That tinkling sounds in my head again.
“I do not care for snacks such as what you provided,”she answers.
I press my lips together.“Great. Well, now I know we’re not compatible. Who doesn’t like chocolate?”
That’s followed by even more laughter.
“I was waiting until I could be sure,”my creature explains, going back to what she’d said earlier.
“Okay. Sure about what?”
“Sure, that you’re the one I’ve been waiting for,”my creature answers.“The one we’ve all been waiting for.”
My heart skips a beat as I remember what the nasken creature had told me not too long ago.She’s been waiting for you.My chest pangs.“I can’t be who you think I am. I’m fated to Knox and the others. I’m the one who’s going to make us lose the war.”I might have escaped the cloaked figure, but it doesn’t change the warning in the prophecy.
“Fate is a funny thing,”my creature answers.“It can lead you to a crossroads and nudge you in a certain direction, but you are the one who must choose what path to take.”
My lips curve into a smile.“Great. I’m bonded to a wise ass.”
More of the creature’s laughter sounds in my head, and I decide I love the sound. Somehow, hearing it makes me feel like everything is going to be all right. That is, until I remember my mates are restrained, and the queen now undoubtedly knows about us.
I change forms, deciding that it’ll be better to face the shadow queen as a human. I stand in a black outfit with silky black feathers arranged around my shoulders. My long pink hair flows to my waist, just like I remember from my dreams, the thick locks teased by the wind as my shadows twist around me, no longer looking like small baby snakes, but fully grown, adult shadows.Yep, I’m definitely a badass.
Around the arena, the warriors erupt into applause like they’ve just witnessed some incredible miracle, and I finally turn to the ceremonial box again.
My mates are still captured by the queen, but they’re no longer struggling. No, they stare at me in complete awe and with pride shining in their eyes.
I grin stupidly at them, but when I turn my gaze to the shadow queen, my smile falls.
Queen Krosia’s face is red with fury, and she lifts her arm, pointing directly at me. “Seize her!”
Chapter Forty-Three
~ Shade ~
I’m too late to react. One moment I’m standing at the top of the wall, feeling like I could take on the world, and the next, the applause cuts off, and the queen’s shadows are wrapping around me and my creature, pulling us from the wall. I might be stronger now that I’ve bonded with my creature and don’t have the queen’s curse on me, but I’m no match for the ruler of the shadow realm.
Soldiers step out of the shadows, lining the arena, and the queen lifts from her throne, walking on shadows that form a set of stairs leading downward. She moves from the ceremonial box to where she’s deposited me and my creature in the middle of the sands. Her shadows bring my mates behind her, and they’re back to struggling against her hold.
The other originals gather on the sand as well, standing near the queen. I scan their faces, wondering if any of them might help us. They’re all tense, but their expressions are hard and unforgiving. All of them, that is, except for Professor Yevar. He’ssmiling as he stares at me, like he finds this entire situation amusing.
The guy has always given me a creepy vibe, but today, dread pools in my stomach as I study him, and there’s something so familiar about his eyes.
I search my mind, trying to understand why having his attention on me is making me feel sick, and it’s not until I lower my gaze to his arm that everything falls into place. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up to his forearms, and there’s a distinct tattoo inked onto his skin. The two dark lines cross, forming a decorative ‘X’ that I’ve seen in my memories.Holy freaking shit. Professor Yevar is the cloaked figure who kidnapped me.
A breath rushes out of me, and I think of something else the professor had said to me when I was in that cell.“I had hoped you’d be more reasonable, just like the other students.”My blood chills when I think of the missing students at Shadowbone Academy. I can’t be sure that Professor Yevar is the one who’s been taking them, but I’m willing to bet that he is.
After the foxrets attacked Thane and the others in the forest, my mates theorized that the foxrets must have been contacted by someone who had inside information about where they’d planned to go that night. And then there was the sky attack… I shiver, thinking about the times Professor Yevar has helped me at the academy. At the strange way my body had reacted when he’d touched me not too long ago…
“You,”I rasp, managing to send a shadow whisper to him, and keeping my gaze trained on the professor.“You’re the one stealing the students. You kidnapped me. You’re working with the Xalgrith.”
His answering smile makes my stomach churn.“So…you’ve finally figured it out. I recognized you from the moment I saw you in the dining hall at Shadowbone. Of course, yourmates were too dumb to realize who you were, especially Knox. Though, I suppose he did think his mate was dead, after all.”
I glare at him.“If you knew, then why didn’t you say anything?”
“Oh, I contemplated it,”he answers.“But by observing the students, I’ve come to realize it’s easier to control my new subjects when they’re in a more…willing state.”
“Where have you taken them?”I demand. I wonder if Jensen and Leira, Kenzie’s friend, are alive.
