What Sleeps in Shadows

Chapter Twenty One

Ten missed calls.

Thirty-four ignored text messages.

Seven emails.

And Raven had half-expected a carrier pigeon or a telegram to suddenly appear.

She woke a day later, still in Zachary's tour bus, her head still pounding and ears ringing, but at least she felt better - better than she had in a long time, if a little guilty. She reached out along the ragged string that used to be the bond between her and Damian and his seal, and found it just as empty as it had been when Zachary peeled her from the pavement. It was both uncomfortable and relieving to feel nothingness after all the time they had been together. She had almost gotten used to him being half in her thoughts, and she had become accustomed to feeling the echoes his emotions. Now, without him there, it almost felt lonely, like she should have expected another connection growing between them.

Guilt and fear bubbled inside her - a dangerous combination that made regret tickle at the back of her mind. Had she really done what was best? The worry that she had made a rash, irreparable decision concerned her, but there was no going back now. What was done was done, and she had to keep reminding herself that this was for the better.

Raven pulled the heavy duvet around her shoulders and she leaned back into the pyramid of soft down pillows behind her. She wanted to disappear into the bed covers and never be seen again, but she knew at some point she was going to have to face her consequences. She knew that she was going to have to look Damian in the face and admit to everything she did. And he was going to be furious with her - not that she blamed him.

"I can't take it anymore. You need to call Wayne, or I swear I am going to reach across the world and kill him." Zachary threw open the door to his sleeping area and tossed his phone on the bed, next to Raven. "He's called me twenty times, Raven. Call him, or I am going to lose my sanity, and I am going to blame both of you."

Raven rolled over, pulling the pillow over her head as she fought back another wave of nausea. She didn't want to face her mistakes - facing them meant admitting she was wrong to Damian, and there was the possibility that he might never forgive her. She wasn't entirely sure she would ever forgive herself. "I can't..."

Zachary groaned and ran a hand down his face, staring at the ceiling. "Raven, you can't make a stupid decision like this and then not call your boyfriend."

She pulled the pillow off her head and balked. "He's not my boyfriend."

Zachary snorted, rolling his eyes as if he didn't buy her excuse. "You two made out in the woods and then he set them on fire with the... what did you call it last night? The latent magical power of his emotions? Honestly, if that's not your boyfriend, then I don't know what else to call it." Zachary sighed and sat next to her on the bed, his expression serious. "Just call him."

"And tell him what exactly? That he was absolutely right about everything? I shouldn't have gone to Blood or trusted anything he said. Oh, sure, I finally fixed our problem, but I nearly got my whole soul pinned to this earth, and narrowly missed fucking everything up?" Raven buried her face in her hands, her voice shaking. "And then tell him that I have to leave forever or who knows what my payment will be to Blood?" She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I really fucked up, didn't I?"

Zachary's lips twitched as if he wanted to fight her, but decided against it. "Yeah. You did."

Raven looked up, staring at him. She had hoped he would be at least a little more patient and sympathetic, but he wasn't. And she wasn't entirely sure she could blame him.