Chapter 215 — Enough!

Chapter 215: Chapter 215 — Enough!

~ Raven ~

Cassian Blade was going to hear from her.

Raven had decided that much by the time she left the secluded courtyard, although she was still trying to work out exactly what she intended to say when she found him.

The bastard had smiled because he’d known Dante was watching them kiss.

She could understand him being pleased about the kiss itself. Goddess knew she’d enjoyed it too, but finding satisfaction in Dante witnessing it was another matter entirely.

And she’d been too distracted by everything that happened afterward to notice.

Raven tightened her grip on the books beneath her arm as she crossed the academy grounds. She’d spent the better part of the afternoon trying to have an honest conversation with Dante, only to discover that Cassian had made the situation worse with one thoroughly unnecessary smile.

She was still deciding whether to find him immediately or wait until she’d calmed down when her Linkslate chimed.

Raven ignored it at first, but when another notification arrived, followed almost immediately by a third, she sighed and shifted her books into one arm.

"Oh, for Goddess’ sake."

She retrieved the slate from her pocket, expecting another announcement about the approaching Renewal Concord.

Instead, she found several messages accompanied by short recordings.

The first showed a section of the Cardinal training grounds, with students shouting behind whoever was holding the recording slate. Two men were fighting inside one of the reinforced courts, moving quickly enough that Raven had to watch several seconds before recognizing the familiar pale hair of one of them.

Cassian?

She brought the slate closer, just in time to see him avoid a powerful strike and counter with a burst of compressed air.

Then the other man turned, the air around his body wavering from the intense heat radiating off him. Faint flames flickered along his forearms.

Raven stopped walking.

Dante.

Before she could properly process what she was seeing, Dante struck Cassian hard enough to send him sliding across the court.

"What the fuck?"

She opened another recording, this one showing Cassian with blood running from his nose while Dante advanced toward him. His uniform was torn, and the stone beneath his feet had blackened from the heat.

An instructor could be heard ordering both men to stop, but neither seemed interested in listening.

Raven stared at the screen.

Dante had left her only a short while ago, furious with Cassian, and now the two of them were trying to beat each other bloody in the middle of the training grounds.

Those fucking idiots.

She shoved the slate into her pocket and changed direction, walking so quickly that her books nearly slipped from beneath her arm.

She was going to kill them, assuming they didn’t manage to kill each other first.

"Raven!"

She looked up at the sound of her name and spotted Tessa, Thalia and Brielle hurrying toward her from the adjoining path.

Thalia caught up first, looking thoroughly alarmed. "Have you seen what’s happening at the Cardinal courts?"

"Yes," Raven answered without slowing.

Brielle moved alongside her, studying her face. "Do you know why they’re fighting?"

"Unfortunately."

"Raven—"

"Ask those two idiots when we get there."

Brielle exchanged a glance with Tessa, but neither pressed her for an explanation.

By the time they reached the training grounds, Raven could hear the commotion from well beyond the entrance.

Students had gathered along the adjoining courts, some pushing forward for a better view while others stood with their Linkslates raised. A shout rose from somewhere ahead, followed by an impact powerful enough for Raven to feel a faint tremor beneath her feet.

She squeezed past two students blocking the passage and finally reached the front of the crowd.

Goddess.

The reinforced training surface was cracked in several places, with sections of stone darkened by heat. The protective inscriptions surrounding the court glowed brightly whenever another powerful impact struck the ground.

And in the middle of the destruction stood Cassian and Dante.

Both were bleeding.

Cassian’s uniform was torn across one shoulder, with part of his sleeve burned away and blood staining the front of his shirt. Dante wasn’t much better. His jacket hung open where the fabric had ripped, and a dark stain spread across his side.

Neither looked remotely interested in stopping.

Dante charged, his essence gathering around his arms as he drove a reinforced fist toward Cassian.

Cassian slipped aside, using his Air Lattice to carry himself beyond the strike before turning and driving a counterattack into Dante’s shoulder.

The impact sent Dante staggering backward, but he recovered almost immediately and advanced again, forcing Cassian to retreat as the heat around him intensified.

"PRYMONT! BLADE!"

The supervising instructor stood beside the protective boundary, his face reddening as he shouted.

"I ORDERED YOU TO STOP!"

Neither Cardinal acknowledged him.

"Goddess, they’re actually going to kill each other," Thalia whispered behind Raven, her hand rising to cover her mouth.

Rowan stood near the court entrance, arguing with another official while Nikolai approached from the opposite side.

"Open it!" Rowan snapped, gesturing toward the access point. "They’re not listening!"

"The inscriptions are still absorbing the impact," the official protested. "We can’t just—"

"Then shut the whole bloody court down!"

Another crash interrupted them as Cassian drove Dante backward, only for the Fire Cardinal to catch himself before hitting the ground.

Several students near the barrier stumbled away as the defensive inscriptions flashed, and somebody farther back shouted for a healer.

The supervising instructor turned toward the access seal.

"Both of you will answer to the Headmaster for this!"

Raven watched Dante straighten, wiping blood from his mouth as Cassian adjusted his stance opposite him.

