Chapter 6
I woke in a cold sweat, heart pounding like I’d been sprinting.
The image of the moon filled my mind for a moment, bright, dazzling, and almost full, but the night was long gone. I’d watched it die. Watched the gray haze of dawn before falling into a deep slumber. But only four hours had passed, and I was wide awake, my body buzzing for action.
I’d dreamed of the moon, and that was bad.
It had to be bad, right? Because the last sidhe moon had seen me sleepwalk into the forest, pheromones spiking to attract goyle males.
It had left me hungry for Serath and only him.
The next time the needing had hit me, I’d begged Curi to fuck me.
Thank goodness he hadn’t taken me up on my demand, realizing that I wasn’t myself.
But we still weren’t sure if that episode was related to the fated mate bond, my fae blood, or to something that Prasan may have done.
Willowman had found herbs in Prasan’s room, a tincture that might be able to loosen inhibitions, and since Prasan had cooked that night, then been so against me going out, maybe…maybe he’d wanted Serath and me to consummate. It would, after all, have resulted in my death and driven Serath mad.
Mission accomplished.
But nothing was certain. We’d know for sure in a few days as the sidhe moon grew closer.
Willowman had promised to try to come up with a solution, some concoction to help temper my needing, and since Mirrowind was back in a couple of days, she might be able to help us.
The woman was fae and might know what kind of fae I was descended from.
But if neither of them could help, then what?
What would I do to quell the hunger?
I couldn’t allow it to ruin my chances of passing the elite trial, which meant there was only one way to soothe it, and that was to give it what it wanted.
Satiation.
Serath had succeeded in calming it without consummation, but he’d been my mate. I wasn’t sure that the needing would accept the same methods from a goyle without that kind of connection to me.
Which meant…
No. I wouldn’t think about that. Instead, I’d put my energy into hoping that the needing was absent. That it had all been a trick of a tincture. That without Serath to fuel it, my desire would remain dead.
Yes, all I could do was hope.
Hope and ignore the prickling beneath my skin.
Gone were the days of needing more sleep. If anything, I seemed to require less. I’d gotten used to retiring before the others, but now I walked the corridors like a ghost while the academy slept.
Speaking of ghosts, it was time to check on Melanie again.
The specter had been absent since before the cadet exams, but I was certain she was still around.
Maybe the crystals that Derek had gotten off Yarrow were helping. The crystals were supposed to exude energy vibrations that might help Melanie to manifest if she was struggling to do so. I considered waking Derek to come with me, but he was still developing, and his sleep was important.
I grabbed the key to my old dorm room and stepped out the door, smack bang into Curi’s solid chest.
He grabbed my arms to steady me. “Hey.” His voice was grumbly and gruff from sleep. “I thought I heard you moving about.”
His eyes were still puffy, telling me he needed more shuteye. “You don’t have to be up just because I am.”
He stretched and yawned. “Nope. I’m wide awake now. Where are we headed?”
He was too sweet to me. “You don’t need to hang with me all the time, Curi. I’m okay. I’m not going to fall apart.”
He gave me a wry smile and slung his arm around my shoulder, drawing me away from my room. “Maybe I like hanging with you.”
“I’ve hardly been fun to be around.”
“I’ve heard losing your fated mate can do that to a goyle,” he said lightly.
I paused in my step and arched a brow at him. “Did you just make a joke about my loss?”
He winced. “Too soon?”
Maybe it was too soon. Maybe it was highly inappropriate, but the fact he was doing it made me feel…normal. No more kid gloves.
Just teammates preparing for the fight of our lives. “Thank you.”
He leaned in and dropped a kiss on my head. “So where are we headed?”
“To check on Melanie.”
He stifled another yawn. “You can buy me coffee on the way.”
“You know, caramel lattes aren’t half bad.” I took another sip. “Yep, I think I’m a convert now.”
“I told you, best beverage.” He took a long gulp of his and smacked his lips.
Stone Comfort had been empty so we’d been served quickly, but in a couple of hours the place would be teeming with goyles eager for breakfast. Although each dorm had a kitchen, cooking wasn’t something many of the cadets enjoyed doing.
