My nightmares?“What are you talking about? Are you saying those images were flashes from my nightmares? But I haven’t had nightmares for weeks,” I say. “In fact, I think being at Shadowbone is the best I’ve slept in—” My words die in my throat as it dawns on me. This whole time I’d thought that I’d been sleeping well because I’d been spending my nights with Thane, Galen, and Raith. I’d never contemplated that Knox was the one shielding me from my nightmares. My heart pangs as I stare at my mate, but he only sneers at me like he hates my look of appreciation.Asshole.Fear enters me then, because if those flashes had been from my nightmares… I shudder.
“And I’d never waste my time abducting students,” he says coldly. “It’s bad enough that I have to teach them to stop them from being so pathetic.”
I was so sure that Knox had something to do with the disappearances. It made sense. He’d taken Satine to the cells, and he’d tortured her.But…had he done it for me?The idea should make me sick to my stomach, and I do feel horrible, but there’s also a part of me that’s completely caught off guard. Why would he do that to Satine just because she’d tried to kill me? I’d thought Knox wanted me dead, anyway? Hell, the man often acts like he’s the one trying to murder me.
Before I can ask more, he tilts his head to the side. “They’re almost back,” he mutters. With a wave of his hand, shadows pool beside him forming a shadow pathway. “Let’s go,” he says, gesturing to the portal. When I don’t immediately move, he adds, “Unless you’d rather find your own way back?”
And that has my feet moving. Over the past weeks, I’ve gotten better at creating my own pathways, but it seems my bad navigational skills also affects my ability to form shadow pathways that actually lead where I want them to. Unless I’m creating a pathway that leads directly to one of my guys, I often end up in places where I don’t intend. For example, the other day I’d hoped the pathway would take me to the dining hall, but somehow, I ended up in the washroom instead, materializing in front of a very surprised, and completely naked, poor student who squealed, clutching at his manhood when he saw me.Oops.
Glaring at Knox, I stride to the portal and step inside. I should have known better than to think I would get any answers out of him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
~ Shade ~
It’s a short while later when I’m sitting in the guys’ living room with Thane, Raith, Knox, and Galen. Lifting my hand, I go to bite off another chunk of my chocolate bar, but before it can reach my lips, Thane’s shadows curl toward me, and there’s an oddly determined look in his eyes.
My lips close over the end of the bar, and I make a face when it’s not the delicious sweetness of cocoa on my tongue that I was expecting. Instead, I’m left with an unpleasant grainy texture. I pull the half-eaten bar away from my mouth, eyeing it suspiciously. “Why does my chocolate bar taste like ass?”
“I highly doubt it tastes like that,” Galen drawls from where he’s stretched out on a chaise lounge close by.
“It’s a protein bar,” Thane growls. “You need to be taking better care of your body. Especially with the games starting soon.”
My gaze slides to Galen’s, and my mate’s eyes sparkle. I’m guessing Thane doesn’t know about the delicious box ofchocolates Galen left for me, and I’m not about to spill the beans, because I’m seriously hoping there’s more where that came from.
“Yeah, sorry but at this point I don’t think a few protein bars are going to help much with my muscle mass. Can’t a girl just enjoy her chocolate before she dies?” I grumble, swallowing down the tasteless lump. I’ll admit, I may be a little cranky after my interaction with Knox, and this protein bar really isn’t helping.
Raith reaches across from his position beside me on the couch, and he grips my chin gently, turning my head so I’m facing him. “No one is dyin’, sunshine.”
I give him a look. I have no animali, and while they’ve taught me everything they can, I still need to survive the zenali creatures and the other students and their animali.
“You’ll survive,” Raith says firmly. “Just remember what we’ve taught you, and you’ll make it.”
“The queen and a few of the originals will be here tomorrow to help raise the stadium,” Thane says, picking up the conversation from earlier.
“Tomorrow?” I say, surprised.
“Yes,” Thane rumbles.
“And when you say raise…” I start.
“You’ll see, little shadow,” Galen purrs. “When the ground starts to tremble, remember to do yourself a favor and look out a window.”
I frown at him but going by his smug expression, I can tell he’s not going to explain further. “Okay, then,” I say. “But isn’t the queen worried about the Xalgrith? First the hunt and now the sky attack?” Truthfully, I’d thought they were going to say that the games would be postponed.
“There are always attacks,” Galen replies. “According to Ambrose, with the latest attack, it was simply unfortunate thatthe Xalgrith they had been chasing happened to run into our group.”
I think of the original, Ambrose. They’ve told me about all of the originals, and the main thing I remember is that they’re all dangerous, and my guys have told me to stay away from all of them.
“So as I was saying, tomorrow night there will be a dance,” Galen goes on. “A final celebration before the games commence, if you will. The games will start at sunrise on the following day, and they will end when the queen is satisfied she’s seen enough. It could be days or longer.”
Trying to distract myself, I take another bite of my bar. I’m not sure if it’s the dryness of the protein, but I almost have to choke the lump down. The guys think I’m going to be able to survive the games fordays. Relax, Shade. At least, you know what to expect and how to survive. The rest of the students aren’t so lucky.
I think about what Knox had said about the missing students. About how he’d tracked some of them down and found their remains beyond the academy walls. I’d been hoping that I’d be able to give Kenzie some good news before the games. That somehow, I’d find out what happened to Leira and the others, and at least Kenzie would have some closure. Honestly, a naïve part of me has been hoping Leira and the others are alive somewhere hidden within the walls of Shadowbone. But we’re still nowhere. From what Kenzie has told me, there’s no way Leira would just leave the academy and be preyed upon by shadow creatures. She sounds too smart for that, and the possibility that she’s dead somewhere is getting harder to ignore. What if something is killing the students inside Shadowbone and depositing their remains outside the academy walls? I shudder.
“When the games start, the queen will use her magic to ensure no one tampers with the set challenges. The idea is to keep the games fair and without outside influence, but it means we won’t be able to assist you. At most, we’ll be able to send shadow whispers to you, as we can manage that without alerting the queen,” Thane growls, looking entirely pissed off that he can’t help me more.You and me both, buddy. You and me both.“However, provided you remember what we’ve taught you, you should be just fine.”
“Even without an animali?” I say dubiously.
