn’t determine how they’re treated.

Bishop subtly nudges me forward, probably worried I’ll get in a confrontation with the guards. I may make bad decisions on the regular, but I’m not that stupid. The council headquarters is the absolute last place I’d choose to show magic. While I’m powerful, I don’t think I’d win against the hundreds of mages crawling all over the place.

Rolling my eyes at Bishop, I glance down at my black Converse to avoid meeting anyone else’s gaze. None of the mages will be happy that I’m here, so it’s best if I just try to be invisible. There’s only so much of their shit I can take quietly. But I can totally go an entire day without getting into a fight. Hopefully.

My dad insisted I dress up so I don’t stand out. While I’m wearing a black skater dress, I refused to wear heels. We compromised with my black Chucks instead of my white ones. See? I can be reasonable.

Bishop and Levi are both in black suits. While Bishop wears a white dress shirt with a black tie, Levi is wearing a blood-red button-up and black tie. Levi looks kind of like what I think Hades would if he were hot. Or real, I guess. I dig it, though.

We pause when we come to a crossroads. My dad wraps me up in a quick hug, his dark blue velvet robes swirling around him as he moves. “Be safe, Izzy. Don’t take risks. Get out of here the second you sense any danger, okay?” he whispers into my hair.

Luca had me make similar promises before he let me head out today. The big wolf is not happy about me being in danger without him. He didn’t try to stop me, though, which is a pretty big win in my book.

While I have no intention of bailing at the first sign of danger, I nod at my dad to ease his mind. Dad then takes off down the hallway directly in front of us.

The three of us turn right. That’s where they house the magic labs. While the council says it’s for developing new ways to keep mages safe, I highly doubt that’s the only type of magic they’re experimenting with. Most of the crotchety old men on the council would happily sacrifice the entire mage race for a drop more of power. These labs are probably more for power enhancement than safety advances.

None of us put up shields or cloaks because we don’t know what magic detection measures they might have. The council is super paranoid, so we’re operating on the assumption there will be lots of booby traps. There’s also no way to portal in or out of the council headquarters to protect against a magical invasion. So, we have to enter and exit through the front entrance.

It’s only a few minutes of walking before we see an industrial door that’s out of place in the nineteenth-century extravagance of the rest of the council estate.

“You seeing this, Aiden?” I whisper, knowing the tiny earpiece I’m wearing will pick up my quiet words. A small camera on Bishop’s dress shirt gives our support team a visual.