"Don't I?" For a moment, his careful control slips, and I catch a glimpse of something ancient and dark in his eyes. Then he blinks, and his mask is back in place. "Just... be careful who you trust with your shadows, Kaia. Not everyone sees them for what they are. Some would twist them into something unrecognizable. Something dangerous."
Before I can process that cryptic warning, the music changes and Torric appears beside us.
"Time to switch," he says gruffly, though his eyes are alert. "Assuming little miss sunshine doesn't mind dancing with someone less broody?"
Malrik releases me with a slight bow that somehow manages to look both elegant and sarcastic. As Torric pulls me into the new dance, I glance back, but Malrik has already melted into the crowd.
Chapter 39
Kaia
"You look like you're trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing," Torric observes, his usual bluntness oddly comforting.
I snort. "That obvious?"
"Only to those of us paying attention." His rune pulses faintly as we turn, and I realize he's using it to track something—or someone—through the crowd. "Which, by the way, is more people than you think."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He spins me, and I catch a glimpse of Finn and Malrik having what looks like an intense discussion near one of the giant windows. Aspen stands between them and the rest of the crowd, his casual pose not quite hiding his defensive stance.
"It means," Torric says as he pulls me back, "that some of us actually give a damn about what happens to you. Whether you want us to or not."
"I never asked for—"
"Protection?" He raises an eyebrow. "Good thing we're not asking permission then." He keeps his tone light, but the flicker of worry in his golden eyes betrays him. For all his bravado,Torric's concern feels as solid as the rune pulsing faintly on his chest.
I open my mouth to argue, but movement near the edges of the room catches my eye. Thorne is walking purposefully toward a side door, and Darian is nowhere to be seen.
My shadows ripple with sudden urgency, and my necklace pulses warm against my skin.
Something's coming. I feel it in my bones, in the thickening magic that clings to every breath.
Finn
Everything goes to hell when the constellations start bleeding silver.
"That's not good," I mutter, watching droplets of starlight fall like rain. The other students seem mesmerized by the display, oohing and ahhing at what they probably think is part of the show.
They don't notice how the drops sizzle when they hit the ground. Or how they're forming a pattern around—
"Kaia," Malrik breathes, already moving. I grab his arm.
"Wait. Look."
Torric has maneuvered Kaia to the edge of the room, keeping her away from the worst of the magical discharge. Smart guy, even if he looks like he's about to murder someone. Probably Darian, who's watching the whole thing with poorly concealed interest.
"I think someone's trying to trigger her necklace," Malrik says quietly. "The alignment is amplifying its power."
"Yeah, I got that part. Question is: what do we do about it?"
A shadow—Bob, definitely Bob—tugs at my pant leg urgently.
"I know, buddy. We're working on it."
Kaia
The world has gone slightly silver at the edges, and my skin feels too tight. My amethyst necklace pulses against my chestin time with the falling starlight, each beat sending ripples of warmth through my body.
