Page 19 of A Curse So Cruel (Fated Mates of Shadowbone Academy #1)

Chapter Twelve

~ Shade ~

“ S orry,” I croak to Kenzie when we’re away from the dining hall and down two corridors.

“Don’t be,” she rushes out. “It’s my fault. I should have told you to wait until the signal.”

A dry laugh rasps from my throat, because the whole situation is still absurd. All over a chocolate bar. “I’m not going to like being here, am I?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Kenzie replies, giving me a small smile. “Something tells me no one’s going to mess with you when you’re hungry now. You know, the whole academy is going to be talking about this.”

“About how the new girl went to dinner half-naked and got her ass handed to her for eating a chocolate bar?” I reply dryly.

She shakes her head, her expression thoughtful. “No, about how Professor Knox didn’t break you.”

I arch a brow. “Have you seen me? I feel pretty broken.” Actually, it feels like someone has taken me apart piece by piece, and they’ve done a shitty job at putting me back together. I moan loudly. “I swear, every muscle aches, including muscles I didn’t even know I had.”

Kenzie abruptly stops walking and stares at me. “Is that all?”

I give her an incredulous look. “Girl, did I not just tell you I’m in pain?”

“And?”

“And what?”

Her lips twist to the side. “Exactly. Professor Knox was obviously out to make an example of you, and all you’re telling me is that your body hurts. I’ve seen him do the same thing to other students countless times, and they’ve all ended up worse than you.”

“Countless times? How sadistic is this guy?”

She gives me a look. “That’s not the point.”

When I continue to stare at her in confusion, she elaborates.

“Every other student who’s received the same treatment from Professor Knox has passed out in seconds, and they’ve been out for days.

Days , Shade. I felt his power in the room, and he wasn’t holding back.

” She pauses. “Well, he was, but he was giving you the same treatment he’s given other students.

” She stares at me then like she’s expecting to see something strange.

“But here you are, telling me your body hurts.”

“Yes, and it hurts a lot . Did I not mention that?” I grumble. “Right now, I feel like I could die.” But even as I say it, I know that’s not true. Sure, my muscles ache like anything, but I wouldn’t say I’m close to death.

She chuckles. “Well, if Professor Thane was here right now, he’d tell you that pain is good. It’s a sign you didn’t die. You should be focusing on that pain, and be grateful for it, because it’s that pain that will force you to become stronger.”

“Yes well, Thane is clearly as deranged as Knox, and obviously a masochist.”

Kenzie gasps so loudly even I startle. “What?”

“You…you can’t say their names without their title, and you can’t insult them.” She peers around nervously and scans the walls.

Elgen and Tarlaz stand with a group of shadows on the wall to our right.

They’ve been following us since we left the dining hall.

Like they’ve just been waiting for their chance, the shadows band together, acting out a dramatic scene that ends with one of the characters dying.

At least, that’s my interpretation going by the way a shadow figure drops to the ground and pretends to writhe before falling still.

“Let me guess, that’s supposed to be me?” I send to the shadows. “Lovely.”

“It should have been you,” Elgen’s raspy voice replies in my head. “But here you are, little human.”

“Very curious,” Tarlaz adds.

“Do they always do that?” I ask Kenzie, pointing to the shadows.

When she’s satisfied the professors aren’t going to hunt us down for what I said, Kenzie tilts her head. “Do what? Follow students around?”

“Yeah.”

“Sometimes,” she replies. “Other times they disappear for a while. Looks like they’re curious about you. Not that I can blame them.”

“Great.” We start down the corridor again with me hobbling beside Kenzie, and I’m busy thinking about the students in the dining hall when I ask, “Exactly how many students were here when you started?” I haven’t forgotten what one of the students whispered: New girl won’t last a night.

People keep saying that, and I want to know why.

Kenzie gets a blank look before she answers. “Out of the new arrivals we’re down to half. We lost the most during the first three nights.”