To be honest, if I hadn’t met Shar, Tour, and the twins, I probably wouldn’t be into it either.
Not that I cooked that often. Touron took on most of the culinary roles, and now Curi too.
I was lucky to have them.
We entered our old dorm, and nostalgia washed over me. “I miss this place.”
“Elite tower has better mattresses,” Curi replied.
“You think?”
“Definitely.”
The dorm was quiet, the halls shrouded in gray light. Most of the goyles would still be asleep, so we made our way silently to my old room.
It was strange being back here. In the grand scheme of things, I’d hardly spent much time in this space, but it had been home for a while. There were memories here, even if the bed was stripped bare and every surface lightly gathering dust. Even though it looked like a room fit for a ghost.
Curi closed the door behind us. “Now what?”
“Now we wait. See if she shows. Melanie?”
Several crystals dotted the room, an effort to provide Melanie with an energy source if she was struggling to manifest.
I ventured farther into the room. “Melanie, are you here? If you’re here, show me a sign.”
Silence was my only answer. I parked my ass on the edge of the mattress. “I usually wait a few minutes. Just in case.”
Curi joined me. “This really matters to you. Why?”
“You know she helped me…to get information about Romi from the secure files…” He nodded.
“Yeah, well something happened to her. Something that messed her up.” I’d been so wrapped up in my grief that I’d put off helping her.
“I spoke to Flora a couple of days ago about what happened. She can’t remember a thing, except…she said she has this image of golden eyes in her head. But not witch eyes, more…glowing.”
“And that’s all she recalls?”
“Yes. Not much to go on.”
“No. But if we can help Melanie, then maybe she can tell us more. This feels like too much of a loose end to leave dangling, especially after what happened with Prasan. This might be unrelated to everything, but then it may not. Either way, Melanie doesn’t deserve to be lost like this.
” My breath misted in front of my face. “Temperature drop.”
“She’s here?”
“I think so. Melanie? Melanie, can you hear me? Can you manifest?” Goosebumps rippled up my arm. “That’s it. You’re doing great. Use the energy from the crystals. Channel from us if you need it. ”
Curi shivered. “Fuck, it’s freezing in here now.”
The coldest it had ever been. She’d never had to siphon so much energy from a room before. My skin crawled with the wrongness of it all.
A low moan filled the room, the sound so mournful and unearthly that goosebumps rippled up my arm and cold fingers of foreboding tightened around my nape.
The air by the window rippled, and a form manifested—gray and wraith-like with a long pale face and dark pits for eyes. Its mouth yawned wide, head canting to one side. I got the impression of long dark hair rippling around its head, but it was too spectral and ethereal for me to make out.
“ That’s Melanie?” Curi asked.
“I think so, but it doesn’t look like her. Melanie…” I stood slowly and took a step toward her, but Curi grabbed my wrist.
“Don’t. This feels wrong.”
He was right. The energy she exuded was dark and hungry. The kind of hunger that takes with impunity. But I had to try. “Melanie, is that you?”
The specter moaned and reached for me. It had to be her, right? I drew the vial containing the tincture from my pocket. This could help her. Could bring back her memories, but would it work if she was this far gone?
What if I wasted it?
A wave of dizziness had me reeling. I staggered against Curi, who grabbed hold of my shoulders to steady me. “Whoa…”
“Cam, I don’t feel too good,” he said.
It was Melanie. She was drawing from us, too much too fast.
My knees felt watery “Get to the door…” My voice came out slurred. “Curi…”
I buckled, and the specter rushed me, maw yawning wide, but Curi snagged me around the waist and hauled me out of the room and into the corridor. He slammed the door and stood with his back against the wall, my body cradled to his chest.
“What the fuck just happened?” he asked. “It looked like she wanted to eat you.”
Yes. That’s exactly what she’d looked like. “Ghosts don’t eat people, but spirit ghouls do.”
“What’s a spirit ghoul?”
“A ghost that exists solely to feed on the energy of the living.” I slowly lifted my head, and my nose grazed his jaw. “Curi, I’m afraid that Melanie may be too far gone for us to save.”