Chapter 1
“Jasmine!” Mikaela squealed the moment she saw me.
“What? How? Did you cast a spell letting you know when I arrived?” I asked suspiciously. I’d literally just entered my dorm room seconds before she barreled through the door of our connecting bathroom.
“Of course, I did. So what?”
I burst into laughter.
“I missed you!” She flung her arms around me.
“I missed you too.” I hugged her back. “Where’s Elliot?”
“I told him we needed girl time, so he went down to wait for Kasi and Jahrdran in the lobby. He promised to drag Jahrdran off so that Kasi could join us.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jahrdran’s going to cooperate?”
Mikaela snickered. “Maybe?”
Maybe was right. The Varulvka was very attached to his mate, not to mention extremely overprotective, considering we were all being hunted by the Shadow Killer, Lydrel Zowen.
Not that we’d seen him since he’d attacked Mikaela and a bunch of other students during their Inner Beast Management final right before break.
“So, how’d the meet-the-parents thing go?” I asked, not wanting to think about the killer who stalked us from the shadows.
“Really well. You should have seen how happy my parents were when I showed up with Elliot. That wasn’t even the best part, though.
When I went running with my dad as leopards for the first time, I thought he was going to cry, he was so happy.
And Miki-Leopard was so excited when he shifted, she pounced on him and played with him.
I’ve never seen my dad so happy and carefree as he was in that moment. ”
She blinked back tears. “It’s weird, you know. I always wanted to give my dad that, to be able to run with him as a leopard, but it just wasn’t possible. Then, suddenly it was, but Miki-Leopard’s the one who gave him that experience, not me.”
“That’s ridiculous, Mikaela,” I said. “Miki’s present right now, isn’t she?”
“Well, she’s sleeping, but yeah, she’s here.”
“And you were present when you were running with your dad, right?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“So you were both present during that first father-daughter run, which means you both gave him that experience.”
“I suppose.”
“Look, Miki may have been born in the shadows, but she was also made from the leopard DNA you inherited from your father and she’s very much a part of you, in the same way your dad’s leopard is a part of him. Would you tell the man that run was only for his leopard, not for him?”
“Of course not.” She thought about that for a moment, then repeated in a firmer voice, “Of course not. You’re right. It was a truly amazing experience, Jasmine.”
“I bet. So how was meeting Elliot’s family?”
“They were awesome. Dragons are so much fun! I had no idea. Elliot took me flying over the moors of Scotland. It was spectacular.”
“Wait. You went flying voluntarily on a dragon?”
“Well, yeah, but it was Elliot!”
“So, does that mean you won’t be freaking out in Dragon Riding 101 anymore?”
“I don’t freak out!”
I just raised my eyebrows at her.
“Well, those are wild dragons! Have you seen their teeth?”
I snickered. “I’m pretty sure Elliot’s teeth are bigger.”
“Yeah, but he’s my mate. He’s not going to drop me or bite off my arm or light me on fire.”
“Right.” I laughed. “So, in other words, freaking out is still on the agenda this semester.”
“Whatever.” Mikaela rolled her eyes. “So, how was your break?”
“Boring, as usual.”
“You should have come with us,” Mikaela said.
“And crash your first holiday together as mates? Worse, crash the meet-the-parents holiday? No, thank you.”
We both giggled.
“In other news,” I said, “I’m officially on the market again.”
“What?” Mikaela exclaimed. “Oh, wait. Are you talking about the gorgon?” Without even waiting for a reply, she added, “Hold on. Does that mean you’ve given up on him?”
“It does.”
“Finally!” Mikaela gave a little dance of joy. “I’m so excited. I no longer have to worry about my best friend mating a bunch of creepy snakes.”
I rolled my eyes. Mikaela could be so damn dramatic. “Give me a break. I would have mated the gorgon, not his serpents.”
“Oh, like they’re not one and the same. Kasi didn’t just mate Jahrdran, the man. She also mated his beast. And I didn’t just mate Elliot. I also mated his dragon.”
“Well, whatever. I’m not mating Vorzak, the man or the serpents.”
“And I am thrilled to hear that news. Have you seen those things?”
“They’re not things. They’re sweet and adorable and I’m devastated they’re not mine, after all.”
Mikaela sighed. “Okay, fine. I want you to know, this is me being the best friend you could ever hope for, considering how much I loathe snakes, but are you sure? I mean, you were pretty convinced the gorgon was your mate.”
“I’m sure,” I said glumly, then told her about the scene I’d witnessed on the docks.
“Okay, let me get this straight. You no longer think he’s your mate because his snakes were nice to another woman?”
“They weren’t just nice to her. They were petting her and fawning all over her. She was clearly special and it just made me realize I’m not.”
“Of course, you’re special, Jasmine!”