A chill crawls down my spine, and I swear the air cools around me. “But…why? How?”

“A few chose to leave, but the rest…” She sucks in a breath. “Some were taken in their dreams by shadow creatures, a few violated the rules or were killed during classes, some were murdered by other students, and they are only the ones I know about.”

“What do you mean? How can you not know what happened to the others?”

She shrugs. “Some of them just never turned up to class. There have been rumors among the students about what happened to them, but I never believed them. I always assumed those students must have chosen to go back to the human realm, but then Leira disappeared. I still think it has something to do with the professors.”

“But you can’t think they all found out information and were silenced for it?” I question.

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean it’s not all connected.”

I peer at the shadow figures who are still following us. “You’re not afraid of the shadows hearing you say that?”

Her smile is a crooked, dark thing, so at odds with her doe eyes. “I was afraid, but after seeing how you stood up to Professor Knox, I want the professors to know how I feel about Leira’s disappearance.”

I want to point out to her that I’m a terrible role model, because I wasn’t intentionally standing up to him, but she forges on.

“I can’t be sure that Professor Thane uses the shadows as spies, but if he does, I’m happy for him to hear this.

I went to him in the days after she disappeared, you know.

” Kenzie sniffs. “Professor Thane is tough, but he cares for the students. At least, I think he does.” She blows out a breath.

“But he said he knew nothing about Leira.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I tell her. “We’ll find out what happened to her.” I don’t point out that I know the shadows can’t directly speak to the professors. I guess there could be other ways the shadows might communicate.

Kenzie gives me a grateful look, but it’s clear she’s not convinced. Either way, her lips curve up slightly. “Maybe you should focus on trying to stay alive first. It’s nice to have someone around who seems…normal.”

I snort. “Normal is not the word I’d use to describe myself.”

“Exactly,” she beams, running her eyes up and down my attire as if to make a point. “You’re strange, meaning you’re completely normal. Well, you are to me, anyway.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“You should.”

I grin, not sure how I got so lucky having her as a roommate. I open my mouth and I’m about to tell her that when shadows wrap around me. I squawk as I’m pulled backwards down the corridor.

My friend whips around like she’s ready to defend me, but her expression slackens when she sees who’s behind us. “P-professor?”

Strong arms pluck me from the shadows, banding behind my back and under my legs as a familiar sensation of ice and fire moves through my body, and I’m lifted into the air.

“I’ll take it from here,” Galen drawls, giving Kenzie a sensual smile.

My roommate stands there, not sure what to do, and when Galen stares her down, she flinches but still doesn’t leave. “Shade…” she says uncertainly.

“If I wanted to hurt her, I would have done so already,” Galen states casually. “Rest assured, I’ll return her to your dorm soon.”

She still hesitates, but I give her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine.”

Kenzie lingers for a moment longer. It’s obvious she’s not sure what to do, but shadows gather around Galen and me, and within seconds, she disappears from view.

My surroundings change to a haze of dark shadows that wind and twist around us, and the next time I can see, Galen is carrying me through a forest with huge ghostly trees surrounding us on all sides.

The leaves crunch under his boots as he leads me forward, shadows swirling around us, and high above, I glimpse a section of the academy through the tree canopy.

“We’re outside?” I ask softly. I don’t bother struggling in his arms. Mostly, because I’m still pathetically weak and in pain, but also because it feels so good to have him touching me, and it’s taking all my willpower not to bury my face into his chest. Even if he is an ass who just watched Knox torture me.

Remember, you’re supposed to be mad at him.

In my defense, he smells ridiculously good, but I really need to stop ignoring the red flags. These men are toxic.

“That we are, treasure,” Galen drawls, replying to my earlier question.

“Treasure? That’s funny coming from you.” I didn’t mind his cutesy nicknames before, but that one seems particularly ridiculous seeing as he just watched his friend hurt me.

