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28
Raven
A groupof students walked past me. Bursts of laughter punctuated their conversation. It was an odd contrast. Me, walking on my way to the Spellcasting room, hoping I wasn’t about to die. Them, enjoying a normal night away from studies without a care in the world. I envied them but I was also glad that they were safe.
I liked this world I’d come to be a part of. I liked the magic. I liked the mystery even. I loved my mates. If I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have them. They fulfilled an empty place inside me I didn’t even know existed.
As I tugged open the door to the Spellcasting room, I knew I was doing the right thing. I’d take any risk necessary to ensure that they were safe. The part I hated about all of this was involving them. I wished I could do it on my own, but I knew I needed help from time to time.
And I was grateful I had them to help and support me. Being independent was part of who I was, but they’d taught me to learn how to be part of a family.
I took a deep breath as I closed the door behind me. I wasn’t sure what the outcome of this night was going to be, but it helped shed some light on where I wanted to be in the future. Wherever I ended up, I was going to be just fine if I could keep my mates with me. Together. I couldn’t let us end up split up. If we survived this, I was going to figure out a way for us to all stay together as one family. Because I needed them. And they needed me.
The Spellcasting room was eerie. Empty and lit only by the emergency light near the back of the room. The circular amphitheater was filled with long shadows from the single light, making it a perfect place to hide if you could move in the shadows.
I set the book down in a corner and took a step back. After lots of trial and error, I had the shadow magic down well enough to pull the shadows over the book, hiding it from sight.
I was pretty sure the shadow fae would be able to see right through it, but I had to at least make an attempt.
Now that that part was done, I dug the vial out of my pocket. My heart pounded against my ribs and my stomach filled with nervous flutters. I was about to do something really, really stupid. And I was about to break at least one major rule.
Taking a deep breath, I stretched out my arm, holding the vial over the stone floor. Then I dropped it.
The glass shattered and a billowing cloud of shadow rose from the vial, swirling around my ankles.
I tried to step away from the dark shadows, but they locked my feet in place.Fuck. I did not see that coming.
Pissed at myself for not detecting that trap, I clenched my teeth and balled my hands into fists. It didn’t prevent me from doing what I needed to do, but it sure made things more complicated.
I heard a hissing sound and turned toward the door in time to see gray shadows moving like smoke through the crack under the door. The shadows built on the other side, forming the rough shape of a figure. A moment later, they cleared and the shadow fae was standing there staring at me. “I see you’ve come to your senses.”
“Or I gave up,” I said. “What’s with the trap?”
He shrugged, then walked toward me. He moved with the grace of a lion stalking its prey. Even his movements sent a chill down my spine. I knew enough about magic to know he was more dangerous than any of the monsters I’d encountered so far.
“You pass off the book, I’ll release you and be on my way,” he said.
“I hid it in this room,” I said. “Let me go so I can get it.”
“No need,” he said, walking past me.
I twisted as best I could while my feet were glued to the ground by the swirling smoky shadows. He walked right to the corner where I’d hid the book, not even hesitating. With a wave of his hand, he cleared the shadows and picked it up.
He was grinning as he walked back toward me. “I wondered if you had any ability to access the shadow magic you had.”
“I’m a fast learner,” I said.
He looked down at the book and his brow furrowed. My heart pounded harder. This was it. Time was running out. Any second, he’d sense that the magic was gone.
When he looked back up at me, his upper lip was in a snarl and I could see his fangs. “What did you do to the magic?”
“Magic?” I asked innocently. “You asked me to bring you the book. I fulfilled my end of the bargain.”
“You know that’s not what I was after,” he said.
“Are you going to go back on your word?” I asked. “You said if I gave you the book, you’d leave this place. You also said you’d release me.”
“You didn’t follow through,” he said with a growl. “You kept part of the book for yourself.” Eyes narrowed, he moved closer to me. “I can feel it. The magic is close. What did you do with it?”
