Page 41 of Ravenous Prophecy
“What we need to actually focus on hating right now is the man who shot Bradley. Fucking billionaires. What does he even want?”
I noticed his fingers tracing the hilt of Corazon, his beloved sword. Julian gave me a lot of shit, but we went way back. Behind the sword and the swagger was a decent man, someone who stood on the side of right. If I couldn’t finish the job, if—no,whenwe found JA Williams, at least I could count on Julian to give him what he deserved.
“Death,” Bradley said. “Destruction. The end of all things. We were right, Brigette. The fragments, the manuscript, all of it put together? He wants to summon this Hive Father we keep seeing in the text. He wants to end the world as we know it.”
“To what end?” Brigette demanded. “We’ll all be dead. This Hive of yours, you’ve said it yourself. They’re like locusts. They’ll devour everything. There’ll be nothing left.”
Elaine shook her head. “I imagine he wants to rule over the ashes. Men like Williams, it’s all about power. I’m sure he thinks he can control the Hive himself.”
“Except that’s not how it works,” Bradley said. “He thinks that summoning the Hive Father is the same thing as taking command of it. My extensive studies have told me that these creatures likely subscribe to their own caste system—like bees, like wasps. In theory, they would take their lead from something above them in their hierarchy. But everything we’ve seen up to now tells us that the Hive are beyond control.”
“That’s the problem,” Julian said. “They’re not just alien insects. They’re a force of nature. Annihilation in physical form. If Williams gets his way, it’s game over for humanity. For the world.”
I finally stepped away from the doorframe. “Then we’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t get his way. We can takethe night to recuperate. I know Nicoletta put us in a safe house for a reason, but something tells me she’s not going to stop us from walking out that front door.”
“All of us,” Bradley said, grimacing even as he adjusted his position in the bed. “I’m coming, too.”
Elaine leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “Get some sleep first, Bradley. You’ll need it. If you get killed again, Mother and Father will never let me hear the end of it.”
“Shielding spells,” Brigette muttered absently. “If we can swing it. But whatever happens next, we’d be fools to do it unprotected.”
I folded my arms, squinting at the far wall. “Maybe I can get Nicoletta to chip in, too. This is personal now. Someone spilled blood in her house. She’ll want heads to roll, but JA’s most of all.”
“Of course,” Elaine said. “Freely up for discussion, but tomorrow. We should leave Bradley to rest. Brigette, care to split a room with me? The one with two beds.”
“Yes,” Brigette said, a huge exhalation of breath in one word. “I’m exhausted.”
“And I’ll take the couch,” Julian said, grinning as they passed. “Really, I don’t mind, not that anyone’s asking. Oh, but Griffin! Where does that leave you? I guess you’ll just have to share with?—”
“Good night, Julian,” I grunted, shoving him out of the doorway. He went quietly, to his credit, but he did smirk in my face the entire way. I shut the door, then took a deep, bracing breath.
“Staying in case you need help,” I told Bradley, feeling some foolish need to explain myself.
“I don’t mind,” he answered in a breathless rush.
We stared at each other for a little too long. I broke away from his gaze first. My skin was on fire.
“This feels like a lot,” he said, mercifully filling the silence. He gestured at his torso, bare apart from the bandages. “I have the weirdest sense that I’m not as injured as I should be.”
“Believe it or not, they fixed you up nice and tight. No surgeon could have done this. Inside and out, Bradley. The dressing is there just in case. One of the healers said you might not even scar.”
Even with my eyes open, I couldn’t dismiss the image of JA Williams sneering. I longed to press my brass knuckles lovingly against the boniest parts of his face.
“That’s remarkable,” he breathed. “I mean, it still hurts, but I don’t quite feel like I’m dying anymore.”
Just hearing those words from his lips was nearly enough to send me into a spiral all over again.
“You don’t look it either,” I said, shrugging. “Looks like MEA has an unbelievable healthcare package, and you just benefited from it. I’ve never seen a more efficient squad of healers in my life. Did you—do you want to change into something else? Are you comfortable?”
He shook his head. “Too tired. I just want to stay here. Rest.”
I nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed, butt barely hanging on like I was just waiting to be dismissed. But something about Bradley’s gaze told me that he wanted me to stay.
“Sit with me,” he said, patting the space beside him. His chest flushed red. I knew it wasn’t because of the injury. “Ijust—I don’t know. Would you just hold me, Griff? Is that weird?”
Oh.
“Not at all,” I said, the inside of my head ringing with alarm bells as I scooted over, so awfully conscious of all his bare skin. So much bare skin, and why all the lean muscle when he only spent his time around books?
