Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 201

Chapter 201

Cassian

Rhaziel’s shadows lift her gently from the bed, one arm supporting her back, the other curling under her legs. Kael steps forward, hands outstretched to steady her. Evander kneels by the tub, sleeves rolled to his elbows, steam fogging the air around him. My heart clenches as I rise slowly and i follow. Not because I think I belong here. Not because I’m sure I’m wanted here. But because she leaned on me tonight, openly, vulnerably, and something in me refuses

come on, it to stay behind while the others care for her. Kael meets my eyes as I step closer but there is no challenge there. No jealousy. Just a quiet nod

says. She needs all of us.

Rhaziel sets her down on her feet, but her knees wobble. Kael catches her waist instantly and Evander reaches up to brush hair from her shoulder. I take a

breath and move to her other side.

“Allison,” I murmur, touching her elbow gently, “We’ve got you, sweetheart.”

She lifts her eyes to mine. They are glassy, exhausted, shining with grief and gratitude and something soft I can’t name. She doesn’t speak; she simply lets go. Lets Kael guide her top over her head. Lets Evander fold the fabric away. Lets Rhaziel unlace her boots with precise, tender care. Lets me slide her pants down slow enough not to overwhelm her. Every touch is gentle. Every movement asks permission without words. She does not shy from us. She does not

shield herself. She does not pull away.

It hits me then, hard, sharp and undeniable: This is what I lost when I kept my distance. Not her body. Not her kiss. Not the place beside her. This…This quiet. This trust. This unity with the others – each moving with instinctive understanding, each knowing where to be, each meeting her needs without

speaking.

She steps into the bath, guided by Evander’s hands. The water kisses her skin, steam softening the tension in her shoulders. Rhaziel lowers her the rest of the way, his shadows draping over her like a blanket until her body settles beneath the bubbles and she closes her eyes and exhales. It’s not relief. Not exactly. It’s the sound someone makes when they finally stop holding themselves together. Evander kneels behind her in the water, gathering her hair and gently wetting it. Kael sits on the edge, letting her rest her arm on his thigh. Rhaziel moves to her other side, pressing a kiss to her temple before dipping a cloth into the bath. I stay where I am, beside the tub, close enough for her to reach, far enough not to crowd….But her eyes open and she reaches for me. Her fingers slip through the steam and find mine, and my chest cracks open. I kneel instantly and take her hand in both of mine, bringing it to my lips,

pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

“I’m here,” I whisper. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Her eyes flutter shut, her forehead tipping toward mine, and the faintest whisper crosses through our bond: Stay with me.

I swallow hard. I squeeze her hand. I let myself stay.

I don’t know how long I kneel there holding her hand. Time loses its meaning when she looks like this, raw, unravelling, trusting us with pieces of herself she’s never shown anyone. Evander works slowly, methodically, fingers gentle as he massages the warm water through her hair. Kael hums something under his breath – soft, tuneless, meant only to soothe. Rhaziel drags the cloth along her arm, wrist to shoulder, with the reverence of someone tending to something sacred. And me…I just hold her hand. The easiest task. The hardest task. The one I almost denied myself for so long. Her lashes flutter against her cheeks, breath steadying just a little with every minute that passes. The steam curls around her face like a veil, like the world is trying to shelter her, too, now that we are finally allowed to. She doesn’t speak again for a while, none of us do, but the silence isn’t empty – it’s full, shaped like all the things

we’re trying to tell her without words.

Eventually, Evander murmurs,

voice low so it doesn’t jolt her, “Lean back, little one.”

She does, letting him lower her until her head rests against his chest. His arms wrap around her shoulders, holding her just above the water, the flowers circling her like a crown. Kael dips his fingers into the water and flicks a few bubbles gently at her cheek. A smile twitches at the corner of her mouth.

“Oh,” Kael whispers. “There she is.”

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17:44

Thu, Jan 1

Chapter 201

STEA

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Rhaziel’s shadows coil protectively around the edge of the bath, like a perimeter. Like the world might dare interrupt this moment, and he’s warning it not to try. My thumb sweeps over her knuckles in slow, steady circles. She leans her forehead against mine again, not fully awake, not fully asleep, just floating in that space where she lets herself be held.

A quiet breath shudders out of her. “I didn’t think I’d ever know them,” she murmurs, voice barely a whisper. “I didn’t think I’d ever know anything about

them.”

The words are wobbly and thick with grief she kept locked down for years. My fingers tighten around hers.

“You’ll know them now,” I whisper. “You’ll know everything they died protecting.”

Rhaziel strokes her cheek with the back of one clawed knuckle. “Your parents would be honoured by the woman you’ve become, hummingbird.”

Kael nods, jaw tight with emotion he refuses to show fully. “They’d be proud as hell.”

Evander’s voice rumbles against her back. “They loved you. Deeply.”

Her lips tremble just a little.

“We love you,” Rhaziel finishes softly.

When her shivers subside, Evander presses a kiss to the crown of her head and murmurs, “Time to get you out before the water cools.”

Rhaziel rises first, shadows trailing from his hands like ribbons as he reaches for a towel. Kael stands and gathers blankets from a nearby shelf. I position myself where she can fall against me if she needs to. Evander lifts her carefully from the bath. Water cascades down her skin, flowers sliding off her shoulders like falling stars. She shivers, more from emotion than cold, and Rhaziel wraps her in the thick towel instantly, swaddling her like something precious. Kael steps in next, layering a blanket over her until only her face is visible. She blinks up at us with soft, unfocused eyes. Gods… she looks so small

like this. So breakable. So ours.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

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