Shadow Warrior: The Nightwatch Academy book 3

by Cassidy, Debbie

  Kash choked on his tea at my bluntness, but Monica merely blinked slowly and then smiled. A genuine smile.

  “I like your honesty, Indigo. And yes, Kash’s grandmother, my mother, was eager to have you here. You’ll meet her tomorrow.”

  “But you weren’t.”

  She sipped her tea. “No. I wasn’t, but I’m willing to put my reservations aside and get to know you.”

  In other words, she’d been told she had no choice. I was in her home because her mother believed I was fucking her son, which meant possible great-grandbabies who could also carry the shadow caster gene. Hell, I guess the fact that I was a nightblood didn’t matter so much as long as they claimed my ability.

  “I’ve had your quarters prepared,” Monica said to Kash. “There are extra towels in the bathroom to accommodate you both.” She slid a glance my way.

  My fork froze an inch from my mouth. Share a room with Kash … Share a bed. Instead of the horror I should have felt, there was a warm burst of heat inside my belly. Across from me, Kash wiped his mouth with a napkin and sat back in his seat. His T-shirt pulled tight across his chest, and a slow-burn smile tugged his lips up.

  “Thank you, Mother,” he said.

  “And would you like breakfast in bed?” she asked, shooting him an arch look.

  He grinned. “You are the total best. But not till noon. We’ll probably sleep in.”

  God, he was laying it on thick. Wouldn’t it be better to save the show for his grandmother?

  The clip of heels pulled my attention away from Kash’s beautiful smirking mouth to across the dining room, where a slender female with hazel eyes and long dark hair was making her way toward us. Kash shoved back his chair and stood, a wide grin spreading across his face at the sight of the woman.

  Something twisted inside me, green and ugly. Fuck that, no way was I jealous. The heat of Monica’s gaze had me sitting up straighter.

  “Karishma!” Kash strode toward her and gathered her into a hug that lifted her off her feet.

  When he released her, she tipped her head up to his with a cheeky smile. “Well, look at you, all grown up.”

  He chuckled. “And you get more beautiful every time I see you.”

  Like seriously? Fake girlfriend here.

  Kash must have realized his faux pas because he quickly sobered and turned to me. “Karishma, this is Indigo, my girlfriend.”

  There was no hesitation. He said it as if he meant it. As if it were a fact.

  Karishma smiled warmly at me. “Indigo Justice?” She planted her hands on her hips. “Why are you looking at me as if you don’t know me?”

  Kash looked from Karishma to me and then back again.

  I shook my head. “What?”

  She walked closer, and her scent hit me—cinnamon toast. A memory surged to the surface of my mind. A swing set, and two older girls pushing me. Laughter … Joy. My cousin Kat’s face as I swung toward her and then another face with bright hazel eyes and a smiling mouth.

  “Can we keep her?” it said.

  “No, I wish we could,” Kat said. “I swear Uncle and Aunt don’t do anything fun with her.”

  I blinked and looked up at Karishma. “You’re Kat’s friend.”

  Karishma’s smile widened. “We met several times when you came over to Kat’s with your parents. It’s been a long time.”

  There was a lump in my throat, a residue of the memory, one of the only warm memories from my childhood.

  “Yeah, it has.”

  “And you’re one of us.” She held out her arms. “I kinda feel like that warrants a hug.”

  I didn’t do hugs, not really, but I found myself on my feet regardless, and then Karishma had her arms around me. Her cinnamon toast aroma filled my head, bringing tears to my eyes as all the happy memories, so few and far between, washed over me. I blinked back the tears, but not before Kash locked gazes with me over Karishma’s shoulder, not before I saw the empathy in his eyes.

  I pulled away and ducked my head. “Good to see you again.”

  “Karishma is the new head weaver at headquarters.” There was no denying the pride in Monica’s voice. “A most worthy position bringing the Raj family much prestige.”

  “Why, thank you.” Karishma pulled out a chair and sat next to me.

  “Do you remember how Kash would moon after you when he was younger?” Monica asked Karishma.

  Karishma wrinkled her nose. “Was that mooning? I call it stalking.”

