One moment, I was standing, fists clenched, and the next, I was thrown over his shoulder like a rag doll. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I shouted, my fists landing uselessly against his back. It was like hitting a wall of muscle. He grunted but didn’t falter, just kept walking as though I weighed nothing.
“Put me down!” I smacked his back again, harder this time, but he barely seemed to notice.
“I’m not putting you down until you agree to eat something,” he replied, his tone calm but firm.
“Argh!” I yelled, hitting him again. I could sense his amusement.
When we entered the mess hall, everyone stared at us. He plopped me into a seat unceremoniously next to Leo, who just grinned at my discomfort.
“Nice of you to drop in, Elle.”
“Shut up!”
“Keep her there.” He grunted, before walking up to the banquet table to get me food.
I glared at them both. A girl with vibrant purple hair I didn’t recognise sat next to Leo on his other side. At my appearance, she watched me closely.
“Oh shit, you weren’t kidding,” the girl muttered. “She’s stunning.”
I spun to face her, ready to spit back any vitriol she was about to send my way, when I faltered, taken in by her the subtle friendly smile on her face. She had a long scar down one side of her face that went from her eyebrow to her chin. It was striking.
She leaned forward towards me with a conspirators glint in her deep violet eyes.
She waved at my surprised expression. “Hi. I’m Maddie. Mage, mostly plant magic. Poisons.” She waggled her eyebrows at me. “You’re the shadowmancer right?”
I sent Leo a uncertain glance. “Um… yes, I guess so.”
“That’s incredible. So, what can your shadows do? Can they pick things up? Suffocate people?”
“Mads,” Leo sighed.
“What? She’s interesting. Much more than the likes of anyone else here.” Maddie scoffed, sitting back in her seat.
“You’re a Shade?”
“In training.” She rolled her eyes. “Second year though.”
“Right,”
Before I could respond, she leaned forward again, catching me off guard when she took my hand in hers. The touch was surprisingly intimate, and I flinched, yanking my hand away.
Leo burst out laughing, his amusement clear. “Mads, can you keep it in your pants for one minute?”
She gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry, had to give it a try. The odds of finding a hot dyke in this building are slim to none, ya know?”
I just blinked at her, unsure how to respond.
“What about Skye?” Leo asked, clearly amused by Maddie’s antics.
Maddie rolled her eyes dramatically. “Don’t talk to me about that traitor. She keeps flirting with that damn shifter wolf, third year.”
“Tom’s a good guy,” Leo countered.
“Yeah, exactly. He’s aguy,” Maddie sighed dramatically. “You know, if only I swung that way. I just can’t imagine ever liking a cock, you know?” She shuddered. “I mean, they just hang there…” she made a dangling gesture and I giggled, despite myself.
I couldn’t help the way my gaze flicked to Leo as I remembered the other night. He must have seen something in my face because his grin grew wider.
A plate piled high with creamy spaghetti was thrown in front of my face, along with some bread and water. I looked up and met Slade’s determined expression. He crossed his arms, expectant.
