Undaunted

Chapter 23: Soulbound

Our mission to find Ezra and talk to him about helping Ryder ended up being harder than we initially thought it would be. As it turns out, Ezra was out for the day with Antheia, Flinn, and Spade. And it was our last day of vacation, so we all spent the next day packing and preparing to head back to the academy. Later in the day, Ryder, Solstice, Tempest, Ezra, Antheia, Flinn, and Spade all went to an amusement park with me while Ace and Katrina stayed back at the hotel to handle our travel arrangements, Jenix went sunbathing by the beachside, and Harlow stayed at the hotel to practice her magic. In short, we didn't get any alone time with Ezra.

I sigh as I lean against the bus window while Ryder sits next to me, leaning against my shoulder as his fingers are laced through mine. I furrow my eyebrows in thought as I contemplate how we could possibly reach Ezra as soon as possible without it raising any suspicion.

"What's wrong?" Ryder hums from beside me.

"Huh?" I ask, snapping out of my trance to look over at him, "nothing's wrong, why?"

"Philomena," Ryder looks at me pointedly and squeezes my hand gently, "I know you. I can tell when you're stressing out about something, which isn't normal for you. So, can you tell me what's wrong? Or, at the very least, what's on your mind?"

"I promise it's nothing," I smile tiredly and Ryder's troubled gazes tells me that he doesn't buy it, but he lets it slide and goes back to leaning against me, rubbing his thumb in circles across my hand.

"Okay, if you say so," Ryder sighs.

I chew on my lower lip nervously as my eyes scan the surroundings out the window that whiz by. I don't mean to make him worry, I really don't, but the last thing I would ever want to do is burden him. I know how he would react if I told him about his curse, and I know that I should tell him because he should know, he has the right to know, but something in me says it isn't the right time yet. I'll tell him soon though, I'm promising myself that. If it were me, I would want to know, after all. And besides, you shouldn't withhold information like that from someone, especially if it involves their life.

"So," Ace's lips pull up into a smirk as he leans over our seat and spots me and Ryder, "when did this happen?"

"Shut up," Ryder scowls, "nobody asked for your input."

"Whaa," Ace frowns but his eyes hold mirth, "I never said it was anything bad. If anything, she'll be good for you. Maybe she'll wipe that smarmy attit--"

Ryder scowls even more before turning around in our seat and pulling the brim of his older brother's hat down, covering Ace's eyes and cutting him off. Ace just sighs before bursting into laughter, the corners of his lips forming into a wide smile before he sits back down next to Katrina, who watches the scene as if she isn't sure how to quite react before a small smile crosses her dainty, rosy lips.

"We're hereeeeee!" Jenix exclaims and jumps out of her seat enthusiastically, pointing towards the giant, tan, brick academy that resembles a castle in some fashions.

"Is it normal for the faculty to act more like children than we do?" Antheia whispers as she leans next to Spade.

"Who knows, Sweetcheeks," Spade smirks and looks at Antheia suggestively, "but I'm no kid."

Antheia rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, effectively ripping her hand from his grasp, but she blushes nonetheless and Spade grins impishly.

The bus pulls up to the main building and the other buses follow suit, students beginning to pile out and head towards their dorms while the staff head back to their rooms and begin to prepare for classes that'll come the next day, seeing as we arrived at eight o'clock at night.