  Kash chuckled. “You were my first crush.”

  “And much too old for you.”

  “Five years will feel like nothing once Kash graduates.”

  Yeah, Monica really didn’t want me dating her son. Shame she was overruled by her mother.

  Karishma turned to me. “Tell me everything about the Academy and being a shadow cadet.”

  I winced. “I can’t. We’re bound not to speak about shadow cadet stuff.”

  She smiled secretively. “Well, you can talk to me. I have clearance. Head weaver perk.” She winked. “But I get it. It won’t be possible with other people around.”

  My mind was whirring. She was head weaver, and there’d been a weaver administering to Harmon. Had that been Karishma? If not, maybe she knew who it had been. Maybe she could tell me how Harmon died. I’d have to find a moment to speak to her alone at some point.

  Monica laid down her napkin. “I’ll leave you three to chat. Dinner will be served seven sharp. The whole family will be here.” She looked to me. “I’m sure Joti will be able to find you something appropriate to wear.”

  “When is she due back?” Kash asked.

  “She went shopping … again. With the ball only two days away, she’s procrastinating over the perfect dress,” his mother said. “So, your guess is as good as mine.”

  She left the room, and Karishma picked up a slice of bacon. “So, Indigo, tell me about the slums?”

  It was the first time anyone had asked me about them directly like this. It took a moment to recover.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “I want to know you, Indie. I want to know how the little girl whose hair I loved to braid turned out.”

  Kash poured more tea, his gaze intense and fixed on me.

  Did I want to talk about that time in my life? A smile curved my lips. Aside from the childhood bright spots that included Kat and Karishma, the slums had been my only other escape.

  I took the cup Kash held out. “Well, there was this one time …”

  Nine

  Kash’s suite was impressive. Huge bay windows with a window seat, and a bed that was made to roll around on. Damn.

  I hovered by the door. “I guess you entertain a lot.”

  He followed my gaze to the bed. “Actually, you’re the first woman I’ve brought home.”

  He sounded almost reflective.

  Well, that shut me up. With all his swagger, I’d taken Kash to be a ladies’ man.

  He canted his head slightly. “Brought home, Justice. That doesn’t mean I’m a choir boy. I’ve had girlfriends.”

  “Then you got stonewalled by Fiona.”

  His jaw hardened. “Yes.”

  “Shit, shouldn’t have brought her up.”

  “It’s fine.” His smile was dangerous. “She’ll get her just rewards. Karma’s a bitch, and in our world, the weaver world, bad energy expelled always comes back to smack you in the face at some point.”

  “And Karishma? How do you know her?”

  He kicked off his boots. “Distant cousin, several times removed. Her mother and mine are good friends.”

  Ah yes, his mother, the one that didn’t want me here. “Your mother mentioned your grandmother wanted me here. What about your father?”

  He shrugged. “Dudes don’t get much of a say in anything. Weavers are matriarchal. Some take several lovers and marry the one that gives them a child first. The children take the mother’s name, as does the husband.”

  Well, this was new information.
“So, Payne only kept his name because he never married?”

  “Yes. The Raj family has a few Payne males in our family tree, Paynes that married Raj females. But mostly, we ally with Latrou. The Paynes have a history of sticking to their own, distant cousins marrying each other to keep the shadow caster ability in the Payne family tree.”

  “So, why would she want me to make babies with you?”

  Kash made a strangled sound. “Shit, Justice, you don’t pull any punches, do you?”

  “Waste of time. I mean, based on what you just said, the babies would be Payne.”

  “You’re not a Payne, not really, because your mother isn’t a Payne. So, as far as the weaver community is concerned, you’re up for grabs.”

  Whoever got me up the duff got to claim me? Nice. No wonder his grandma was eager to have me stay.

  Procreation worked strangely for supernaturals. For two nightbloods, it was more than biology; it was intent. We had to want a child to potentially have one, but if we procreated outside of our race, all bets were off. In some cases, the pairings would prove infertile and in others not. There was no telling until you tried. Supes couldn’t catch or carry sexually transmitted illnesses, and so nightbloods rarely used protection. I wasn’t sure how things worked for weavers, but I knew it couldn’t be via intent, because otherwise, Payne would have suspected I was his when my mother had me.

