Page 17 of A Bond So Deadly

“Well, that’s easy,” I say. “I’ll just stay here. As long as I remain at the academy, Queen Krosia has agreed not to kill me, right?” But even as I say it, an uneasy feeling swirls in my chest. “I mean, right?”

There’s a beat of silence, and Blake shares a look with my mates.

Thane rubs his stubbled chin. “We’ll continue working on building Shade’s powers, but we’ll have to be careful,” he says to Blake. “I doubt Krosia would be happy to hear we’re training our mate. But we don’t have many other options. If Krosia ever sees the opportunity to take Shade’s life, she will.”

“What about immortality?” Dante asks. “That’s what your graduation games were about, were they not? If we make Shade immortal, it will at least be harder for anyone to harm her.”

I perk up at that, because it’s something I’ve wanted to know for a while.

Chapter Six

~ Shade ~

“Unfortunately, it’s impossible for us to make Shade immortal,” Galen explains. “Queen Krosia uses her power to give the selected humans immortality. She draws on the energy of the shadow realm, essentially binding a part of it to them and transforming them in the process.”

Blake’s brow furrows. “But if she’s the one who can make the humans immortal, why doesn’t she build up her army more?”

“It’s not so simple,” Galen continues. “Turning humans immortal takes considerable energy and Queen Krosia is right to be selective. The Xalgrith king has the power to infiltrate the minds of the weak. Not everyone is well suited to a battlefield.”

Yeah. Like me. I decide not to point that out.

Blake taps her nails on the table. “Okay, but what about when you all first came to the shadow realm, then? When Queen Krosia arrived, who made her immortal? Someone must have.”

My mates all share a look.

“The oracle,” Thane replies.

“Okay, so we find this oracle, bring them here, and get them to make Shade immortal,” Nate comments. “What are we waitin’ for?”

Galen places down his glass. “That would be a solid plan, except unfortunately, the oracle is gone.”

I stare at my mate. “What do you mean, gone?”

“We’ve only seen the oracle twice,” Galen replies. “The first time was when we were initially summoned here and given the choice to take the oath and join the war. When we agreed, we were given our immortality.”

Alaric’s gaze hardens. “And the second time?”

“That was a short time later when the oracle summoned us and gave us our individual prophecies,” Thane answers.

I blink in confusion. “And in all these years you’ve never tried to contact the oracle since?”

“Oh, we’ve tried,” Raith says, pushing his plate away. “A few days after hearin’ our individual prophecy, we’d been arguin’ about the full extent of what it meant. We wanted to discuss the meanin’ of it with the oracle, but…”

“But what?” Blake interrupts, narrowing her eyes.

“Well, the oracle wasn’t there,” Galen answers.

“We searched the oracle’s cave but found nothin’,” Raith adds. “I guess he figured his work was done and he no longer wanted to be disturbed. In any case, the oracle was gone, Krosia became the shadow queen, and she’s been the one turnin’ the humans immortal since.”

Blake clasps her hands together, and her brow wrinkles. “The oracle has to be out there somewhere. Are you sure you’re not remembering the words of the prophecy wrong? Maybe your mate isn’t destined to destroy you after all? If that were the case, then Shade wouldn’t be a threat to the war, and her life wouldn’t be in as much danger. We need to keep searching.”

My mates consider this.

“The words were clear, but it’s worth trying to find the oracle again,” Galen says, sliding his turquoise gaze to my friend.

“I agree,” Knox comments. “But we can’t leave this academy. Not while Germain and Ambrose are here. No doubt they will be watching us carefully and reporting everything to Krosia. We should lay low for a time and hope that when the demons leave, Germain and Ambrose will be called back to the shadow palace. Until then, we’ll focus on strengthening Shade’s powers.”

Everyone seems to agree on that, and I can’t help but feel like a daughter being discussed by her overprotective parents. Great.