“If I let you keep that, I’ll be the one who gets in trouble,” he murmurs.
“Ohhhh right, so this is less about me being a good girl, and more about you needing to be a good boy?” I ramble, my breathing ridiculously labored.
He smiles, his gaze dropping to my lips before rising to my eyes again. “Oh, make no mistake, little shadow. None of us are good.”
The way he says it has my throat drying up.Gosh, why does that sound so hot?I try to gather my scrambled thoughts. “Let me have this. Please. All it contains are drawings and a few scribbled notes.”
“We have books in the academy.”
“Not this one.” I place a hand over my notebook protectively. “I’ll tell you what. You let me keep this, and I won’t even tell the others about your new little secret.”
From his expression, I know I’ve caught him off guard. “And what secret would that be?”
“Well, the portal ring you have, of course.” I give him a twisted smile. “You see, I’m guessing there must be a reason you haven’t told the others about it.”
When he hesitates, I know I’m right.Bingo, baby.
“I’ll tell them in time,” he says firmly.
“Yeah, but you’d rather not tell them now,” I forge on, pretending I know what I’m talking about. “So let me keep my completelyharmlesslittle sketchbook, and I won’t tell them you stole the portal ring from me and tried to hide it.”
His eyes narrow to slits. “Of course, if you did tell them about it, you would also have to explain to them how you had such a priceless artifact in your possession,” he drawls, his expression smug and questioning.
I wave a hand in the air dismissively. “Oh, what’s there to tell? I found the ring at the local pawn shop. Sorry, did you say portal? Whaaat?” I’ll admit, I’m a seriously crappy liar, and Galen’s eyes sparkle with amusement as shadows swirl around us.
“So full of secrets.” He looks like he wants to dissect me, and he smirks. “Mmmm, I can already tell I’m going to love having you around the academy, treasure.”
I give him a tight smile, not sure why my heart is pounding so hard again. Clearly, this man could say anything in that sultry voice of his, and it would still work for me. “It’s Shade,” I tell him.
“What is?”
“My name. You don’t have to keep calling me those nicknames. My name is Shade.”
He stares at me like once again I’ve surprised him. “Shade?”
“Yep. Just like the shade of a tree. It’s charming, right?”
He grins like he has no intention of ever using my name. “Don’t let anyone see that sketchbook, little shadow. Not unless you want to be punished.” There’s a dark promise in his eyes ashe says the last part, and my brain struggles to function. Am I supposed to be afraid or aroused right now?
“Okay, I’ll keep it to myself,” I mumble, nearly breathless. “Got it.”
When we make it back to the others, they look pissed that we made them wait so long, even though I swear it’s only been a few minutes. There’s an awkward silence that stretches on between us, and I’m almost compelled to say something simply to fill the void, when I hear horrible growling, clicking, and scraping noises. Honestly, the sounds remind me of a terrifying horror movie I’d accidentally flicked onto the TV the week before, and I twist my head around, frantically trying to see where the noise is coming from even though the sounds are all around us.
“Try not to scream,” Raith says with a grin. “That’ll only get them excited, and if you smell as good to them as you do to us, they’re goin’ to be on high alert.”
“Who’sthem?” Of course, no one bothers to answer me, and I almost jump when a creature steps from the mass of shadows that swell around us. On the bright side, it’s not like it’s some creepy child walking toward me on all fours like in the movie I’d watched. Down side? The beast is terrifying as it stalks out of the shadows, emerging from the darkness like it’s stepping through from another world. Which, it probably is. The giant black lion is massive, and its clawed paws are the first thing I see. This is quickly followed by its huge shaggy head with a mane of black shadows that flickers like flames, and its muscly body with hugebat wings folded at its sides. The creature breathes in deep, and its piercing red eyes immediately go to me.
Oh, hey beastie.My heart pounds at my throat as I give the creature a small smile.Of course, the creature had to be a giant cat.Its tail flicks back and forth as it prowls toward me, and I ground myself though my instincts are telling me to turn and run.Don’t move, Shade. Just stay calm,I think in a sing-song voice to myself.
“Easy now, Kazer,” Raith says with a relaxed tone, steering the beast’s attention to him. “She’s a new student. Play nice.”
The lion looks at me for a moment longer, sniffs loudly, and to my relief it turns, taking up a position by Raith’s side.
Oh, flippin’ heck.
Almost immediately after, another creature steps from the shadows. This beast is a large black stallion with a mane of black shadows and giant bat wings. Like the first creature, its red eyes fixate on me immediately after it materializes. It paws at the ground with its massive hooves like it’s agitated, but a couple soothing words from Galen, and the creature gracefully moves to his side.
When the third beast comes through, the giant bear roars and shakes its shaggy head. It drags in a breath, no doubt scenting me, but it obediently goes to Thane’s side without the man having to utter a word.
