Page 36 of Ever Dark Academy: Volume 6

You’re telling a joke! Ashyr joking! It must truly be the apocalypse, Eyros chuckled.

I really was a bit of a stuffed shirt, wasn’t I?

There was silence from Eyros then and Grayson guessed that Eyros was checking whether it was acceptable to get in on the “fun” of making fun of him.

You were the definition of a stuffed shirt, I’m afraid, Eyros finally said.

Grayson grinned. Yeah, I thought I had to be. Fun was for the undignified and unserious!

Which you’ve always seen me as, Eyros sounded a touch tart.

Yes, but I was both wrong and right about that. I’m sorry it touched a nerve, Grayson said.

You’re… sorry?

We’re friends. Brothers. I don’t want to hurt you if I can help it, Grayson said.

More silence and Grayson wasn’t sure what Eyros was thinking. His own dredged up memories though gave him potentially a guess. He had thought Eyros arrogant and undisciplined at best. Eyros couldn’t be counted on unless it was to do what he pleased or make Daemon laugh. There was value in the latter.

Well, yes, but friends do hurt one another the deepest, because we know one another’s foibles so well, Eyros finally answered airily.

Yes, but we should be more careful because of that, Grayson said.

Grayson pressed a hand to the center of his chest. He really was feeling so drained. It was the Ever Dark. It was taking from him as it did from all Immortals, but he couldn’t receive what it was giving back because he was still human. There was a symbiotic relationship between all Immortals and the Ever Dark, he remembered, and there was no stopping this process. Daemon had given him a boost for a time, but it was clearly gone now. And Daemon needed all the power he could get.

I wish he’d just told me, Grayson thought. It would have made me realize that I couldn’t delay a moment more than I had to. But he likely knew that and didn’t want to get in the way of my eventual decision. Ryder. Ryder is my choice.

Grayson tipped his head back and looked up at the canopy above him. The leaves were dark green–not that he could see that with his human eyes–but he remembered that about them. Deep green with golden veins. Beautiful. The forests, fields, everything in the Ever Dark was always so lush despite the lack of sunlight. If time was completely stopped here it wouldn’t make sense how the trees grew and the creatures multiplied. But there was definitely a sense of timelessness about it all. Maybe it was the energy that they gave to the Ever Dark that allowed it to prosper without the sun. That could be right.

I know that you’re regretting not being turned before now, but I, personally, think that's wise, Eyros said. You would have made the wrong choice. You still are thinking of making that choice.

Oh, and why is what I’m thinking wrong?

We should believe people when they show us who they are, Eyros answered softly.

Grayson frowned. What do you mean?

You’re considering having Weryn turn you, Eyros said almost like it was an accusation.

More frowning. Yes, and you know why just as well as you know that. I love him and he loves me. Does that threaten you? It threatened Kaly–

Oh, for fuck’s sake, Ashyr, don’t be a fool! I knew you had feelings for one another before you even knew, Eyros scoffed. No, that’s not it. It’s what you haven’t seen of him here that matters. What you don’t know.

He went a little crazy, Grayson began carefully.

A little? No, actually, I take that back. He wasn’t crazy at all. You must know the truth, Eyros sounded both bitter and eager to tell him. Friends need to tell one another the truth, don’t they? Even if it is hard to hear?

Especially if it is, Grayson admitted. But you sound angry with me and him. Are you sure what you have to tell me is for my good?

Silence.

I do value your counsel, Eyros. You see people’s weaknesses very clearly, Grayson admitted. But I am certain of my choice. I am certain of Ryder.

Ryder? You don’t even call him by his true name yet you claim to be certain of him! He imagined Eyros shaking his head.

It’s because as much as he is Weryn, he is also Ryder, Grayson explained, though it likely made little sense to the other Immortal.

Even if that is true, inside of him is Weryn. The core of him is Weryn. Can we agree on that?