"I could ask you the same thing." I lean against the shelf, noting how his hand twitches toward the book. "Soul-binding is dangerous magic. Not typically covered in our curriculum."
"Just expanding my knowledge." His smile doesn't reach his eyes. "We can't all be born understanding the shadow realm like you."
The jab is meant to unsettle me, but I merely raise an eyebrow. "No, we can't. Just as we can't all be trusted with certain kinds of power."
Something dark flickers across his face before he can hide it. "Speaking of trust," he says, his tone deceptively light. I heardabout your little group's falling out. Such a shame. Kaia seemed so close to all of you."
My shadows coil tightly, but I keep my voice neutral. "Concerned about our friendship, Darian? How thoughtful."
He shrugs, gathering his books. "Just making conversation. Though I suppose I should thank you all. If you hadn't pushed her away, she might never have agreed to be my date for the dance."
I want to freeze the smirk off his face, but I force myself to stay still. "Indeed. Funny how things work out."
"Well, I should go. Big day tomorrow." He pauses at the end of the aisle. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of her."
Only when his footsteps fade do I let my careful control slip. The shadows around me writhe in response to my anger, and I have to take several deep breaths before they settle.
"What are you planning?" I murmur, running my fingers over the spine of the book he left behind. The leather is cold to the touch, unnaturally so. When I open it, the pages fall to a detailed description of binding shadows to one's will.
"I know you're there," I say softly to the shadows in the corner. They've been watching me all evening, more agitated than usual. Bob shifts forward slightly. The others hover behind, waiting.
"Show me," I whisper. "Show me what you've seen."
The shadows coalesce into scenes that make my heart race: Darian and Thorne in hushed conversation, the professor's hand tight on his student's shoulder. The necklace pulses with violet light whenever Kaia's shadows draw near, as if sensing something more profound than proximity. It feels almost alive, its reaction a deliberate warning to anyone paying attention. Darian practices something in an empty classroom, his own shadows twisting in ways that seem... wrong.
But it's the final scene that makes my blood run cold. Darian at the edge of the academy grounds, kneeling before a figurecloaked in darkness. The air around them crackles with an oppressive energy, shadows swirling like a living storm. Though the figure’s face remains hidden, its presence radiates a chilling authority, the kind that bends the world around it to its will. The shadows can't—or won't—show me the figure's face, but the aura of wrongness is unmistakable.
"When?" I ask sharply. The shadows ripple in response—last night.
Footsteps echo from the other end of the library. The shadows immediately scatter, returning to their usual patterns. Bob brushes against my hand, his edges rippling with agitation. It feels like urgency, a wordless plea to act before it’s too late.
"Still lurking in dark corners, your highness?" Finn emerges from between the stacks, his usual grin in place, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes.
"Some of us actually study, chaos mage," I reply drily. But there's something off about his casual stance, a tension in his shoulders that betrays his light tone.
"You saw something," I say quietly.
Finn's smile fades. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just spreading chaos and rumors like always." He picks up a book, flipping through it without really looking at the pages. "But hypothetically, if someone had seen our newest student practicing some very questionable magic in the east tower at midnight..."
"Hypothetically," I drawl, "that someone might want to share what they saw with someone else who's been having similar concerns."
Finn meets my eyes, all pretense of humor gone. "He's going to hurt her, isn't he?"
I think of the shadows' warning, of the dark figure and Darian's desperate research. "Yes. The question is: what are we going to do about it?"
A slow, decidedly wicked grin spreads across Finn's face. "Well, as it happens, I have a few ideas about that. How do you feel about crashing a dance?"
Despite myself, I feel my lips twitch. "I thought you'd never ask."
As we begin plotting, I notice Bob has returned, joined by the other shadows. They hover around us like eager conspirators, and I'm reminded that we're not the only ones who want to protect Kaia. Whatever Darian and Thorne are planning, they're about to learn a crucial lesson about the nature of shadows—they're not just extensions of darkness.
They're family.
And no one messes with our family.
Chapter 36
Finn
