Chapter 9
Fight!
I woke with a start, heart pounding once more, visions of people being thrown into the shadows haunting me, that fierce whisper echoing in my head.
Despite the disturbing dreams, my body still hummed with remembered pleasure, and I stretched languorously, reveling in the feel of The Hissies and Vorzak hugging me close in their sleep.
I tried to enjoy the moment, but eventually, I couldn’t ignore the call of nature or the fact that I was utterly famished.
If not for those two undeniable needs, I may have stayed in bed, wrapped in love, forever.
Instead, I carefully extricated myself from arms and serpents and made my way to the bathroom.
By the time I made it back out to my bedroom, Vorzak was sitting up, a disgruntled look on his face. “Where’d you go?”
I grinned. “Call of nature and now I’m starving, so it’s time for you to feed your mate, Vorzak.”
He smirked. “All right, then.”
“We should also probably try to make it to our afternoon class. You know how Puddlemoan gets.”
He grimaced. “Right.”
A few moments later, we left my room, hand-in-hand.
We barely had time to grab lunch before heading to Extreme Water Sports and then there was no time for talking as Vorzak and I got into our swim gear, then met at the pool, to leap into that day’s challenges.
The water always invigorated me, so those hours underwater seemed to wash away the shadows and the exhaustion as I battled the Academy’s moat kraken with Vorzak at my side.
By the time we climbed from the pool several hours later, I felt like a new woman, as if the lack of sleep was no longer an issue at all.
Vorzak and I parted to shower and change, then met up again in the corridor outside the locker rooms.
“Where to now?” He rumbled.
“I could really use a nap,” I said.
“That sounds like an excellent plan.”
“Alone,” I said, recognizing the gleam in his eyes.
His snakes all hissed at that statement and he grinned. “For once, I agree with The Hissies.”
Sleep.
Together.
Vorzak.
Jazzy.
Hissies.
I burst out laughing.
Vorzak raised an eyebrow.
“They called me Jazzy.” I giggled. “Well, come on then.”
The five of them immediately swarmed between us and I dropped a kiss on each head one-by-one. “Have you named them?” I couldn’t believe I hadn’t asked that question yet.
“Of course not. They’re just The Hissies.”
“Well, I think they need names. Not that The Hissies isn’t an absolutely adorable nickname, but they each have their own personality, you know, so I’m going to give it some thought.”
Vorzak chuckled. “You do that.”
I was contemplating famous groups of five as Vorzak maneuvered us toward the stairs. We were halfway up our third flight when I realized he was probably still hoping to join me for my nap.
I stopped when we hit the fourth floor landing. “You can head to your room and I’ll meet up with you for dinner.” We were in the same year, so we each had a room on the fourth floor. “If you come with me, neither one of us will get any sleep.”
“I’ll walk you to your door,” he insisted.
I rolled my eyes, but didn’t argue.
When we reached my room, he wasn’t keen on leaving me until he saw that Kasi and Mikaela were both there.
I wasn’t sure whether he agreed to leave because their presence meant no shenanigans or if he simply trusted Kasi to go after me should the shadows grab me again. Probably a little bit of both.
Before leaving, he hauled me into his arms and kissed me.
Heat swept through me as The Hissies slithered all around me, squeezing and nipping in all the right places.
By the time they walked out the door, The Hissies dancing and waving goodbye as they went, I was a melting, needy mess.
The minute the door closed behind them, Mikaela grabbed my hand and dragged me over to my bed. “Sit, sit,” she insisted as she settled across from me on Kasi’s bed, both of them facing me, clearly ready to begin their interrogation. “Tell us everything.”
I stared at her, then Kasi. “What are you talking about? Everything what?”
“Don’t even try to act all innocent,” Mikaela exclaimed. “His snakes were all over you. Not that they haven’t been before, but they were really all over you.” Her eyes widened. “Please tell me they go to sleep when you two are getting busy.”
I grinned. “Now what would be the fun of that?”
Kasi laughed.
“You are kidding me! They’re all over you even during sex?” Mikaela whispered that last word, utter shock on her face.
I had a split second to worry this might be too much for her, but then she grinned.
“Well, I’m not going to judge. After all, I have a very nosy leopard constantly interjecting her thoughts and opinions about what Elliot and I are up to.”
“Seriously?” She hadn’t shared this before.
“Oh, yeah, sometimes it’s awkward, sometimes it’s funny and sometimes it’s just adorable.
I can’t tell you how many times Elliot and I have been going at it when she says something that has us laughing hysterically.