Unbelievable.

They weren’t even pretending this was a spar anymore.

"I’m going in," she announced.

Tessa immediately caught her arm. "Raven, wait. It’s dangerous."

"Those two aren’t listening to anyone."

"And you think they’re going to listen to you?" Brielle demanded.

"They’re about to find out."

Thalia reached for her other arm. "Raven, you can’t just walk into a fight between two Dominants!"

Raven pulled free and headed toward the access point.

"Watch me."

The supervising instructor had already pressed his palm against the controlling inscription, opening a narrow section of the protective boundary so he could enter.

Raven reached it just as he stepped forward.

"Excuse me."

She slipped past his arm before he realized what she was doing.

"Hey! You there!" The instructor turned sharply, reaching toward her. "Get back! This court is restricted!"

Raven continued across the damaged stone, ignoring him as Rowan shouted her name from somewhere behind her.

Up close, the heat was considerably worse. She could feel it against her face, and she had to step around a long crack running through the court as she approached the two men.

"CASSIAN!"

He turned at the sound of her voice, and the change in his expression was immediate.

"Raven?"

His gaze dropped to the damaged stone beneath her feet before snapping back to her face.

"What are you doing here?"

Dante turned a moment later.

"Raven?"

She stopped several paces away from them, glaring at the two bloodied men.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?"

Cassian took a step toward her, keeping Dante in his sight.

"You need to leave. It’s not safe here."

Raven stared at him.

"Not safe?" she repeated, gesturing at the damaged court. "Whose fucking fault is that?"

Cassian closed his mouth.

Dante stepped forward, wincing slightly as he moved. "He’s right, Raven. You shouldn’t be in here."

"Oh, don’t you start."

"I’m serious," he insisted. "You could get hurt."

"And just what do you think you’re doing to each other?"

His expression tightened, but he said nothing.

Raven looked between them, taking in their injuries. Cassian had blood running down his mouth, while Dante held one arm slightly away from his side.

She’d known they were hurt from the recordings, but seeing them like this was considerably worse.

"All of this over a fucking smile?" she demanded, shaking her head. "Enough. Both of you, stop fighting."

Cassian glanced toward Dante before returning his attention to her.

"We’ll discuss this outside. Just leave the court first."

"Cassian, I’m talking to you."

"I know, but—"

"Then listen!"

Dante shifted his weight onto his uninjured leg, drawing an irritated breath.

"Raven, please. This isn’t something you need to get involved in."

She rounded on him.

"You made it my problem the moment you decided to fight him!"

Dante’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, she thought he might argue. Instead, his gaze shifted toward Cassian.

Cassian noticed too.

He adjusted his footing, turning his attention back to Dante, and Raven felt a fresh wave of disbelief.

Shit!

"Don’t," she warned, looking between them.

Dante’s Fire Lattice intensified, the temperature around his body rising as a faint golden distortion spread through the air around him.

Cassian drew his own Lattice closer, lowering his stance as the air around his body shifted.

Raven stared at them.

She was standing right there, and they’d heard every word she’d said, yet they were still preparing to fight.

Something stirred beneath her ribs.

Raven barely noticed it at first, but the sensation grew stronger as her wolf pushed toward the surface with an intensity she hadn’t felt since the Founders’ Hunt.

A low growl escaped her throat.

She clenched her hands at her sides, feeling an unfamiliar pressure gathering inside her as her anger rose.

Cassian glanced toward her again.

"Raven, move back."

Dante’s eyes remained fixed on him.

Neither man lowered his guard.

The pressure beneath Raven’s ribs surged, and a sudden burning sensation spread through her eyes, making her blink sharply.

She could feel her wolf pressing closer, its presence so strong that Raven struggled to distinguish her own anger from the fierce instinct rising with it.

Cassian’s gaze snapped toward her, and his expression changed.

For a moment, he simply stared.

Dante shifted his weight forward, preparing to attack.

Raven’s patience finally broke.

"STOP!"

The command tore out of her throat, accompanied by a pressure so sudden that it startled even her.

Cassian froze halfway through his movement, his foot planted forward and his shoulders locked as though something had caught him in place.

Dante’s raised fist stopped before he could complete his attack.

Raven stared at them, her breath coming fast.

The heat surrounding Dante began to weaken, while the air around Cassian gradually settled.

Cassian’s eyes widened as he tried to move, his muscles tightening with the effort.

Dante was no different. His arm trembled slightly, but he couldn’t seem to lower it.

Neither man moved.

Raven felt a sudden chill despite the heat still lingering around the court.

She recognized that sensation.

It was the same thing she’d experienced during the Founders’ Hunt, when her wolf had answered her desperation with a command she hadn’t known she was capable of giving.

And now it had happened again.

The pressure faded almost as quickly as it had appeared.

Cassian staggered half a step before catching himself, while Dante slowly lowered his arm, staring at his hand before looking back at Raven.

For once, neither man seemed capable of finding anything to say.

The silence around them was so sudden that Raven heard somebody’s Linkslate slip from their hand and strike the stone beyond the barrier.