Dexter’s POV

“Dexy! I know you’re in there. You took my note so you must know how worried I’ve been. Come on man, open up.”

The tapping at my door stopped as Alex called to me, then the handle jiggled as he tried to force it.

He let out a heavy sigh before tapping again.

I wanted to go back to sleep, but I had a killer appetite. Now that I was up, I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep without eating something.

“Fine,” I groaned as I sat up. “But you’re buying me food!”

“Yeah, sure, of course man!” Alex called back as I reached for Valentina.

She was still in book form which came as a shock. Any other time, she’d have personified and crawled into my arms after I fell asleep.

“Val…” I whispered.

When she didn’t respond, I let my hand run over her spin. “Val, I hope you’re okay.”

“Dexy, you aren’t backing out on me, are you?”

Putting Valentina in her pouch, I called back, “Be right there Alex, sorry for the wait.”

As soon as I opened the door, my stomach gurgled as if to say, it was about damn time.

Alex let his lips curl into a smile. “I’ll buy you whatever you want, but first things first, we should sync contacts.”

I wasn’t eager to do so, but I didn’t see the harm. I reached into my left pocket for my phone.

It wasn’t there.

I checked the right, but it only contained the pill.

Alex sighed. His brow furrowed as he held his phone up for me. “Well?”

My heart dropped as I realized my phone must be in the arena in the underground. I would need to go back and get it.

“I uhm…lost it,” I said, praying he’d believe me.

“You lost it, your phone right?”

“Yup,” I nodded. “But I think I know where.”

He smiled. “Well great, let’s go get it.”

I shook my head. The last thing I wanted to do was go back there so soon. With Valentina acting strangely it would be a death sentence. I didn’t want to get Alex involved either. And besides…

My stomach rumbled again.

“You promised me a meal, remember?”

His smile brightened. He put a hand on my shoulder then pushed me forward, guiding me out of the dorm.

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Alex brought me to a place inside Ravenor. Apparently they really did have everything. The restaurant was on the store’s tenth level, though the building only looked big enough for two levels at most.

The whole place was lit with crystal chandeliers that sparkled with different hues of reds, purples, yellows, greens and even black. Each light shimmered like an oversized diamond that radiated its own aura and cast a beautiful spectrum of color on the restaurant and its patrons.

There wasn’t a single open table, but the smell of food made me desperate to find a seat.

I almost didn’t notice the horned purple raven sleeping in the corner. Or rather, I saw the beast, but assumed it was just decor until it lifted its head and blinked open one of its massive eyes.

I was curious, but a gut feeling told me to look away.

Alex led me past the host and between tables to a bar where a girl as beautiful as the boundless night sky, smiled at us from behind the counter.

Her eyes could make the brightest star appear dull, and her smile could make even the coldest heart melt. I swallowed a lump in my throat and quickly averted my eyes, not wanting to risk her ire or getting a crush.

“Oh, you like her?” Alex asked, elbowing me in the ribs.

I shook my head, saying, in a barely audible tone, “Nope, definitely not my type. Too pretty. She’s definitely sculpted and way out of my league.”

He shrugged. “How do you know? What if she likes the plain look?”

I rolled my eyes. I wasn't one to judge by appearance, but I couldn’t see her being interested in someone like me. Besides, with all the perfectly manicured and sculpted magisters she served every day, her standard of beauty must’ve risen well above average.

Alex didn’t seem to care. He gave me a pat on the shoulder and turned back to her.

Her voice was like sweet honey as she said, “Never thought I’d see you swagger in here.”

Alex chortled as he replied, sounding more cocky than ever. “Well, my family does own the place. I may as well stop by at least once.”

She rolled her eyes, then glanced from him to me. “Who’s your friend?”

Alex smiled an obnoxious ear to ear grin as he met my eyes. “See buddy, she’s interested.”

I couldn't help but shake my head again. He was far from right, and a terrible wingman.

I shrugged, turning back to the girl. “I’m Dext—”

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“Dexy—Dex the ladies man. How bout it sis, ain’t he gorgeous?”

She stifled a laugh as I stared at him slack jawed, utterly dumbfounded.

Then her laughter became loud and raucous, causing others in the restaurant to stop and stare at us.

Her voice was like the chime of bells as she spoke between bursts of laughter, saying, “My name is Myra Vellden and it’s nice to meet you. Any friend of my little brother is always welcome here in the raven’s nest.” She let out a heavy breath to calm her laughter, then continued with a more serious tone. “You’ll be dining in the family room I assume?”

My mouth fell open. This girl was Alex Vellden's sister. The two of them seemed like total opposites. Her flawless tan skin, perfectly symmetrical features, and deep black eyes that had an unnatural glow were obviously the work of a talented artist. One look and you’d immediately know she belonged in high society. Alex, however, was utterly average in every way.

I took Myra’s offered hand, feeling a strange tingling as our flesh met, and gave a gentle squeeze. Her skin was cold to my touch. She smiled as she let her eyes scan me over, then released me to offer her hand to Alex.

He rolled his eyes, pushing it aside with a sigh as he said, “I'm your brother, not your date. And yea, we’ll eat in the family room. Send in the good steaks.”

“Alex!” Myra huffed as she pulled her hand back. She glared at him a moment before her face softened into a gentle smile as she met my eyes again.

The tingling feeling returned and a soft sigh passed over my lips.

“Next time,” she began, “come without this mannerless goblin and I might join you for a meal.”

Her hand grazed my chest, leaving a burning cold sensation before she turned away. She winked, giving me a final glance and smile.

