“Congratulations. Now stop celebrating, there’s more to go,”Elgen rasps.
I pout, but I listen to her, because the constant spinning has bile climbing up my throat, and I need to get off this thing. It takes a few rotations before I get the timing right, and I cry out when I leap for the stationary platform on the other side of the disk. My right foot slides when I land, and I yelp as I lose my balance.Oh crap. No. No. No.Before I can topple backward, I lean forward, correcting myself at the last second, and staggering away from the disk.Oh holy hot cakes.My heart hammers in my ears, and I breathe heavily as I rest my hands on my knees, catching my breath.
“That’s it,”Thane growls with relief, his words a whisper in my ears. My stomach tightens at my mate’s praise, and my gaze is drawn across the room to where Thane is watching me with concentration. The shadow professor stands rigidly to the side of the course, his thick tattooed arms crossed over his broad chest. His stony gaze softens a little when it connects with mine, and I distract myself from the task at hand by appreciating the hard lines of his chiseled jawline. Stubble covers his brown skin, highlighting his features, and his fighting leathers cling tight to his muscular thighs. When my gaze lifts to meet his again, heat burns in his dark eyes making my palms sweat.
“Stop trying to convince me to save you from this, mate,”his shadow whisper reaches my ears, and I shiver as his deep voice vibrates through me. His magic makes my skin tingle, and I know he’s using his shadow powers so I’m the only one who can hear him.
“What? I didn’t even say anything,”I whisper back defensively, relying on his magic to get my words to him.“Can’t a girl pause to catch her breath and admire a pretty face?”
His dark brows lower.“No.”
My grin widens.
“We discussed this,”he goes on in that serious tone of his that makes my insides melt.“When you fight in the graduation games, we can’t be by your side. You must learn to overcome these obstacles on your own.”
I get the feeling he’s talking about metaphorical obstacles, and not just the ones spread out before me. Either way, I know he has a point. Sighing, I look at where the other students are waiting. Some are sitting on the ground, a few are making use of their time by practicing their shadow magic, but the rest stand around, watching impatiently.
Satine and her minions, Paiton and Izzy, stand at a section of the wall closest to the last obstacle. Ed and Ian are with them, glaring at me like they’re hoping I’ll break my neck sometime soon. You’d think they’d be pacified after losing their leader, Craig, during the hunt, but if anything, I think they blame me for his death. Which is unfair, because Bonfang is the one who tossed Craig against that tree. Not that I feel sad about it, considering what the guy was planning to do to me.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at their attitude. I don’t think any of the students are the same after the hunt and the attack on the academy. In the days that followed, the entire mood in Shadowbone shifted as students tended to their wounds and adjusted to the loss of their classmates. There was a small ceremony for those who were lost, but no time to mourn. Not when we have weeks to prepare for the games. Weeks until the queen will return and expect fresh fodder, er I mean,soldiers, for her army.
So just like that, everyone moved on with the routine of the war academy, only now the structure of the classes has changed. Many of the lessons are mixed with students of different skill levels, because when it comes to the games, we’ll all be competing against each other no matter how strong we are. New alliances have formed, and tension is at an all-time high. The attack was a reminder that we aren’t immortal, not yet anyway.
Ian continues to stare, and having his dark gaze on me makes my skin crawl. Naturally, that results in me giving him my biggest smile, because I’ve discovered that always seems to piss him off.Perfect.The man’s glower intensifies, but he averts his gaze when Thane turns to look his way. At some point, I should probably tell my guys that Ed and Ian might be a problem, but so far, they’ve been all talk.
A part of me wishes that I could blurt to the academy that Thane and the others are my mates, but considering we don’t want the queen to discover my connection to them, that’s not really an option. Hence why we agreed that during classes, Thane and the others would try their best not to give me any special treatment. An agreement that Ireallywish I could take back right now.
Letting out a deep breath through my nose, I hobble toward the next nightmare I need to overcome. A long stretch of thick mud spans in front of me, shadows twisting up from the black ooze, and I groan.“It just keeps getting better and better,”I mutter to Thane.
“On your hands and knees, mate,”the shadow professor rumbles.
Chapter Two
~ Shade ~
“Mmm I love it when you talk dirty to me, daddy,”I tease, grinning like an idiot. Thane hates it when I call him that, but if I have to suffer right now then so does he.
“Don’t test me, mate,”he replies, glaring at me from across the room like he’s contemplating punishing me.
My breath hitches as desire swirls in my belly, but I know better than to continue pushing him. Knowing Thane, his form of punishment would result in me redoing this course in the night, and the idea of that has me keeping my mouth shut.
Reluctantly, I drop down so my belly is against the platform, and I take my time, slowly wading through the thick sludge that may or may not look suspiciously like excrement. Thankfully, it doesn’t smell like it, and I keep moving, trying to avoid the razor-sharp coils of wire above me. At one point, I jerk my head to avoid a shadow that comes at my face like a twisting tentacle, and I yelp as a section of wire tears a shallow cut along my scalp,ripping out a few hairs in the process.Holy son of a demon.I hiss as blood trickles down my forehead, and I duck lower again, determined not to scalp myself or end up bald during today’s class. Narrowing my eyes, I glower at the shadow that seems to wriggle harmlessly in the mud now, like an innocent strand of seaweed being teased by an ocean current.
“Careful,”Thane rumbles. His nostrils flare as he watches me, like the sight of my blood has personally offended him.
Don’t worry, Shade, it’s totally fine. It’s not like you lost an eye or anything, I tell myself.Hysterical, and completely inappropriate, laughter threatens to bubble out of me at the thought, but I force myself to keep it together, ignoring the stinging sensation along my scalp. Concentrating hard, I focus on getting through the mud that feels like wet cement, shuffling forward using my elbows and knees, and keeping my belly sliding along the sludge. When I finally make it to the other side and climb free, my lungs are burning, and my limbs are aching something fierce. Relieved, I lift to my feet, making a face as I stretch and straighten my stiff back.
Wiping my hands on my pants, I smile and give Thane a thumbs up.“See. Nothing to it,”I whisper under my breath, pretending that I’m not the one who has been saying this course is impossible since the moment I laid eyes on it.
Thane’s left eyebrow twitches, but he doesn’t reply.
Surprisingly, I manage to conquer the next few obstacles without further injury, but I stop when I’m faced with the last obstacle. It’s a climbing wall that stretches ridiculously high into the air. At this point, I’m convinced Thane must have been joking when he said this was the easy course. Swallowing hard, I grimace at the thick wall of jagged stone that towers above me.Of course, there’s no rope and no net.
Before we’d started the course, Thane had given all of his students a big, supposedly inspirational speech, about how theobstacles are designed to test our strength and stamina. He’d rattled off something about how completing the course would build our character, and how in war, there are no safety precautions.Crap.
I try to ignore the fear that’s curling around my neck like it’s trying to suffocate me.Yep, nothing to it,I think sarcastically.
“You can do this, Shade! Just up and over!” Kenzie shouts out to me from across the room, clearly noticing I’m in need of a little pep talk.
