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“Terra!” Kai beams and Finn stiffens at the sound of my name, looking up meekly and giving me that same nervous smile.
“Hey, still no luck?” I say as I walk over and stand before them.
Finn shakes his head and Kai throws up his hands dramatically and says, “We’re utterly hopeless.”
“Speak for yourselves,” Aervin mutters as he turns to greet us. I didn’t see him standing next to them; his Shadow is tall and has wings that curtain him from view. It turns its head completely around without moving its body and my stomach twists with the ferocity in those cold, soulless eyes. It looks like an owl, but longer, the head stretched long and slim, similar to Corvus’s crow.
“Shut up, show-off,” Kai growls, but that friendly grin is still on his face. Aervin shrugs and smiles, obviously proud of himself. “As if we aren’t stressed enough that we won’t be able to summon them.”
“Hmm,” I hum and press my hand to my lips, thinking of the circumstances in which I was able to let Amser flow from my body. “Well, when my Shadow first came out it was under duress and I had let it sink further into my consciousness.” What I don’t tell them is that I shut off my emotions completely in that moment, letting the darkness inside and giving Amser my woes.
Finn doesn’t look pleased to hear that, but Kai nods eagerly. His cheeky attitude is starting to grow on me. At least one person is keeping the hope alive inside us all.
“So, maybe if I attack you it will pull them out?” I say uncertainly. Raine shifts on his feet and grunts, obviously disagreeing, but he doesn’t bother saying it.
“Fine, let’s give it a try. What’s the worst that could happen?” Finn rolls his shoulders back and flexes his hands; his arms are veiny. He’s put on quite a bit of muscle mass in the past month. Not huge, bulging muscles, but lean and sharp. The kind that feel comforting wrapped around you.
I force myself to look away and clear my mind. This will be good practice for me too, I tell myself as I try to focus on letting my Shadow out.
Black dust spills onto the snow and takes the form of the small cat. I frown. I was hoping for the larger feline form Amser took earlier. It looks up at me, seeming to read my mind, and shifts, growing in size to the same height that Velis was in his riding form.
Amser’s presence is calmer than Velis’s. Not as greedy and starved. The sun has long since set, and yet it remains in control and not feral, as Velis becomes at night. Its skull is gray and the ribs and spine jut out prominently. The legs are black, only bright, sharp claws are visible, digging into the ground as Amser stretches. Cold black smoke rolls off my Shadow’s body and curls against the ground before wisping out.
Elias and I may be the Crescent Novas, but the differences between our Shadows are great. Mine seems to want to give—its body, power, everything—while his only takes.
Kai takes a sharp breath while Finn remains impassive. His eyes flicker with fire at my Shadow.
Amser waits for me to nod before it attacks Finn, knocking him ferociously to the ground. He hisses out in pain, sprawled out on his back with his knees up. “That didn’t fucking work, not even a little,” he croaks as he pushes himself back up and brushes the snow from his pants. Kai and Aervin laugh together while Raine watches with a scowl, his arms crossed.
Finn’s heated amber eyes stare through me, warming my chest as he gives me that same old smirk he’s been giving me since we were kids.
I crave his attention, but I want him to earn mine.
Amser knocks Finn over repeatedly until he can hardly stand back up. He bleeds from deep cuts on his arms, earned from blocking the hard blows, but there’s still no sign of his Shadow coming out. After a moment, the cuts heal and he wipes the excess blood off with his sleeves. Good thing we’ve got several sets of tactical clothing.
“Come on, Finn. You’re stronger than this,” I taunt him. He struggles to his feet and spits out blood off to his side.
“It’s not working; Laphia isn’t convinced that it is needed.” He shakes his head and a few strands of his lovely black hair fall over his forehead. He slicks them back with sweat.
Convinced it is needed… That ignites an idea in my head.
“Well, what if I was in danger?” I ask, looking around the courtyard for another student to spar with, one that Amser is unfamiliar with. I spot a well-built man training on a practice dummy and trot toward him.
Finn’s eyes grow wide. “Wait, Terra, not him!” he whisper-shouts after me, but he’s too late. I’m already approaching the man and he turns slightly to look at me. His eyes are feral, bloodshot and itching for something to stimulate his mind. His lips are reddened with what looks like blood and his grin spreads all the way to his ears, sending chills down my spine. He’s literally a snake.
I fist my hands at my sides and force a smile. “Care to practice with us?”
He observes me for a minute, watching me as if he can see straight through my skin to the Shadow within me. Maybe he can? I’ve seen weirder things.
Finn catches up and stops at my side, stepping slightly in front of me and drawing the man’s eyes to him.
“Finnick. What a surprise—I didn’t know you were friends with one of the Novas. How did you manage to catch this girl’s eye, hmm?” The man’s voice is sharp and deep, matching how he looks. His short blonde hair is slicked back. Even his dull eyes are reptilian.
“She’s an old friend from my hometown. Terra, this is Frederick,” Finn mutters without looking at me, keeping his amber gaze planted firmly on Frederick.
There’s obviously bad air between them. Maybe I made the wrong call, but this might actually be beneficial to getting Finn’s Shadow to come out.
“Frederick killed Martin in cold blood during the Culling Assessment.”
