The water was scalding hot as I stepped into it, but I didn’t care. It rolled off my face and shoulders, mingling with my tears. My body was healed. I could feel every inch of it coming up to full speed even while I stood there, right down to my nose. But I wasn’t sure that the rest of me would ever come back from this. From fighting Tommy. From watching Rory disappear under that wave of zombies.
As angry as I’d been with him, I’d never thought I’d truly lose him. Not Rory.
He’d dodged death so many times even when we were kids. How could this have happened? Sobs ripped out of me and I let them. I wouldn’t get another chance to grieve, not until we made it through the final trial.
I stood there, crying and smacking my hand against the wall, until the water began to cool. I forced myself to scrub off the dirt at that point and wash my hair.
When I stepped out of the shower, a single pulse of warning cut through me. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
Wrapped in a towel, angrier than a hen tossed in the pond, I snatched my knife from my belt and stormed to the bathroom door. Done. I was so damn done with this crap, with the constant warnings and danger.
But that didn’t mean I was going to be stupid. I turned the knob slowly and peeked out.
Colt stood there, his hands under Ethan’s mattress. Looking for the cheat sheets? “Really?”
He spun on his heels, but there was no shame on his face. “He left me behind in that first trial. I broke my leg and he left me.”
I remembered that. The House of Shade challenge had seemed so hard, so treacherous, but now I would have paid to go back to it instead of facing the last house. “And you want to get back at him?”
He shrugged as he stood, the papers in his hands. Rather than pocket the cheat sheets, he took his wand out and waved it over them. Then he pulled a blank sheet out of his pocket and waved his wand over it. The words reappeared on the previously blank sheet, as perfect as a photocopy. He tucked away the copy, then stuffed the originals back in place. “Maybe. Maybe I just want to take what he thinks is his for once.”
His blue eyes were locked on mine and I stared back, forgetting that I was standing there soaking wet in nothing more than a towel.
Colt took two steps, cupped my face and kissed me, gently, as if I would break. “Maybe he doesn’t deserve the best, Wild.”
I put a hand on his chest, pushing him and the confusion away. One thing at a time.
“Ethan is what he is. But you promised me food, and I’m starving. Also, how did you get in past the others?”
Colt turned and headed to the window. “I have more skills than most.” He winked at me over his shoulder and slid out, gone without a sound.
As quiet as any Shade. I had more questions for him, for this place, for this world. My stomach growled angrily, and I nodded. Food first.
Questions later.
Chapter 7
“Okay.” I clapped my hands as my crew walked down the hall, using the noise to chase away the lingering fatigue from the night before. It felt like I’d woken up every five minutes last night, drowning in a never-ending loop of zombies, assassins, claws, and gleaming knives. To top it off, Rory’s face kept drifting up out of the abyss, pulling at my heart. Reminding me of all I’d lost to be here.
I took a big, shuddering breath, willing away tears. A huge, gaping hole that felt like a wind tunnel cut through my middle. Memories of Rory kept shoving their way into my thoughts. I kept remembering how it had felt to be near him—dangerous, edgy, raw, exhilarating, and yet safe. Protected. Those feelings had only amplified over time, becoming a thousand times stronger.
And now he was gone.
My childhood was being ripped from me, piece by piece. I could barely think under the weight of grief. But I had to survive. He hadn’t given away his life so I could throw away mine.
“Okay,” I said again, hurrying down the steps to the cafeteria for breakfast. “Here’s what we have. The missing kids are being offered a leg up, so to speak. Then they disappear. Fine. The director seems to be on the case, but she’s obviously too slow to catch up with whomever is doing this. Whatever intel she is getting is old. Not abnormal, since the people in charge are usually clueless. I—we’re being hunted,” I amended, “but that seems like a different situation than the kidnappings. We were meant to be killed last night, not taken. No matter what Ethan’s dad thinks.”
“Um, ya think?” Pete asked with wide eyes.
“I have been thinking on it, and I don’t think Gregory would’ve taken an easy out,” Orin said thoughtfully. “His family isn’t rich—he’d want the gold. It would improve his standing going into the academy.”
I nodded, chewing my lip as we pushed through the doors into the cafeteria. The promise of bacon made my mouth salivate, competing with the smell of burnt toast, steaming sausages, scrambled eggs, and fluffy pancakes. I loved eating at this place, especially since I didn’t have to cook any of the meals myself.
“I found the sheets you stuffed under my mattress,” Ethan said in a low hum.
“Like a princess with a pea,” Wally murmured.
“So obviously he wasn’t going to sell those,” Ethan finished, nodding at a group of guys seated in the back corner. Colt stood from among them, fresh and clean, with stylishly tousled hair. Those entrancing eyes found me and stuck, and a smile quirked up one side of his mouth, sending a rush of heat through me. Ethan went on. “But what was he doing outside?”
“Being hauled away.” I grabbed a plate and started heaping it with food from the buffet. “They, whoever they are, got him when he was still inside. For all we know they tried to convince him to go and he initially agreed.”
“Right, right,” Ethan whispered to himself.
“They weren’t taking the fastest route to the parking lot,” Orin said, following too closely behind me. I had the distinct feeling he was staring at my neck.
