Page 20 of A Curse So Cruel (Fated Mates of Shadowbone Academy #1)

Chapter Thirteen

~ Shade ~

O ne moment the forest is deathly silent around me, and within the span of a single step, we enter a wall of shadows, and I hear them.

“What the fuck were you thinkin’?” Raith spits between heavy breaths. “You could have killed her.”

“You know what I was thinking,” a smooth, deep voice replies without a hint of remorse. Knox . “I did what I had to do. What I always do. She broke the rules and the students were watching.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” This comes from Raith again.

“Now, now, is that any way to behave in front of company,” Galen drawls as he carries me forward, and we exit the wall of shadow and enter a small section of the forest. Shadows form a dome shape around us, like they’re sealing us in, and ahead, Raith, Knox, and Thane stand there, along with their creatures.

Galen’s stallion, Arizak, seems to come from nowhere, walking beside us.

The massive horse sniffs my leg, his large nostrils flaring before he lets out a whinny.

Weak streams of moonlight filter through the shadow dome, flickering on the stallion’s shadow mane.

Kazer prowls toward me, sniffing me as well.

His frigid nose slides up my cheek, and I would have laughed if I wasn’t so distracted.

Knox and Bonfang stand there, and I should be furious, but I swear a flicker of relief passes over Knox’s face as he sees me.

It catches me off guard. At least, I think I see relief.

The expression is gone in an instant, and his cool, cold demeanour is back in place soon after.

Despite his icy glare, his hair is ruffled, and his shirt looks rumpled like he’s had a nap in his clothes and had a terrible sleep. …Or like he’s just been in a fight.

Raith runs a hand through his hair, not hiding his relief. He grins as he strides over to me, but his smile falters when Galen sets me on my feet and my knees almost buckle. Galen places a hand on my back, steadying me, and I force myself to straighten, stepping away so I’m standing on my own.

“You all right, sunshine?” Raith asks.

“Never better,” I lie, but my knees wobble, betraying me.

“I’m just, going to inspect this tree over here.

” I hobble over to the closest tree, which thankfully has no eyes or creatures around it, and I rest my shoulder against the trunk, finally able to get a full breath out now that I have some support.

Raith stares after me with large eyes like he’s not sure if he should follow, but it’s Kazer who strides over, sitting close to me.

Instinctively, I reach out, stroking down the lion’s back, and a rumbling starts up in the giant cat’s throat.

The other shadow creatures watch us curiously, but they don’t come forward.

“It’s good to see you on your feet,” Thane says, his warm brown eyes fixed on my face. Had it been anyone else, I might have thought the man was mocking me, but there’s something so sincere in his gaze that I simply nod.

“Glad to be here,” I lie again. Except…I’m not sure if it’s a complete lie.

It does feel right to be here. With them.

And yet, something still feels off, too.

Sighing, I adjust my position against the tree.

The rough bark is digging into my shoulder, and while I appreciate having the tree to lean against, I still feel like crawling into my bed and feeling sorry for myself.

Raith rounds on Knox. “Look at her. We can’t leave her like this. The dreamcrawlers will finish what you started when she goes to sleep.”

I want to ask who or what the hell dreamcrawlers are, but before I can, Knox replies, “We don’t interfere.

That’s the way it goes. The way it has always been.

” He speaks calmly like they’re picking up from the middle of a conversation.

“If she didn’t want to be disadvantaged, she wouldn’t have broken the rules. ”

My stomach rumbles like even it wants to protest at that. “We all need to eat,” I cut in. “How was I supposed to know that taking a bite would make you go all psycho? That I was taking some weird control test?”

Knox glowers at me. “No one was speaking to you, human. ”

The words are harsh, and they crack like a whip against my chest. I rush to hide my hurt, schooling my expression, but my voice trembles a little when I speak.

“Oh goodie, then I guess I’d better get going then.

” Sucking in a breath, I turn and start hobbling from the tree toward the shadow wall.

Kazer walks beside me like he fully intends to follow me all the way to the academy.

I’m half tempted to see if I can ride the beast again, but I decide it’s not worth the risk.

While the large cat seems to like me, I’m not going to try my luck.

Before I can reach the dome wall, Raith let’s out a single word.

“Knox.” The word isn’t a command, it’s a plea, and I almost trip over my own feet in surprise.

“She wasn’t aware of the rule,” Thane rumbles. “If anyone should have been punished, it should have been the girl, Kenzie. I tasked her with guiding our new arrival, and she should have explained all the expectations.”

That makes me stop and turn. Unfortunately, I move too fast, and my wobbly limbs can’t support the movement.

Before I topple, Kazer holds me up with his snout.

The shadow lion lifts his large head, propping me upright with his nose, and I rush out a grateful, “thank you,” before blurting, “Please don’t punish Kenzie.

” I turn my pleading gaze to Thane. The man has been standoffish, but he seems more reasonable than Knox.

“Even if she didn’t tell me the exact timing of things, I should have waited.

I could see the others weren’t eating. This is on me.

I’ll remember you all have weird control issues in the future.

” I nod giving them what I hope is a serious look.

Knox narrows his eyes. “We don’t have control issues. We simply expect students to respect authority.”

“Right,” I reply, “and you have tantrums and torture students to get your own way. So like I said, serious control issues. Don’t worry, I get it.”

Galen shakes his head at me, but he doesn’t hide his smile. Raith outright grins, and Thane is staring at me with exasperation, like he can’t believe I keep making this worse.

Knox…well, he looks like he wants to throttle me, and it only makes my smile bigger.

I know I should be more careful. The man is still terrifying, and honestly, the memory of his power tearing into me makes my muscles shake, but I can’t seem to help myself.

Every time I get a reaction from him, even a bad one, a little thrill goes through me. Oh crap, I really have lost my mind.

Thane rubs his temples, that weariness pulling at his eyes again.

“Do it, Knox. Replenish her so that she has a fighting chance tonight. I think we can make an exception this once, and I trust she will tread more carefully in the future.” He pins me with a stare when he says the last part, and I nod my head seriously again, because I do intend to get as many rules out of Kenzie after this as I can.

I mean, it would be a little hard figuring out who I am if I’m dead.

The guys all turn their gazes on Knox, and I don’t know exactly what they’re asking him, but I’m assuming replenishing me is a good thing.

I don’t get any warning before Knox’s power crashes into me again.

A startled cry slips from my lips, and the pain is white hot, just as bad as I remember.

Without his shadows restraining me this time, I fall to the ground, landing hard on my hands and knees.

The assault continues, and just when the pain is completely unbearable, just when something strange starts stirring in my chest, the shadow magic stops.

Panting, I glare up at the four shadow daddies who are staring at me until my vision darkens, and everything else fades away.