  Kash was looking thoughtful.

  “What is it?”

  He frowned. “I don’t want you to think that’s why I’m helping you.”

  “Huh?”

  “I’m not helping you to find out about Payne so I can get into your pants. It’s not who I am.”

  I fixed an offended look on my face. “So, you don’t want to get in my pants?”

  He smiled that slow-burn, sexy smile that had me melting. “I didn’t say that.” He padded toward a door to the left, tugging off his T-shirt along the way. “I’m going to take a shower.”

  Fuck, his skin was all olive and smooth, and I wanted to lick it.

  “Do you want to come and scrub my back?” he asked from the doorway. “I’ll do yours if you do mine.” His eyes were lit with challenge.

  I allowed my gaze to trail down his chest, over his tight abs, and linger on the V that vanished into the low-hung waistband of his jeans before dragging it back up to his face.

  I deliberately swept my tongue across my bottom lip. “Sure.”

  His mouth popped open.

  I laughed. “You fucking wish.” I kicked off my boots and padded to the bed. “I’m going to lie down.”

  “Suit yourself, Justice. You have no idea what you’re missing.”

  I ignored the pang of disappointment in my chest. Flirting with him was dangerous.

  The door closed, and I was alone in his sanctuary. I lay staring at the ceiling, my body unwinding and unknitting, becoming one with the incredibly comfortable mattress.

  Damn, this was a quality bed. The weavers sure liked their creature comforts.

  My eyelids drooped as the sound of the shower turning on drifted out to greet me, and then I was floating.

  “Wake up, sleeping beauty.”

  I opened my eyes to find Kash standing by the side of the bed dressed only in his boxers, a pair of jeans clutched in his hands. His skin seemed to gleam in the sunlight streaming in through the windows. It highlighted every plane and dip of muscle on his body, his powerful shoulders, his taut pecs and abs, and that dastardly tempting V that pointed down to the prize in his boxers.

  “Wanna touch?” he asked.

  My neck heated at the thought of being caught checking him out. I tore my gaze up to the amulet that kissed his breastbone, and then up to his face.

  “You snore, you know that?” he said, tugging on his jeans.

  “Bullshit.” I sat up. “How long was I out?”

  “Not long.” He turned away and padded to the huge chest of drawers by the window and tugged on the top drawer. “Shit.”

  “Stuck?”

  “No, locked. Where did I put the damn key?” He searched the top of the dresser, then sighed. “Fuck it.” He held his fingers to the lock and closed his eyes. A weird humming filled the room, and then there was a soft snick. “Done.” He pulled open the drawer.

  “Did you just open the lock with magic?”

  He shrugged. “I found I had a knack for locks a while back. More complicated ones require the right tools. Why don’t you freshen up, and I’ll take you on a tour of the grounds. Dinner is still several hours away, and we can’t learn anything about Payne until then.”

  “Why not?”

  “My gran won’t be home till dinner. We can talk to her in private afterward.” He grabbed a cream tee from the drawer and turned to face me. “Unless you’d rather stay up here with me? I’m sure we could find something to do …”

  A lick of heat in my belly had me clambering off the bed. He was playing around, but my libido didn’t seem to know that. Flirting was fine, but that’s all it was. I needed to keep my desires in check.

  I grabbed my backpack and headed for the bathroom. “I’ll be ready in five.”

  Ten

  Kash’s grandmother would be at the meal, and my stomach was in knots about speaking to her. What if she refused to tell me anything? What if she told me something I didn’t want to hear?

  Kash and I had just reached the bottom of the main staircase when Joti arrived in a whirlwind of floral perfume, trailed by a man carrying boxes and several bags. She caught sight of me, let out a squeal, and then rushed over. Her arms were like eager bands hugging me a little too tight. But it was impossible not to get caught up in her enthusiasm.

  “I’m so happy you’re here,” she said, swaying from side to side in our hug. “Oh, God, we are going to have so much fun!”

