Page 52 of A Bond So Deadly

“Yes,” Tarlaz agrees. “Or in the mountain caves.”

“Okay firstly, I have no idea where this dark forest is but that sounds ominous,” I counter. “Secondly, if I did that, Queen Krosia would find out and she’d kill me. Don’t forget that I’m a prisoner.”

Before the shadows can reply, Thane’s next whisper reaches me. “I’m coming to you now,” he says, his voice strained.

“What? No,” I reply quickly. “I mean, I’m fine seriously. I’m going to the forest with Kenzie. She wants to check in on her animali. Don’t let Germain get to you. He can’t kill me and he knows it. He’s just acting out because of what happened with the shekel.” I smirk then, thinking about how I’d knocked away Germain’s sword. It didn’t help Borshoz, but it sure made me feel better.

“He must die for touching you, tiny mate,” Raith’s monster growls in my ear, sending shivers along my spine.

I try not to think about how his voice makes my stomach clench, and I blow out a breath. “No, if you do that it’ll prove that I’m the threat the shadow queen thinks I am. You have to show them you’re still able to stay level-headed. I’m fine. I promise. Come find me after the meeting.” I want nothing more than to let my mates whisk me away, but Kenzie needs me right now, and Germain was, for the most part, harmless. He could have done way more to me, but he didn’t. Don’t let Germain rattle you, Shade.

“I need to go,” I tell my mates, and I create a pathway, hoping like hell that it leads into the academy forest and not somewhere horrible.

We don’t end up exactly where I intend, but we’re somewhere in the academy forest, so I call it a big win. My pathways are more accurate now that the curse has been removed, and I get the feeling that with practice they might get even better. At least, that’s the hope.

Peering down, I check my creature’s egg is still safe and snug in its sling, and I breathe in deeply through my nose, glad to be out in nature again.

Nellie appears shortly after, the massive wild dog pouncing from between the ghostly trees and inspecting Kenzie, sniffing her all over.

“I’m okay.” Kenzie laughs, stroking her hands down her animali’s fur. “It’ll take a lot more than that to bring me down.”

I smile as I watch them, but Kenzie’s words have me shifting uncomfortably. Now that Blake and her mates are here, and now that my mates have accepted me, it has been so easy to feel safe. Even with my guys reminding me that the shadow queen still wants me dead, it’s almost like I’ve felt like I’m in some kind of impenetrable bubble. That currently my biggest threat is an eternity of boredom if I’m stuck on academy grounds for the rest of my life.

Even when Professor Yevar visited my dreams, I knew Knox would come and save me, but in my dorm with Germain…well, the original reminded me that despite the curse being lifted, I’m still vulnerable. Us students all are. To the originals and the shadow queen, we’re too weak to fight in this war unless we can prove ourselves. Which is fine for me, because the idea of battle makes my skin itch, but Kenzie and the other students don’t have four smoking hot shadow daddies to help them stay alive.

My mind then wanders to the students Professor Yevar has kidnapped. What can we do for them? I’m pondering these questions when I hear music drifting through the trees. The fog stirs around me, and at first, I think I must be imagining it, but when I strain my ears, I swear I can hear…singing?

“Hey, do you hear that?” I say to Kenzie as I walk further into the forest. I make out some of the lyrics. Listen, oh mistress, hear our plea… I spin around, but the forest is empty around us. For only our mistress can set us free…

“You must hear that,” I say to the shadows.

“We don’t hear any singing, child,” Elgen replies.

I’m about to insist, when the music abruptly stops.

“Hear what?” Kenzie asks, still stroking her animali.

I frown, wondering if maybe I’m the one who needs to lie down. Did Germain mess with my head? “Uh, nothing, I guess.”

Kenzie cants her head, peering into the trees behind her. “No wait. I hear it too.”

My brows lift. “You can hear someone singing?”

She concentrates before saying, “Well, I’d hardly call it singing. It sounds more like someone’s shouting.”

My brows lower, and I strain my ears again. I still can’t hear the music anymore, but off in the distance is the faint sound of someone yelling, and I make out a distinct, high-pitched voice.

“We were here first!” a woman shouts.

Oh, crap. I would know that voice anywhere. I groan. “I think we’d better check it out.”

Kenzie agrees, and we make our way through the trees until we reach a small clearing, and a familiar student comes into view. Satine is right up in the demon general Sebastian’s face. A group of students stand behind Satine, many of them looking like they need a good night’s sleep, and the other demon generals are relaxing on the grass. Most of them are feigning boredom, but I’ve spent enough time with the demons to know these guys are enjoying causing trouble. I shadow cloak Kenzie and myself, because the demons have excellent senses, and I’m keen to find out what this is about.

“What is going on here?” Kenzie whispers to me as we stop just before the trees end and listen.

“We’ve had enough!” Satine snarls at Sebastian, continuing her rant. “You demons force us to conjure you food during mealtimes, you’re always in the best training spaces, and now, when we decide we’ll find a quiet part of the forest to train in, you turn up, lurking between the trees and taking up our space here as well! And to make matters worse, you treat us like dirt. You’re not our professors, and the last I heard, these academy grounds are specifically for shadow warriors.”

My jaw drops.