Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
~ Shade ~
It feels like it takes an excruciatingly long time before Ambrose and Germain get the hint and leave the dining room. The moment they’re gone, the tension in the room lifts.
Blake finishes her wine and stands. “If we’re done, I’d like to have a word alone with my best friend.”
My mates look like they want to protest, but Nate speaks up first. “Wouldn’t fight it if I were you,” he says as he lounges in his chair, stretching in a way that’s entirely feline. “None of us will get any rest until this happens. Trust me.”
When my mates peer at me, I grin. Nate is absolutely right, and I’m just as eager to chat as Blake is.
With a nod, Thane rises to his feet. “You’ll find a quiet spot in the academy forest.” He waves his hand and shadows gather beside the dining table, creating a pathway. “I’ll escort you.”
I’m barely on my feet before Blake is at my side and ushering me toward the portal. I ask Knox to take care of my creature’s egg, and Blake gives Thane a small smile. “Thanks, but we’ve got this. We won’t be long.”
Before he can argue, we’re walking into the shadow pathway, and soon we’re stepping out into the academy forest. Blake leads me from the pathway, and we move through misty fog, walking between the massive ancient trees. After a short time, my friend stops and crushes me in a hug.
“The shadow palace was that bad, huh?” I joke.
“Nope. Just checking you’re still alive,” she says as she reluctantly pulls back.
I grin. “For now.”
That makes her narrow her eyes, but she turns, taking in our surroundings. “I like this place. It’s very…”
“Enchanting?”
“I was going to say mysterious,” she replies then shifts her gaze back to me. “Just like those mates of yours. They’re a little arrogant, but they’ve kept you alive until now, so I’ll give them points for that.”
I smile and decide not to tell her about the number of times I’ve nearly died while at Shadowbone.
Her gaze strays to the darkness around us, and she scans the ghostly forest before bringing her attention back to me again. “Sorry, I had to get us out of there. There’s only so much dick swinging I can handle.”
I frown. “Hold on, I missed swinging dicks?”
Her broad grin lights up her face, and I laugh, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Girl, I missed you,” I say, my smile falling a little.
“I hear you,” she replies. “Just wish you’d called me sooner.”
A sigh falls out of me, and I wonder what our mates are talking about while we’re away.
“You’re different now, you know,” she says, studying me. “And I don’t just mean,” she waves her hand in the air, indicating to me, “this.”
“This?”
“Your body. Your powers. It’s like…” She taps her chin. “I don’t know. But you’re stronger now.”
“Yeah, I don’t feel any stronger,” I admit.
For a moment there I had, but then Germain’s sword was poised at my neck…
I push the thought away, just as my shoe lands on a pebble and rolls.
I almost lose my balance and topple, but my shadows shoot out, and they keep me upright.
Ha! My shadows are like an anti-tripping device!
I pull myself up straighter. “Okay, so maybe I am a little stronger.”
Blake grins, shaking her head at me. Neither of us speaks for a while as we stroll through the darkened trees, and she peers around us like she’s taking it all in.
We come to the pile of snacks I’d left for my animali before the games.
The offering is even more decimated now, and when Blake gives me a quizzical look, I shrug. “Don’t ask.”
We move past it, slipping deeper into the forest.
Blake’s voice is softer when she finally speaks again. “Shade, we were really worried.”
“I know.”
She stops walking, turning to face me. “I mean it. I was worried. I truly thought…well, I thought we’d lost you for good. It was driving me crazy. Driving us crazy.” High above the treetops, light shines from the academy windows, glowing in the darkness.
Guilt has me swallowing hard. “I know,” I repeat, because I’m not sure what else to say.
“You’re family,” she goes on. “And this…” She gestures to the academy building. “It’s the most relaxed we’ve been since we discovered you were missing, and that’s saying something.”
My heart aches as I think about how Blake and her mates must have felt when they’d discovered I was missing from the human realm.
At how they’ve likely spent every waking moment trying to find me.
And I’d been here the whole time. Okay, so sure, it’s not like I was sipping cocktails and prancing through meadows, but I still feel guilty…
“I’m sorry,” I say, though the apology feels inadequate.
Blake sighs heavily. “I am too. But…” She perks up. “Here you are alive and well, and with four very interesting companions. Shade, only you could end up in this mess.”
I snort as a grin crawls back onto my face, but it doesn’t last. “So,” I say.