Galen doesn’t reply, and after a while I ask another question. “Why are we out here, Galen?” Red eyes keep blinking at me from the darkness between the trees, and I shudder. Please tell me those are cute furry squirrels or something.

“We’re out here because you couldn’t help making a mess of things during your first meal,” Galen answers simply.

“I— What?” I bristle. “Knox was the one who attacked me. ”

“Mmm yes,” Galen agrees. “After you stood there almost naked, catching us all off guard and flaunting what’s ours. Then you had to go putting things in your mouth instead of waiting like a good girl.”

I’m angry at his accusations, really I am, but why does everything that comes out of his mouth always sound so dirty?

My body heats as I try to keep it together.

“Firstly, this ,” I gesture to my body using a circular motion, “doesn’t belong to any of you.

And secondly, making people wait like that before they can eat their dinner is just…

just…” I struggle to find the word, losing my train of thought when Galen stares down at me, his eyes hooded with desire.

“It’s what?” he murmurs, his lips quirking up at the sides.

“It’s sick, okay!” I blurt. “Barbaric!”

“Now, now, this is an academy for shadow warriors. How are students expected to follow orders while facing off against dark beings wanting to take their souls, if they can’t even control themselves enough to wait for their dinner?”

That catches me off guard. I hadn’t even contemplated that there might be a strategic reason as to why they make the students wait.

Personally, I don’t think it’s a good enough excuse to deprive food, because it’s not like dark beings are going to try and use treats to distract the warriors.

Then again, I don’t know that for sure as I don’t know anything about the dark beings.

Wait… will they use snacks as a weapon against the warriors?

Because if that’s true, I’m definitely screwed.

I peer around, half expecting to see a lure of treats between the trees, and I can’t help getting excited.

I’m still hungry, even more so after Knox punished me, and Galen could easily take on a dark being. Couldn’t he?

“What are you doing?” Galen asks.

“Oh nothing,” I reply, a little disappointed when I don’t spy any food. My thoughts sour then, because I remind myself that Galen would probably just watch the shadow monster devour me. It might feel like he’s my mate, but these men have made it clear I’m mistaken.

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter if dinner was a test,” I blurt.

“Okay, so I broke a rule, but you’re all the assholes who stood by and watched Knox try to kill me!

” My voice gets a little shrill at the end, but hey, I’m still a little salty about it.

“So I guess Knox was right. None of you are my mates after all. Not unless you’re really, really terrible ones.

Either way, this,” I gesture to my body again, “does not belong to you.”

Galen doesn’t stop smiling, and it annoys me that he’s not taking me seriously.

“I don’t know what you are, little shadow,” he says. “But I do know you’re ours.”

“And how did you come to that conclusion? Was it a revelation because you enjoyed watching me in pain?” I don’t hide my sarcasm.

His chest falls as he lets out a long breath, and the amusement drains from his eyes.

When he speaks again, there’s a lethal edge to his voice.

“I came to that conclusion, because when Knox was trying to break you, it was the first time in four-hundred years that I had to stop myself from tearing him apart.”

I can’t breathe. My heart drums a frantic rhythm, because I’m pretty sure he’s serious.

My anger deflates a little. “Tell me what we’re doing out here, Galen,” I say softly before clearing my throat.

“Or I guess I should call you, Professor Galen. I’d hate to get punished again.

” Another lie, because after what Galen told me, I want to be punished by shadow daddy two badly.

If, you know, the punishment involves his hand on my ass and his cock slamming into me.

“When we’re away from the other students, you can call me whatever you like, treasure,” Galen tells me. “And we’re out here because we want to do this away from prying eyes.” He cocks his head, thoughtfully. “At least, the eyes we have to worry about.”

I peer around at the eyes still blinking at us from the darkness of the trees. So we don’t have to worry about these ones? My gaze slides to Galen, my thoughts snagging on the other part of what he’s just said. “Wait. Do what exactly?”