“Not to him, not to them, not if they could wave at some other woman the same way they used to wave to me. Obviously, I was deluding myself.”
“Maybe she’s a relative or a really good friend. Just because they like her doesn’t mean she’s his mate or anything.”
“I know. It’s just, seeing him like that, seeing them like that, made me face reality.
All these years we’ve been at the Academy and he hasn’t noticed me even once.
Not once. Sure, we don’t have any classes together, but I’ve noticed him.
From afar, when we’re in the same hallway, across the cafeteria, on the grounds.
Yet he’s been oblivious. Obviously, it’s time for me to move on.
Besides, as long as I’m focused on him, I’m not giving anyone else a chance. ”
“Well, that’s a good point,” Mikaela said.
“I know, so I’ve decided to ignore Vorzak and instead—”
The door burst open and Kasi stalked in, Shadow at her side.
“Shadow!” Mikaela cried and dove toward Kasi’s shadow-companion, transforming as she went.
She landed as Miki-Leopard and the two cats rolled across the floor, then jumped to their feet and chased each other from our room to Mikaela’s and back again.
Shadow hurtled beneath Kasi’s bed, disappearing into the shadows and Miki-Leopard followed her.
The cats burst back into the room and dove into the shadows beneath my bed, then came exploding from the shadows in the closet.
“Shadow missed Miki-Leopard a lot,” Kasi said apologetically.
“I’m thinking Miki-Leopard missed her as well,” I chuckled. “So where’s Jahrdran?”
“With Elliot, getting food. I doubt they’ll be long. Jahrdran wasn’t too keen on me coming up here on my own.”
I snickered. “I could have predicted that.” Did predict it, in fact. “Since classes don’t start until tomorrow, I was just about to ask Mikaela to join me on a hunt.”
“What kind of hunt?” Kasi asked as the cats thundered by.
“I’ve been thinking about the wine cellar Headmistress Blackthorn mentioned last—”
Miki-Leopard exploded from the shadows beneath Kasi’s bed, straightening into Mikaela’s human form in a split second. “Oooh, an adventure!”
“Hey, you’re not naked!” I exclaimed.
Mikaela grinned. “I know. I’ve been practicing all summer.”
“But shifters are always naked when they shift,” I said.
“Yes, but I’m also a witch with magic. And as a shadow-leopard, I have access to the Shadow Realm.
So I just kind of picture my clothes going into a tiny pocket in the Shadow Realm when I shift to leopard and then when I shift back, I picture them coming with me and voila. No more involuntary nudity.”
“Wow,” Kasi said. “That must be terribly disappointing for Elliot.”
Mikaela snickered. “True, but it’s also awesome for me because Elliot still comes back naked.”
Kasi and I laughed.
“And speaking of Elliot, I’m texting him so he can join the hunt!”
“Well, tell him to bring Jahrdran too.”
Great.
When I’d pictured this hunt, I’d imagined it as a kind of girls’ adventure, culminating with the three of us, a couple bottles of wine and a lot of girl talk.
Now, we’d have their two mates along and it just wouldn’t be the same.
“Where do you think we should start the hunt?” Mikaela asked.
“I don’t know. I doubt it’s actually in the basement here, but I suppose we could start there.”
“I’ll tell them to meet us in the lobby.”
Five minutes later, Kasi and I were staring at Elliot’s wings, mouths agape.
“What did you do?” I finally demanded.
“Huh?”
“Your wings. They’re spotted.”
Elliot blushed and Jahrdran laughed.
“It’s because he’s my mate.” Mikaela leaned into Elliot, a look of pure happiness on her face.
“It’s a side effect of being a chameleon dragon,” Elliot said.
“Hold on, I remember now,” Kasi said. “It’s why Lydrel Zowen’s wings were made of shadows. Because he spent so much time in the Shadow Realm, they not only blended with the shadows, but they started to become them.”
“Yeah, but in this case, I’m not actually becoming a leopard, I’m just taking on the colors of my mate.” He kissed Mikaela and she practically swooned on the spot.
Damn. I really need to find my own mate.
“So where are we taking this hunt?” Jahrdran asked.
“To the basement!” Mikaela cried.
An hour later, we were all a little overwhelmed and a lot defeated.
“The problem is there are too many hidden tunnels and passages,” Mikaela said.
“Not to mention a ridiculous number of areas we can’t even access,” I said.
“Like the archives room in the library,” Elliot said.
“And the shadow library inside the archives room,” Kasi said. “A shadow library only shadow-beasts can access.”
“I bet even if we found the wine cellar, it would only be accessible to the professors,” Elliot said.
“My question is whether the professors would really have a wine cellar beneath the Academy in the first place,” Jahrdran said. “They have to know there’s a chance the students might stumble across it.”