Alex scowled, my stomach growled, then Myra pressed a button, letting out a quiet giggle as we were sent from the bar to another room with a grand table.

Black walls lined with paintings and decorative swords hanging between breathtaking landscapes. The room was dimly lit by the soft glow of floating lanterns, each giving off a gentle blue light.

We took our seats as a small golden golem arrived, serving us wine and fresh baked bread with an herbed butter spread.

Alex chortled, asking, “You didn't get flustered back there, did you Dexy?”

I narrowed my eyes as I stuffed bread into my mouth to settle my growling belly.

It tasted heavenly, like finely seasoned meat. The texture was light and fluffy with a bit of crunch while the inside was like the finest mousse.

Alex laughed again as I moaned into my food.

Then, without waiting for me to swallow, he asked, “So, you’ve been training hard, right Dexy?” He pulled out his spell tome. “Care for a duel?”

I gulped down the food then asked, sounding as nervous as I felt, “Now?” I looked around at the beautiful room and dining spread before adding, “Here?”

“Of course not! My sister would kill me if we damaged this place,” he said with a deep, rolling laugh.

Alex set his tome on the table, grabbing a bite of bread before saying, “Anytime before the ranking battle is fine. Just trying to check out the competition is all.”

I scoffed. “I’m not your completion. It’s Jyanna you need to worry about.”

Alex grinned as he picked up his spell tome. “Yea, you’re probably right.”

His interaction with Thor was different than I recalled. He didn’t seem as afraid or submissive to the book which I thought was odd. “Hey, weren’t you afraid of getting possessed by it before?” I asked as I eyed him cautiously.

His expression seemed to drop a moment before he replied with a grin. “Oh yeah, you haven’t seen me fight since my first duel with Kailyn.” Shaking his head he added, “I’m over all that. I took Thor’s advice and got stronger.”

I narrowed my eyes, giving him a suspicious stare, but before I could ask anything else a young girl approached the table. She wore a black gown with white lace. She had short red hair with a strange, purple tattoo beneath her eye and a pale complexion that gave her a gothic appearance. Her shy smile made her seem a bit uncomfortable as she curtsied, somehow managing not to drop the large tray of food she held balanced on one hand.

“Oh great! She sent an automation,” Alex sighed as he slumped into a seat.

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“If Myra didn’t love taunting me so much, I might come here more often. She really does know how to cook.” Alex burped then let out a content sigh as he leaned back, rubbing his full stomach.

I nodded my agreement. The meal had been spectacular, eating magi-bars and whatever Alex or Amhir whipped up in our dorm kitchen just couldn’t compare.

As much as I didn't want to leave, I knew I had to. I needed to see the professor, and I had to figure out how I was going to get my phone back.

Alex laughed again as he got up, patting his stomach, saying, “We should head back. Now that you’ve returned from beyond the void, I’m sure you’ve got a list of people you want to see.”

“Thanks.” I nodded. Standing up I added, “The food was good, and your sister seems nice.”

“I’ll let her know you said that. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”

I looked around for a button or some way to exit, but nothing stood out. I met Alex's eyes and asked, “Where's the door?”

He laughed.

“There isn’t one. You just have to say or think, exit, and you’ll be sent back.”

"That’s convenient,” I said, then tried saying exit in my mind.

It worked. I was back in front of the bar, but Myra was gone. The main dining room was still packed, though many of the guests from earlier had gone, replaced by new patrons.

The raven opened its eyes again, sitting up to look at me. This time I couldn’t pull my gaze away. I felt drawn to the beast as if its eyes were pulling me in.

The room felt as if it were spinning, grinding noise buzzed in my ears and the horned beast stood as a deep growl vibrated through my mind.

“You see me… then you can free me from this prison. Slay the warden and I will rewar—”

“Dexter! What are you doing?” Alex shouted from the bar. He stood with his hands on the counter, trying to get my attention as he stared into my eyes.

The room was back to normal.

The horned bird was still asleep in the corner and Myra had returned.

My head still felt like it was being squeezed and prodded, but there was otherwise no indication that the creature lived.

My heart pounded against my ribs as I tried to piece together what I heard and saw, or at least what I thought I heard and saw.

“Dex?”

“Yea, sorry… I just spaced out. I'm fine. Thanks again for the food and stuff, Alex, but I really need to go. I have a meeting with the professor so—”

Alex grabbed me before I could walk away. He shoved a phone into my hands with a hard expression, more serious than I’d ever seen him make before. “It’s probably a different model than the one you had before, but take it… please. I’m sure it’ll be easier to download your data than to go hunt for your old phone. Also, this one has my contact saved already, so if you ever need help or just wanna chill or talk, you can always reach out, okay. I'll message you sometime, but you do the same, Dexy, don’t be a stranger.”

I blinked back at him a moment as the shock faded, then I gave him a nod and accepted the phone.

He smiled, adding. “It’s not just from me.” Nodding at the bar he finished, “Myra went to pick it up while we ate. Maybe she left you a little surprise, hmm?”

As he winked at me, Myra slapped him so hard it left a red mark and the clap drew stares from all around the room.

I started to hand the phone back, remembering why I’d kept a bit of distance from Alex. He was nice, but he had a knack for drawing attention and stirring up trouble.

“Dexter…” Valentina whispered.

No one else seemed to notice, but her sad plea set my heart pounding again. The professor could wait, I needed to be there for her, just like she’d been there for me even without me asking.

I shoved the phone in my pocket, saying “Thanks, both of you.” Then darted out of the restaurant while they bickered.