  Of course, she believed I was here for the ball, and so I needed to put on my game face. I plastered a grin on it as she released me.

  “So, what have you been up to? You two, huh?” She dimpled, looking from Kash to me. “I knew you liked her,” she said to Kash.

  “You did, huh?” Kash drawled.

  “I caught you checking her out in class.”

  Kash shrugged. “Justice is pretty easy on the eyes.”

  I looked up at him sharply, expecting to see a mocking smile on his face, but his expression was sincere. Wow, he was playing the boyfriend card well.

  “And you?” Joti nudged me. “I knew you’d fall for him.”

  I couldn’t keep the surprise off my face. “You did?”

  Joti’s smile softened. “Okay, so I didn’t know, but I hoped. You both have this light inside you. I can’t explain it, it just matches.”

  Kash chuckled. “Joti has a thing for auras,” he explained. “I guess ours complement each other.” Once again, the sincerity in his tone caught me off guard. But then his face broke into a grin. “Or maybe my little sister is simply delusional.”

  “Right, just for that, I’m stealing your girl.” She linked arms with me. “We’re going to my room, and we’re going to eat ice cream and try on shitloads of dresses.”

  Dress up? Hell no! I did not do dress-up. Ever. I shot Kash a panicked look. “Don’t we have to do that … thing?”

  “Oh, it can wait.” The bastard was clearly biting back a smile.

  I narrowed my eyes as I was dragged back up the stairs by Joti, trying to convey the sentiment I’ll get you back for this.

  In response, Kash blew me a peach-scented kiss.

  Fucker.

  * * *

  Dress-up sucked. But I was a trooper and tried on seven dresses before allowing myself to settle on one, because that was the way to do it, right?

  Joti was in her element and totally ready to start talking hair and makeup when, thank God, it was time for dinner. But, horror of horrors, that meant more dress-up because dinner at the Rajs’ was always a formal affair.

  I hadn’t brought anything nice with me, but Joti and I were about the same si
ze, and she loaned me a tunic dress with a scoop neck that ended just above the knee. My hair was loose for the first time in ages, and I realized how much it had grown. When I’d come to the Academy, it had fallen to my shoulder blades; now it was a couple of inches above my waist.

  “You have such pretty hair,” Joti said as we made our way downstairs.

  “Thanks. I don’t really do much with it.”

  “I guess being a shadow cadet means having it tied up a lot.”

  “Yeah, I think I’ll just cut it all off.”

  “What? No!” She looked genuinely horrified. “You can’t do that.”

  We came to a standstill at the foot of the stairs. “Why not? It’s just hair.”

  She sighed and tugged on her own dark locks. “Ignore me, I’m projecting. I can’t get mine to grow past my shoulders.”

  “This is a pretty inane conversation; you do realize that, right?”

  Joti looked taken aback and then burst out laughing. “I love your honesty.”

  “Really? So, can I tell you that I absolutely hate dress-up?”

  She shrugged and walked past me. “Oh, I figured that.” She twirled to face me and smiled sweetly. “But I had way too much fun to care.”

  “Yay for honesty.”

  “Come on. Ma doesn’t like tardiness.”

  * * *

  We entered the dining room to a buzz of conversation and a sea of faces. Shit, I hated social gatherings. This reminded me of all the times my parents had dressed me up and dragged me to parties only to abandon me once we got there. I’d spent most of my time at these events standing in a corner, hiding on a window seat behind a set of drapes, or curled up under a table.

  Not any longer. I was a fucking shadow caster, and these people wanted me, or at least my eggs, whatever.

  I caught sight of Kash across the room chatting to Karishma, who looked totally gorgeous in a navy calf-length, off-the-shoulder dress. But it was Kash that stole my breath. I’d seen him in jeans and a tee, I’d seen him in the Academy garb, but never in a suit. It was a deep midnight blue that was cut to perfection and hugged his body in all the right places. The deep indigo color reflected off his jet-black hair and brought out the flecks of gold in his eyes. Yeah, those eyes were fixed on me now, devouring me from head to toe. Dresses weren’t my go-to garb, but right now, I was glad I’d donned one.