I rolled my shoulders without meaning to. “That’s true. They would have had to circle around through the trees.” My mind spun. “Do you think they’re keeping the missing kids on campus somewhere? That seems risky.”
“We have a day to look around and find out,” Wally said. “The odds of someone going missing in the woods around here—”
“He didn’t go missing; he was taken,” Ethan corrected dryly, heaping eggs onto his plate.
“The odds of someone being kidnapped and hauled into the woods—”
I let Wally’s statistics drift into the background as I quickly went over the events of the last free day. One thing I hadn’t really paid attention to jogged to the front of my mind.
“Where is the director’s assistant?” I asked, following Ethan to a middle table, front and center so all his adoring fans could see him. Colt met us there, giving me a small smile as he sat. I hadn’t told the others about him copying Ethan’s notes. Mostly because I had a feeling my crew would be facing a different trial than the one described in Ethan’s papers. “That guy seemed more than competent when we met him, yet he wasn’t there when Jared hauled us up to the director’s office the other night. Where could he have been, rather than in the office, doing his job?” Adam hadn’t been there when we’d broken into the office either, but that had happened late at night, and I didn’t think it wise to mention our criminal activities in front of Colt.
“Maybe he was finding out more info for the director?” Pete asked, holding up his fork with a half-eaten sausage skewered on the end.
“More info that didn’t reach her in time to actually help?” I frowned and pushed the hash browns around my plate. “When I first met him, it felt like he could read right through me with a single glance.” I shivered. “He doesn’t seem like a guy who is satisfied with second-rate intelligence.”
“I forgot about that,” Pete murmured. “Yeah, Adam is a creepy dude.”
“I didn’t see anything wrong with him,” Orin said.
“Not surprising,” Ethan returned.
“If he’s n
ot the type to settle for second-rate info, that would explain why he was out, trying to find answers. Maybe that’s what he’s been doing all along?” Wally said.
Ethan pushed food into his cheek so he could talk around it. “Maybe he was just getting coffee.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full,” Pete said.
Ethan rolled his eyes and went back to his plate. “Okay, Mom.”
“Besides him,” I cut in, “there is Jared to think about, who was hanging around, despite the fact that he and the director clearly don’t like each other.”
“He thinks she’s soft,” Orin said. “That’s no secret. He wants the job, so whenever she slips up, he lets everyone know. He wants her out. Gone. She’s old.”
“I’ve seen that guy Adam around.” Colt leaned forward, looking between Ethan and me, ignoring everyone else. “The assistant? I saw him yesterday after the trials, walking from the portables to the mansion. He looked pissed.”
“I’m sure he always looks like he’s pissed.” I dropped my napkin onto my plate and stood. “I say we check in on him, see what he’s up to. If he is trying to find out info for the director, great. If not, we might learn something by tailing him.”
“What about Jared?” Wally asked, standing with me. The others followed suit, except for Ethan, who clearly wasn’t going to leave until he’d eaten every scrap off of his plate. “I say we tail him.”
Orin nodded. “Vampires like to have their fingers in everything even though they don’t get involved in much of it. He might know something, even if he hasn’t acted on it.”
“Sounds good. I’ll take Adam. Who’s going with me?” I asked.
“I will.”
“Me.”
“I’ll go.”
“Might as well.”
The chorus died down and everyone exchanged looks.
I stared down at Ethan, the only one who hadn’t piped up. He surely didn’t want to be in my proximity any more than I wanted to be in his, but he also liked to be the center of attention, meaning he could keep eyes off me, and if we got caught, he could also keep me in the school. He’d proven that he would.
“Orin, you take the lead on tailing the vampire,” I said, picking up my plate. “Direct the others on how not to get caught. Keep your eyes open for anything that looks suspicious. Ethan and Colt, you come with me.”
An hour later, I paced the dorm room, anticipation firing through my limbs and impatience dragging down my features. Colt sat on Ethan’s bed, gazing out the window at the grounds below. The others had already taken off to find their mark and hopefully tail him without getting caught. I didn’t have high hopes for either expedition, but at least it was daylight. Following someone around wasn’t against school policy, just social norms.
“Honestly, Ethan, what is taking you so long?” I barked, turning toward the bathroom door for the umpteenth time.
He emerged in a halo of fragrance, with his sweats clinging to his solid frame, his shoulders swaying with his casual yet calculated saunter, and his hair styled just so.
“Are you under the impression we are going to a garden party?” My voice carried a distinct bite to it. “We’re trying not to stand out.”
He flicked his gaze my way, taking in my overall appearance. “You’re still trying to look like a boy even though anyone who matters knows you’re a girl, your sweats have a stain on them from breakfast, and you’re an Amazon woman. We’re going to stand out regardless of what I look like.”
It was annoying that he was probably right.
“Fine. Whatever. Come on, the day is wasting.” I gestured them both toward the door.
Colt stood, just as unhurried as Ethan. I rolled my eyes and pulled the door open. I already regretted bringing them along. But Rory had said not to go alone, and that had been his last piece of advice for me.
“Okay,” I started as we trekked down the hall.
