I run my thumb over my academy ring, rubbing the little skull. Considering the only successful shadow magic I’ve managed to perform is when I created a chocolate bar, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea for me to be trying to access more magic. I contemplate pointing this out to the professor, but when I look up, she’s staring at me impatiently.
“Remember,” she says as she holds my gaze, “you are not to travel the path. Simply visualize it. Feel the magic, and see how long you can hold the entrance to the path open.”
Okay, so I’m not getting out of this.Breathing steadily, I reluctantly close my eyes and try to follow her instructions like everyone else.What had she said? Visualize a common area in the academy.My first thought is my dorm room, so I try to picture that. I think of the decorated walls and the gothic furniture. I have to admit, it would be handy to be able to shadow walk around the academy.
Some of the students whisper excitedly around me, no doubt having accomplished the task already, but as time passes and no pathways appear for me, I find myself getting distracted. My thoughts go to Thane, and I wonder what the professor isdoing now.Is he busy training more students?On the one hand, I dread the thought of my next physical training class, but on the other, it does mean I’ll get to see the grumpy professor again. I bite my bottom lip, thinking about the growly professor with the warm brown eyes, and the way he’d so easily slung me over his shoulder. Kenzie had said she’d never seen him carry a student before, and my stomach flips, a tendril of excitement going through me.
I’m deep in thought, busy imagining Thane’s hand on my ass again, when my body starts to tingle. Heat spreads from my ring, and the pain is so sudden I don’t have time to cry out. Like when I try to change my outfits, the magic feels wrong. It feels warped, somehow, and yet, it also feels right at the same time. When I snap my eyes open, there are multiple pathways in front of me like I’m sitting at an intersection. The dark tunnels twist and weave in different directions like bridges all waiting to take me somewhere else. Warmth emanates from a tunnel to my left, and it’s a comforting, enticing heat that draws me closer.
Around me, Kenzie and most of the other students have their eyes open as well, but it’s obvious they’re not seeing the same pathways that I am.
I stare at the one particular pathway that has snagged my attention. The tunnel stretches on, shadows slithering along the path like snakes moving away from me, as if they’re coaxing me to follow them. I know I’m not supposed to go. Professor Lankin’s instructions are loud in my ears, reminding me that we’re only supposed to create the pathway, not travel it, but I don’t think. Before I know it, curiosity has me lifting from my chair, and I step into the tunnel.
As soon as I have both feet on the shadow pathway, the lecture hall disappears behind me, and I’m surrounded by walls of darkness and shadows on all sides. There’s no going back, as far as I can tell, so I walk forward, gingerly moving along the dimly lit trail.
Great going, Shade, now you’re on a shadow pathway headed to who the hell knows where. Sure, you could end up lost in here, doomed to die without anyone knowing where you are, but no problem, just follow the shadows.
The dark space is strangely comforting, and warmth still radiates from the other side of the tunnel, so I keep going, taking one step after another. Shadows dance around me, blending with the darkness, and for a long while, it’s actually kind of nice. Like when you take a walk in the park to clear your head, and before you know it, your mood has picked up. At least I feel that way until the path continues to stretch on without an end in sight, and I start to wonder if I’ve made a horrible mistake. My doubts and fears begin to rise, because what if I’m trapped in here forever? Around me, the flickering shadows aren’t dancing anymore. They look like they’re laughing, and I’m close to a full-blown panic attack when a halo of light finally appears in the distance.
I mutter a thank you to any god that’s listening, and I continue forward, moving from the pathway and stepping out into a room. I wince as light washes over me, blinking a few times before I can make out a wall that’s a short distance away. It’s lined with black filigree wallpaper that’s all too familiar, and I sag with relief.Oh, thank god. Am I in my dorm room?Before I take another step forward, a spicy, masculine scent reaches my nose, and I freeze, because I know that smell.Oh crap. This isn’t my dorm room after all, is it?