“Are you going to tell me the truth?” As much as I’m sure Blake is enjoying my company, I doubt it’s the only reason she’s brought me out here alone.
She might believe that Raith and the others are my mates, but that doesn’t mean she trusts them.
“How much trouble are we really in? Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you keep staring at that shadow dagger. ”
She snaps her gaze away from the weapon. “It’s only a precaution,” she says dismissively.
My brows lower. “Blake, what really happened during your meeting with the shadow queen?”
Shifting her stance, she scans the trees one more time before speaking again. “Things here in Kiru are tense. I had no idea the war here was this bad.”
“So you knew about it?” I remember when Blake had retrieved the jeweled shadow blade from this realm.
It had been a test given to her by the demon king, but Blake hadn’t ever mentioned the war with the Xalgrith.
To be fair, the demons were deep in trouble of their own, but I’m still surprised she never told me.
“Dad made sure I knew about all the realms and their wars,” Blake answers carefully.
“Just like I know about the unrest in the beast realm, and how the beasts are on the brink of a civil war. But this war with the Xalgrith… Dad didn’t know too much about it.
This realm is neutral territory, and I guess he figured Queen Krosia had it handled.
At least, that’s what he told me.” She frowns, considering.
“I had no idea he’d turned down her request for assistance years ago.
” Her shoulders dip like she’s feeling the weight of ruling the demon realm.
I nudge her. “It’s not your fault. The demons had enough on their plate, and there are only so many wars you can participate in. If the situation was that dire, Queen Krosia should have made it known.”
“Maybe,” Blake replies, her expression still weary. “In any case, Queen Krosia is obviously hiding something, not just from us, but I suspect, even from her own warriors. It’s getting bad out there with these Xalgrith soldiers.”
“Ah yes, the cum monsters.”
“What?”
“Oh nothing,” I say with a stupid grin. “You’ll see when you fight one.”
She narrows her eyes at me, but I don’t give anything away. Like I’m going to spoil that surprise. “So what do you think the shadow queen is hiding?”
We start walking again, picking a path through the trees.
“I don’t know but…I feel like it has something to do with you,” Blake comments. She stares at me like I’m a puzzle she’s trying to solve. To protect. My heart warms.
“Well, we already know Queen Krosia is upset about the prophecy and the fact I’m fated to my guys,” I point out, swirling my hand through a cloud of fog that drifts up toward me.
“It makes sense that she’s worried about me making them lose the war.
And then there’s the fact I can speak to the zenali… ”
“Zenali?” Blake asks.
“Some of the more intelligent shadow creatures,” I explain. “That’s what Thane was suggesting earlier. That I speak to some of the creatures and try to find out any information that might tell us the Xalgrith’s intentions. If I can help find out what the Xalgrith want I will.”
“Anything that gains you the favor of the shadow queen is probably a good thing at the moment, but I don’t know…
” she trails off. “I get the feeling it’s more than that.
Something at that shadow palace felt…strange.
I just have this feeling that I’m completely missing something, but I don’t know what. ” She lets out a frustrated huff.
I pretend I’m not worried, though my heart has started racing. “Psssh. It’s totally fine. I’m sure it’s nothing. War is stressful, and I bet Queen Krosia is just feeling the burden of it.”
“Maybe.” Blake stares off into the trees. “Well, I guess let’s just focus on freeing you from this place for now. I don’t want you here when things get bad.”
I stop walking and blink at her. “I’m sorry, did you miss the part where I’m a prisoner at Shadowbone, and probably will be for the rest of my life?” I chew my bottom lip. “Please tell me you’re not thinking about risking the alliance for me.”
“Relax. I know I can’t help you escape,” Blake says coolly. “I have the demons to think about. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a way.”
“A way to what?” I gape at her. “You heard Queen Krosia. If I try to leave this place, she’ll kill me. What am I supposed to do?”
Blake shrugs. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.
You have four of the most powerful men in the shadow realm obsessed with you, and clearly, you’re hiding some of your own power.
I can feel it, Shade. You’re not like the other students, and none of this seems right.
The prophecy? Why would Lady Fate match you with those four if it meant the end of the realms?
It makes no sense. You need to find that oracle.
Find the truth about the prophecy, or at least get your immortality so you’re harder to kill. Either way, you need to try something.”
“But you heard what they said. He’s gone.”