“Your strategic vocabulary is limited,” Ethan said as he kept pace, his demeanor blasé. It was a real skill to move quickly and look slow, I had to hand it to him. He and Colt both had mastered cool.
“I like a good jumping off point. Okay.” I exited into the stairwell. “Let’s see if Adam is at the director’s office where he belongs.”
“He isn’t,” Colt said, slowing my progress. “I saw him walk across the grounds twenty minutes ago.”
I stopped and turned to him with an incredulous expression. “What?”
“I saw him—”
“Yes, I know what you said. Why didn’t you mention it?”
Colt gestured at Ethan. “He wasn’t ready to get going.”
“But you could’ve—” I breathed through my nose, willing patience. “Right. Fine. Okay. Lead the way.”
“You’ll never get accepted into the House of Shade with that attitude,” Ethan said as we turned on the stairs, heading down. “You need to work on being cool and collected.”
“I need to work on better decision-making when choosing my partners.”
At the bottom of the stairs, we turned toward the back of the mansion, retracing my steps the night I’d seen Gregory taken. Flashes of the scene rolled through my head. I tried to summon up information about the men who’d taken him—their stature, the bulge of their lean muscle as they struggled to contain him, the plain shoes they wore. Images rose of possible body types, what they might’ve looked like, what their magical talents might’ve been. Not vampires, surely. They’d been much too coarse in their movements. Yes, I’d seen a wand, but only in the hands of one of them. Not Shades, either, unless they were lower on the scale. They’d looked too human to be goblins or trolls. Shifters would be stronger, well able to handle a half-pint goblin like Gregory. But a necromancer or someone who didn’t use strength and speed in their craft might fit the bill.
My eyes cut sideways as we reached the back door, noticing Colt’s lean muscle against Ethan’s more robust body.
“Do you work out, Ethan?” I asked, following the curve of his bicep with my gaze before eyeing the size of his thighs.
His bored amusement spoke volumes.
“It’s just that,” I hurried to say, ready to die if he thought I was interested in any way, “spell workers don’t physically fight, right? Where’d you get all the muscle?”
His chest puffed up slightly, preening at the notice. “I lift.”
“Right.” I drew the word out. “But why bother? You do all your defensive fighting with a wand. I haven’t seen you throw so much as a single punch.”
A smirk graced his lips. “Don’t you like your men fit? Or are you more the dominatrix type?”
My face annoyingly flamed red. “So that’s why, then? Body image issues?”
His smirk broadened into a knowing smile, his ego of steel deflecting my light jab.
I glanced toward the trees where I’d last seen Gregory. Memories flooded me, of Rory’s lips pressed against the shell of my ear, quieting me, of fingers tapping against the pulse in my neck. I remembered the feel of his solid strength as we cried against each other about Tommy.
I blinked away the tears and gritted my teeth. I had surviving to do.
“There,” Colt said in a hush, grabbing my elbow and jerking his head to the left. “Near the portables. See him?”
Even with the distance, I could recognize him moving with the grace of a predator, his hair cropped short and his posture straight and strong. No suit adorned his muscular physique. Instead, he wore the sweats we all did, larger to fit his heartier frame.
Adam. And he was far, far away from his desk.
Chapter 8
“Is he trying to blend in?” I asked, an incredulous giggle escaping me. Adam was huge next to the students, both in stature and in presence. How could he not be noticed near the rundown portables? “He’s like a wolf wandering around a pack of poodles and trying to act like he’s tame.”
“Poodles are actually very intelligent dogs,” Ethan said, still sauntering for all he was worth,
but a little less gracefully, now. A little more on edge.
Good. He was taking this seriously.
“Intelligent, sure. Trainable, definitely.” I let Colt lead me, his instincts right on. If we veered from our path, we’d get noticed, especially since Adam had just looked around to see if anyone was near. He was up to something, clear as day. “But adept at stalking prey and then ripping their throats out? Probably not.”
Adam went up the steps and stopped at one of the portable doors. His hands pulled up in front of him and his head was lowered as he worked at the knob. It had to be locked. It wouldn’t be for long.
“Whose portable is that?” Colt asked, quickening our pace as we reached the line of portables in front of us. “Ethel Wiseman?”
“No idea,” Ethan replied. “We didn’t get friendly with the neighbors the night we stayed.”
No, we just stole their food.
“Who’s Ethel Wiseman?” I asked.
Colt slipped in between the buildings with incredibly light feet. He sped up to a jog, staying close to the buildings so he could duck into the small alleys between at a moment’s notice. It’s exactly what I would’ve done had I been leading. Just like the way he’d slipped in and out of my bedroom window without any of my guard dogs noticing. “Are you sure you’re not a Shade?”
“His mother is a Shade,” Ethan said with condescension ringing through his voice.
“I didn’t get any of her magic,” Colt said, his step faltering. “But I noticed how she went about certain things. It’s common sense, if you think about it. How to sneak up on someone.”
“It’s lower class,” Ethan murmured.
I rolled my eyes, so many arguments springing to mind that my tongue locked. Now wasn’t the time, anyway.
Shadowspell Academy: The Culling Trials, Book 3 Page 6