Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 251

Thornhill Academy

To Family

Allison

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Kael makes it three steps into Rhaziel’s quarters before he collapses face-first onto the bed like a man struck down by divine intervention.

“Oh my gods,” he groans into the mattress, voice muffled. “It’s fluffy. It’s actually fluffy.”

Rhaziel stops just inside the doorway, takes in the sprawl of hellhound limbs and soot-streaked clothing sinking into pristine bedding, and lets out a low,

unimpressed grunt.

“No blood on the bed.”

Kael lifts his head an inch, considers this, then rolls dramatically off the side and hits the floor with a dull thud.

“Fine,” he says, staring up at the ceiling. “Can I bleed here, then?”

Rhaziel does not answer him. His attention has already shifted to me. A broad had settles at my back, warm and steady, guiding me forward with quiet certainty. The room itself looks just like it did the last time I was here. All dark sone and high ceilings, carved lines softened by layered rugs and heavy furniture meant to withstand claws, horns, and tempers. He steers me toward a wide archway set into the far wall, where the bathroom is. The shower alone takes up half the space, a carved basin of dark stone with multiple water lines set high and low, clearly designed for bodies larger and less human than mine. Steam curls lazily from the fixtures as Rhaziel reaches out and turns the water on, the sound filling the room in a deep, steady rush. I watch him for a second, still trying to convince my muscles they’re allowed to stand down.

He walks back toward the bedroom doorway, points once at the cascade of water, and says, simply, “In.”

Kael pops up on one elbow from the floor. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

Evander laughs under his breath and moves toward me, hands gentle as he helps hrug the coat from my shoulders. The fabric slides away, heavy with borrowed warmth, and for a moment I feel oddly exposed without it.

“You okay?” he asks quietly, already guiding me forward.

“Yeah,” I say, though my legs wobble as the steam hits my face. “Just… tired.”

He nods like that explains everything, which it does.

Behind us, I hear Cassian’s voice, hesitant in a way I’m not used to from him. “U Is there… perhaps another room we could-”

Rhaziel steps out of the bathroom, intercepting him with a subtle shift of his body. I don’t hear what’s said, only the low murmur of voices and the sense of distance opening where closeness had been. Cassian and Cage move away, their esence receding down a corridor I can’t see. Something tugs uncomfortably at my chest at that. A small, irrational ache I don’t have the energy to untangle.vander helps me step into the shower, the stone warm under my bare feet. The water hits my shoulders, and I hiss softly as heat and pressure collide with skin. It takes a few seconds before my breathing evens out and my hands

unclench.

Kael joins us without ceremony, stepping straight under the water with a groan relief. “I’m never leaving,” he declares. “This is my home now.”

Rhaziel steps in last, the space adjusting effortlessly to accommodate him. The water beads and runs over his horns and down his body, steam clinging to him like breath. He reaches for me without looking, one arm curling securely around my waist, anchoring me in place. I lean back into him, exhaustion finally winning and I bask in the way his tail slides up and over every inch of me We wash; that’s it, nothing elaborate, just hands and water and the quiet aftermath of people who have been through battle. Soot, blood, dirt and grime spiral down the drain. The red tinge of blood eventually thins and vanishes. My hair is gently worked free of debris, fingers careful where my scalp is tender. At some point, my knees threaten to give out, and Rhaziel shifts, bracing me more firmly against his chest. His tail coils loosely around my calves, keeping me upright without making a point of it.

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18:52 Fri, Jan 23

To Family

DGG.

“Still with me?” Evander asks softly.

“Mm,” I hum, forehead resting briefly against cool stone. “Don’t let me fall asleep in here.”

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Kael snorts. “I will absolutely stay right here with you if you do.”

We dry off with thick, impossibly warm towels. Someone presses fresh clothes in my hands, soft fabric that smells faintly of the Shadow Realm itself. I don’t remember sitting down, only that suddenly I am, wrapped in layers that don’t chafe or cling, and my body hums with the aftershock of safety. Rhaziel crouches in front of me, checking my eyes, my breathing, the set of my shoulders. Once he’s satisfied, he straightens.

“We eat before you sleep,” he says.

I blink up at him, already swaying. “Now?”

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