#20 Something is Coming

Rowyn POV

I woke up warm and squished between two hard ass bodies, and for once, I didn’t feel like running, screaming, or punching someone in the face.

Nope. I felt… peaceful?

Weird. Also? Horny. But that wasn’t the point.

The moment my eyes cracked open, the damn castle went into full glamour mode. I swore I heard little magical giggles as invisible hands yanked me up, spun me around, and, bam, makeover time.

Black liner sharp enough to slice egos. Red shimmer on my lids. Skull shaped gems clung to my nose and lip. My hair was styled in tousled waves that screamed, "I may have sinned last night, and I’d 100% do it again."

It dressed me in a sinful little black skirt, thigh high boots wrapped in silver chains, ripped fishnets, and my favorite vintage band tee that hugged my curves like it had a crush.

When I twirled in front of the mirror, I grinned. “Damn, castle. You get me.”

I spun around, and there they were.

Zephyr and Kalyx, both wide awake now, sitting up in bed, their mouths parted, staring at me like I’d just summoned a demonic sex goddess.

Which… honestly? Fair.

“The castle loves me,” I chirped, grabbing my enchanted lip gloss from the nightstand and popping it on. “Didn’t you know?”

Kalyx let out a low whistle. “You’re gonna get us killed looking like that.”

Zephyr just nodded, his eyes locked on my thighs. “You’re a goth goddess.”

“Oh, hush. We’ve got shit to do.”

They dragged their fine asses out of bed and vanished into their room to change. When they came back? Unfairly hot. Kalyx in all black with leather accents, looking like a vampy rock god. Zephyr in dark jeans and a blood red button up, sleeves rolled, collar open just enough to tempt sin.

Naturally, because apparently this was our life now, they each grabbed one of my hands like it was totally normal.

No awkwardness. No explanations. Just me and my magically bonded, walking wet dreams, strutting through the halls like we owned the damn place.

We walked into the dining hall like a gothic power trio, and I barely got a whiff of coffee before....

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!”

Seraphina. Screeching like a feral banshee and storming toward us with murder in her over plucked eyes.

She stomped right up to me, jabbing a manicured finger in my face. “I told you to stay away from what’s mine!”

Kalyx growled, deep and sexy. “I don’t belong to you, bitch.”

And then...

AND THEN....

He grabbed me, spun me, and kissed the absolute fuck out of me. Mouths crashing. Tongues tangling. Breath gone. Soul seared. My toes curled in my boots.

When he pulled back, I was dazed, breathless, and this close to moaning in public. Kalyx looked like he’d just won a war.

Seraphina’s face turned a shade of purple I didn’t know existed.

“You’ll regret this!” she shrieked, stomping off like a toddler who’d been denied cupcakes.

I blew her a kiss and sashayed to our usual table like nothing happened.

Zephyr and Kalyx followed, smug as hell, and we flopped down just as Aster and Kyren arrived.

“New developments?” Aster asked flatly, sipping her coffee like she already knew the damn tea.

Zephyr grinned, the smug bastard, and rolled up his sleeve. “You could say that.”

The glowing silver pentacle on his upper arm shimmered.

Aster blinked. Kyren whistled. Thistle, perched on my coffee cup like a chaotic caffeine gremlin, clapped her tiny hands.

“So,” I said between bites of breakfast carbs, “apparently I’m forming a starwoven pentacle. No big deal.”

“Yeah, totally chill,” Kyren muttered, reaching for a cinnamon roll.

But the nerves started to build. The Chalice of Revelation was waiting, and my stomach was staging a rebellion.

Zephyr leaned in and kissed my cheek. “You’ve got this, flame.”

Kalyx squeezed my hand. “We’ll be waiting.”

Aster, Kyren, and I stood as Thistle and the other nymphs fluttered around us.

It was time.

Time to find out who I really was.

Time to face the truth.

To see if I was the heir to a prophecy that could either bring back the gods… or burn the whole damn world down.

Zephyr POV

We shouldn’t have been there. We weren’t allowed to be there. But rules could suck it, because Rowyn was inside that damn hall, and both Kalyx and I felt it, deep in our bones.

Something was coming.

We crouched behind one of the massive ornamental pillars outside the Great Hall, pretending to admire the architecture. Spoiler: we weren’t.

Kalyx bounced his boot like a ticking bomb, his eyes narrowed and sharp. My jaw had been clenched for so long I probably had permanent damage.

The air was wrong. Too thick. Too quiet.

Naturally, the headmaster found us.

“Gentlemen,” Headmaster Nocturne said smoothly, like we were naughty schoolboys. He arched a single brow.

I stepped forward before Kalyx could sass him into another dimension.

“Rowyn is our center,” I said flatly. “We’re two of her star points.”

His brow twitched. Barely. But I knew he already knew.

“You knew,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “Didn’t you?”

He just gave a sly little smile, like a cat that had been watching the canary from day one.

“Come with me.”

He turned and led us down an ancient hall that reeked of spellbooks and buried secrets.

At a thick wooden door, he murmured something in a language I couldn’t place. The wall beside it creaked open, revealing a hidden alcove with a glamour hidden slit facing the Great Hall.

“This is as close as I can let you get,” he said quietly. “But if shit hits the fan…”

He turned, his expression deadly serious now.

“You take Rowyn and run. No questions. No hesitation. I’ll contact you when it’s safe. Understood?”

We both nodded, grim and silent. No jokes. No cocky comebacks. Just deadly, crystal clear agreement.

“Good.” Nocturne cast one last glance through the slit, toward her, and vanished down the corridor like a shadow.

Kalyx let out a shaky breath. “I don’t like this.”

“Me either,” I muttered. “I’m tempted to call my mom. She’d help.”

“She’d blow up the whole damn academy.”

“Probably,” I sighed. “Let’s just wait.”

So we waited. Crouched in the dark. Eyes locked on the glowing chalice and the girl we were born to protect.

Watching.

Waiting.

Ready to burn the fucking world down if it came to that.