But I was done listening. I let my shadows envelop me, pull me out of Tate’s grasp, and transport me back to the academy.
The campus was busy with students milling about getting ready to blow off some steam before classes started up again. I didn’t bother walking through them to find her. I let my shadows pull me through the campus, checking all the places I knew she could be hiding.
I popped back into a hallway and inhaled, searching for her scent among the cluster of others. It took a moment, but I eventually picked hers out. It was recent.
Following the scent, I ignored everyone who came up to me or tried to get my attention. I only had one goal in mind right now and that was finding her.
Her scent led me to a higher part of the academy, one that students weren’t allowed in. Apparently, that rule did not apply to the daughter of the academy’s founders.
Along with her scent lingered that of the hunter, which only drove to push me toward her faster. My shadows werecompletely out of control around me now, casting the hallway in a dark fog.
I stared at her door for a moment before bypassing it all together. I stepped out of the shadows and into her room. It was larger and better furnished than the dorm room she shared with Tate.
Heavy blackout curtains covered the windows, but someone had parted them enough to let a few beams of light into the room, keeping it from being completely dark.
My eyes slid over the room, searching the dimly lit room until they settled on the lump on her bed.
My fingers curled into fists at my side. The need for violence and blood roared through my body. I took the first step and then the next until I was next to her side of the bed. She had the covers up over her face, which made sense for a coward like her.
Using Tate. Jerking him around like he was some kind of plaything only to hurt him in the worst way possible. No more beating around the bush. This wasn’t just for Tate, this was for me. Justice for Kleon. To show the Durands that they couldn’t take someone away from me without paying the price.
She had to die. Now.
My hand reached out, fingers curling around the top of the covers. Drawing them down, I poised my shadows to launch at her.
She was quick. It would be hard to surprise her. My shadows would restrain her while I bleed her dry. Or better yet, I’ll rip her head from her body, the same way her mother did to Kleon.
The covers came down, my fangs aching for something to sink into, my shadows ready.
But I made a mistake.
I wasn’t prepared to face her.
One look at her and everything changed.
Even in the dim light, I could see the puffiness around her eyes. The strain on her face, her brow furrowed as she fought with some unseen force. She curled up into a tiny ball, wearing a t-shirt too large for her. The loose material of the collar was wrapped in her hands, and she held it to her face as if it was the only thing that could bring her comfort.
On closer inspection, I realized the shirt she was wearing... was mine. Even with us apart, even with us at odds, her on one side and me on the other, still she clung to me for comfort while she slept. The same way she did when I would sneak into her room every night to keep the nightmares away.
That anger inside of me lost its edge. The pain I felt multiplied, but the focus changed from mine to hers.
Tate had been right. Whatever happened, she was as upset about it as he was. This wasn’t a woman who wanted to hurt Tate.
And I couldn’t in good conscience use this moment to take my revenge on her family. Not with her looking like that. Not with her wearing my shirt.
She groaned in her sleep and shifted, her arms reaching out as if she knew I was there.
I stepped back from the bed. My eyes lingered on her, an ugly ache in my heart begging me to climb into the bed beside her and give us both the comfort we desperately wanted.
Instead, I let my shadow stroke the side of her face once, then turned and disappeared, leaving my anger there on the floor with so much regret.
Chapter 24
Jack
The scent of smoke and clovers filled my senses when I finally woke the next day. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, wincing at how sore they were.
As I got ready for the day, I wondered what was with this place. I hadn’t lost control of my emotions or cried so much since I was a kid. Yet, in the short time I’ve been here, I felt as if I was touching a live wire.
