Page 46 of A Bond So Deadly

Elgen motions like she’s trying to bat Galen’s finger away, and he smiles.

“New friends,” I correct. “Guys, this is Elgen and Tarlaz. They’ve been trapped here since the academy was built. I’ve been able to speak to them since the day I arrived.”

“And now you’ve bound yourself to them,” Galen observes. “Why?”

My mates all stare at me, waiting for me to answer.

“I read about the binding ritual in the journals,” I explain. “And I made a promise that I would free them, so it made sense.”

That’s followed by silence, and then Raith laughs. “Well, this is goin’ to make things interestin’. Tell them they’re goin’ to have to get real comfortable with the sight of our asses.”

Elgen scowls. “He says that like he thinks we haven’t seen him naked more than enough times already.”

I grin, and I’m about to ask why that is, but then I remember the shadows could travel across most of the academy, including entering the communal washrooms.

Thane stares the shadows down. “These shadows have been useful over the years,” he concedes. “I suppose, if it weren’t for them, Shade might not be alive after she was attacked in the washroom by Satine.”

Knox’s eyes darken at the memory.

“Yes, that’s right,” Elgen agrees in my head, though of course Thane can’t hear her. “We are most useful.”

“But if they become a nuisance, we will be removing them,” Thane growls.

Elgen hisses at him, but Tarlaz just stares.

“Sounds fair,” I chirp, happy that this has actually gone better than I’d hoped it would. “Now who’s coming for a stroll in the forest?”

Chapter Seventeen

~ Shade ~

It’s easy to forget I’m confined within the academy barrier now that I have Elgen and Tarlaz with me. Because they’ve been trapped in the academy building for so long, they’re so grateful to see outside that they make me feel like I have the whole world at my fingertips. The pair of them had marveled at the forest as we’d walked between the ancient trees, and I’d never heard Elgen laugh so freely before. If they’d had their way, we never would have left the forest, but sleep pulled at me, and eventually, my mates took me back to our rooms.

Thankfully, my mates aren’t nearly as mad as I thought they would be. I think somehow, they knew I needed this. I needed a win after everything that’s happened recently, and as weird as it sounds, binding the shadows to me gave me that.

The next morning the demon commanders and students continue their combat training, but in the afternoon, Xera and Ravyn make a surprise visit to the academy and announce a last-minute war council. I’m not sad to find out I’m not invited. The last thing I want is to be near the originals, or stare at Germain’s smug face so soon after what happened to Borshoz. I know Germain didn’t physically kill the zenali, but by his actions, Germain contributed to his death. Borshoz knew what was coming next, and he chose to go out on his own terms.

My mates are reluctant to leave me, but I assure them I’ll call if I need them, and I return to my dorm to spend the afternoon with Kenzie. Carefully placing my phoenix’s egg in her nest near the window, I bring my knees to my chest, leaning against the cushions in the alcove. Wrapping my arms around my legs, I hug myself. I’m not sure why I’m sad. I mean, I’m glad I didn’t have to go to the council meeting. It would be all big egos, talk of blood and death, battle tactics and torture, and none of that interests me. Except…I can’t stop thinking about Borshoz’s words: I leave gladly knowing you are here. Knowing that someone else will be listening… I keep asking myself, if it would have been good to be at the meeting and hear about their war plans. But then I remind myself that it doesn’t matter. It’s not like I could do anything to help. I mean, I’m a prisoner at the academy for one.

Still…I can’t shake this unsettling feeling. I sigh heavily, stretching out my legs.

Kenzie sits on the edge of her bed, her brow furrowed in concentration, and I distract myself by watching her. Shadows shoot out from her hands, and she grins when they wrap around the black vase sitting on the small, circular table in the middle of the room. There’s a few more seconds of concentration and her shadows bring the bunch of red roses to her, gently placing the vase on her lap. She grabs hold of it and her smile is infectious when she turns to me. “Did you see that? I’m getting better, right?”

“Pretty amazing,” I say sarcastically, then regret it a second later. “Sorry. It actually was really great. I’m just cranky.”

“Let me guess, you’re hungry? Or are you just missing your mates?” She gives me a wry grin. “I told you. Being that obsessed is unhealthy. Is it time for an intervention?”

Snatching the cushion from behind me, I grin as I throw it at her. Her shadows catch it when it’s halfway across the room, and she places it on her bed. “You’ll get that back when you start acting reasonable again,” she teases.

“I am acting reasonable,” I protest. “Reasonably annoyed that I wasn’t invited to the meeting.”

She gives me a look. “Well, you are prophesied to make us lose the war. It makes sense they wouldn’t want you at the war council,” she says, smirking.

“Well, it’s not like I can do any harm while I’m trapped here.”

She shrugs. “But why tempt fate?”

She’s right, of course, and only telling me what I’d already been saying to myself, but I make a defeated sound anyway. Leaning back, I slide out my sketchbook and open to a blank page, gripping my pencil with too much force.