It takes me a few seconds to orient myself. I’m tucked away beside a large statue, and on the wall that faces me, is a massivedecorative mirror that has different creatures molded into the silver frame. I glimpse two figures in the mirror, and my jaw slackens as I recognize the men reflected in the glass. It’s only then that the sounds of the room seem to reach me.
Ho-ly smut gods.
Knox is on his hands and knees on a huge four-poster bed, and behind him, Thane kneels, the pair of them completely naked. Knox’s muscular thighs are taut, as Thane grips the back of his neck and drives his cock into the other man’s ass. Thane’s muscles ripple as he bucks his hips and thrusts, the pair of them grunting and groaning.
I let out a small gasp, and Thane’s attention goes to the mirror, his gaze connecting with mine. Shock touches his rugged features, but he doesn’t stop what he’s doing. No, he picks up speed, growling low in his throat as he grips Knox harder and begins thrusting faster. His face becomes feral, but he doesn’t take his gaze from me the entire time.
My heart thunders in my chest as heat floods my body, and all I can do is stare. It doesn’t take me long to realize what has happened. I’d been thinking about Thane when I’d pictured the pathways, and that’s where the shadow magic has led me. To the professor who just so happens to have…company right now.
I fight to swallow the hard lump in my throat, and I try to control my breathing. Something tells me Knox won’t be happy if he discovers I’m here, and it’s only a matter of time before he detects me. I force my eyes closed.Okay, shadow magic,I plead internally.I need a pathway to take me back to the lecture hall, like right now!But I can’t focus. Not when all I can hear is the two men in the throes of ecstasy as Thane fucks Knox.Damn it.Liquid heat pools between my legs, and I clench my thighs together.Stop it, Shade,I chastise myself.They’re not your mates, remember? They’re asshole professors who only care about themselves. You need to get out of here.
But it’s no use. The bed groans, the wooden furniture protesting at the weight of the moving men, and I can’t help myself. My eyes fly open, and a warm brown gaze is there to greet me. I’m transfixed as Thane’s eyes hold me hostage. He gives me a look that seems to say,You’re next.
I bite my lip.
Thane isn’t gentle. He’s rough as he pounds into Knox, and when another breath rushes out of me, Knox groans, both men finding their release at the same time. I keep watching, my heart pounding as they shatter on the black silk sheets. I want to be on that bed with them. I want to be between them, enjoying them just as much as they’re enjoying each other. I shift, possibly about to do something stupid, when magic snaps tight around me. Like a tether pulls taut around my waist, I’m wrenched backward, dragged into a shadow pathway at frightening speed until I’m back in the classroom, the world brighter around me with students staring at my flushed face.
“I said to visualize the roads, but not travel them,” Professor Lankin reprimands with a withering glare. “Leave this classroom without my permission again, and you’ll learn what happens when you don’t follow the rules.”
All I can do is simply blink at her, stunned. There’s a snicker from across the room, but I hardly notice it. The image of Thane and Knox together, is still in my mind. Thankfully, Professor Lankin doesn’t linger, and she glides down the steps to the front of the class.
The moment the professor has her back to us, Kenzie turns to me. “Shade, what happened?” she hisses. “Your face is all red and sweaty. Where did you go?”
I clear my throat, fighting hard to forget about what I’ve just seen. “Nowhere interesting,” I murmur. “Just our dorm room.”
Kenzie side-eyes me, and I can tell she doesn’t believe a word of that, but mercifully, she doesn’t press it. “I managed to createa pathway to the dining hall,” she tells me. “But I couldn’t keep the entrance open for long.”
I nod, my head still feeling like a muddled mess, with Thane’s piercing stare still branded in my mind.
Chapter Nineteen
~ Shade ~
After dinner, Kenzie walks me to our dorm before leaving to use the showers. I watch her as she goes, annoyed at myself. I was supposed to beg her to show me to Galen’s rooms. To search for my portal ring, but I don’t have the energy for that right now.
Instead, I drag myself into our room and eye the beg longingly. I could easily fall onto the mattress and fall asleep instantly, but then I remember the dreamcrawler. I cringe as I picture my eight-legged visitor from the night before. Yeah, I’m not ready for that guy just yet.