It doesn’t really ruin the moment, just maybe delays it a little. Is it like that with his snakes?”
It was not at all like that. “Well.” I paused, not at all certain what to say.
Kasi snickered. “I’m guessing that’s a no.”
“The Hissies don’t talk much,” I said. “They communicate in other ways.” Excellent ways.
“The Hissies?” Mikaela exclaimed.
“That’s what Vorzak calls them.”
“That is so cute, I can’t stand it.”
“Speaking of cute,” Kasi said, “Vorzak and The Hissies were wrapped all around you when Jahrdran and I sneaked through this morning. We could barely even see you, they had you so covered.”
“That’s… sweet?” Mikaela said it like a question.
“Of course, it’s sweet,” I exclaimed.
“It’s just—they’re snakes! What if they bite you?”
“Well.” I grinned. “I actually like it when they bite me.”
Kasi let out a hoot of laughter while Mikaela shuddered in revulsion. “I do not understand you at all, Jasmine, but I am happy for you. I know how long you’ve wanted this.”
Instead of napping, we spent the next hour comparing what it was like to be mated to some of the scariest and most possessive monsters at the Academy.
Eventually, we challenged ourselves to come up with a single word or phrase to describe the situation.
“Sublime,” Mikaela decided, a goofy smile on her face.
“Breathtakingly beautiful,” Kasi said, “and terrifying.”
I knew exactly what she meant.
I was on a precipice, about to hurtle off that final cliff, plunging deep into the abyss that was the terror of endless love and I wasn’t sure I was ready.
“What about you, Jasmine?” Mikaela asked.
“I don’t know. It’s everything both of you said. It’s the beauty and terror of having all your dreams come true. It’s the hope and the fear, all of it wrapped up in this haunting mix of desperate love.”
“Wow,” Mikaela said. “I think you broke the rules with all those words, but that was really profound.”
“I guess terror brings out the poet in me,” I said.
We both chuckled.
“Uh, hate to break this up,” Kasi said, “but Jahrdran is texting, demanding to know where we are.” She held up her phone. “I guess we’re late for dinner.”
I snickered. “We’d better get going or he’ll be invading any second.”
“You think you’re joking, but he really will.” Kasi leapt to her feet.
Laughing, we headed for the cafeteria, where Vorzak lit up when he caught sight of me.
He strode toward me and the moment he got close enough, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me voraciously.
His snakes swarmed, petting me wherever they could reach, as heat barreled through me.
Long, delicious moments later, Vorzak pulled back and his snakes immediately shoved their way into my face.
Sexy.
Jazzy.
Give.
Hissies.
Kissies.
Grinning, I dropped one on each adorable head, then grinned as they began jostling for their favorite positions.
Vorzak tried to lead me to the table where he and the others had set up lunch, but it was a little difficult to walk with The Hissies acting like they hadn’t seen me in years, obstructing my view and tangling in my legs, causing me to stumble.
Vorzak finally just scooped me into his arms and carried me to the table, The Hissies rubbing all over me the entire way.
Once Vorzak set me down and claimed a chair at my side, The Hissies settled down as well.
One draped himself across my shoulders, then down my torso to coil around my left breast, his head nestled in the shadows beneath it.
A second snake looped my waist, then slithered his way up my belly to twine around my right breast, settling his head right at the top, where he continually flicked out his tongue, tasting my scent.
Two more looped around my legs, one nestling between them to rest his head right on my crotch and the other twining down to coil around both my ankles before settling his head on my left foot.
The last settled on top of my head, making himself a little nest in my hair. His head rested in the center of my forehead, just low enough that I could catch sight of his tongue every time he flicked it out to scent the air around him.
Thankfully, they’d left my arms free so that I could eat without issue, though it was hard to concentrate on my food or the conversations around me with The Hissies occasionally nipping and rubbing particularly sensitive areas.
I tuned back in when I caught Kasi saying Zowen’s name.
“I hate that we have no idea how to defeat him,” she said. “I can’t even track him in the Shadow Realm. It’s like he’s figured out how to hide himself there.”
“That’s what the shadows kept telling me to do,” Mikaela said, “so there must be a way to shield yourself in the Shadow Realm. We just have to figure out how.”
“That’s funny,” I said as the memory of my dreams suddenly exploded in my head. “The shadows told me to fight.”
“I don’t get it,” Kasi said. “The shadows haven’t ever spoken to me. Why would they tell Mikaela to hide and you to fight, but never speak to me at all?”
“Maybe because you’re part of the Shadow Realm in a way we aren’t,” Mikaela suggested. “You probably instinctively know what to do.”