Page 32 of A Curse So Cruel (Fated Mates of Shadowbone Academy #1)

Chapter Twenty-One

~ Shade ~

S omething drops beside my head, thudding onto my pillow, and I groan, cracking an eye open. A granola bar sits there, close to my nose.

“Girl, you need to get up. You’ve already missed breakfast,” Kenzie says, shutting our dorm door behind her as she moves into the room, and I have to say, I’m impressed with her aim.

She’s already dressed in a clean pair of leathers with her hair braided to one side.

“You’re lucky none of the professors were there this morning. ”

“Let me die here in peace,” I moan dramatically.

She shoots me a deadpan look. “You’re not dying.”

“You wouldn’t understand. Everything hurts,” I mumble, my words muffled by my pillow. “I mean everything. ”

Stifling her smile, she strides over, and without warning, she yanks the blanket from me mercilessly.

“Hey!” I protest, rushing to grab hold of the blanket. I clutch a corner of the fabric to me like it’s a lifeline.

Huffing out a breath, she drops the other end. “Look, I get it. I could barely walk after my first day, but you’ll be in more pain if you’re late for this class. Trust me.”

Moaning loudly, I burrow my face deeper into my pillow. It grows silent, and for a moment I think Kenzie is gone, but then I hear her cross the room.

“Okay, fine. You can stay here if you’d rather get into trouble with Professor Knox again. Who knows, maybe he’ll go easy on you like Professor Thane did. Which, the whole school was talking about at breakfast, by the way.”

Knox? My stomach plummets . I’d forgotten my first class of the day is Offensive and Defensive Maneuvers, taught by none other than the insufferable shadow daddy with a perpetual bad attitude. Great.

Ignoring the way my muscles ache, I force myself to sit up and place my feet onto the floor.

Muttering some self-motivational words, I go to stand, but the instant my full weight is on my legs, a sharp pain travels up my thighs, and my knees buckle.

I tumble to the ground, yelping as I land in a heap.

Kenzie bursts out laughing, clutching her belly and everything. I blow the hair out of my eyes, but I can’t blame her, and soon I’m laughing hysterically as well.

“Ow!” I complain, half laughing, half crying at the pain in my stomach muscles.

Still laughing, Kenzie wipes the tears from her eyes. “Here,” she says, holding out a hand and helping me to my feet. She plops me back on the bed and grabs the granola bar from my pillow, shoving it into my hands. “That’ll help. At least, a little.”

I don’t argue. Tearing open the bar, I start chewing because something tells me Knox is definitely not going to go easy on me, and I’ll need all the energy I can get. And you know, some kind of miracle.

“Don’t worry, it gets—” Kenzie starts.

“Easier?” I finish for her. “So I’ve heard.

” I think longingly of some of my favorite romance books.

After the incidents with Galen and Thane the day before, I could use a one-handed read and some serious self-care, but it looks like that isn’t happening any time soon.

I also have no idea if one of the dreamcrawlers visited me last night, but unless the shadow monsters also dish out erotic dreams, I’m guessing not.

My night had been filled with dreams of three muscled professors, in particular.

Even Knox had made an appearance in the end, though he looked just as grumpy as he did in real life, and he only watched as the other three had their way with me.

My mind then goes to mohawk guy. What was his name again?

Jensen? He doesn’t seem to hate me, and I have the random thought that if I can’t have Galen and the others, maybe I can have him instead?

As far as I’m aware, there’s no rule about students sleeping together. Maybe I can finally get some after all.

“Hey, is mohawk guy in our class this morning?” I ask through a mouthful of granola.

“Who, Jensen?” Kenzie thinks for a moment, a wry smile playing on her lips. “Yeah, I think so. Why?”

“Because this girl needs to get laid,” I tell her honestly.

Her lips twitch. “And you think you’re in a state for that, do you?”

I make a face at her when I stand, somehow managing not to fall this time. “Okay, next question. Do you think he’ll mind if I make him do all the work?”

She laughs. “I have no idea, but if you’re planning on getting some today, you may want to rethink your outfit.”

Frowning, I peer down at myself. I collapsed in bed with all my clothes on the night before, and some more feathers have fallen from my outfit. You can almost see my nipples through the tight black fabric across my breasts. “Okay, point taken,” I mumble, though I doubt mohawk guy would have minded.

I play with the ring on my finger and begrudgingly swallow my mouthful and close my eyes.

I can’t keep putting off using shadow magic.

Clearly, I’m stuck in this place, and there’s not much I can do about it.

I’m already peppered with bruises, and I can’t keep walking around half-naked, so I’m going to have to find a way to make this work for me.

Okay, I can do this. All I need is an outfit that’s going to cover my bits a little better.

I let out a steadying breath and concentrate, tapping into the shadow power.

It doesn’t take long before magic is winding through me, making my body tingle, and then the pain seizes me.

I scrunch my face, breathing through it, and when the agony ends, I open my eyes.

I’m not ready to look in the mirror yet, so I stare at Kenzie instead.

Going by the way she’s suppressing her smile, I’m guessing it’s not great. “What? Is it that bad?”

“Not at all,” she replies, her smile breaking free. “Let’s just say if you’re hoping to get laid today, you’ve gone for the perfect outfit.”

Preparing for the worst, I turn to the mirror.

And stare…

Well, damn.

Knox is already there when we enter the large training room for our first class of the day.

He stands in the middle of the room dressed in a skintight leather outfit that’s molded to his muscular body and ends at his shoulders, showing off the thick veins on his arms. Various weapons are strapped to his body, and his stern gaze falls on the students as they enter the space.

I half-hide behind Kenzie as we enter because the last time I saw him he was on all fours, and the thought already has my cheeks burning. I would have struggled to believe Knox could be submissive to anyone if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.

Despite my efforts, I feel the man’s searing gaze land on me.

His eyes darken as he takes in my outfit, and I force myself to lift my chin as I stride forward.

Knox might practically be a god in the shadow realm, but I remind myself that he has no right to make me feel small.

Besides, from what Kenzie has told me, there’s no rule about clothing.

I grin, thinking of my black fish-net stockings, the ripped denim shorts that barely cover my ass cheeks, and the strappy leather tube top that’s so tight it makes my breasts look two sizes bigger than they actually are.

The only practical thing about my outfit is my black boots, and even then, it’s questionable.

It’s a ridiculous outfit for combat training, but it suits me perfectly, and it’s better than the feathers that looked like they’d been stuck on with craft glue.

In my eyes, my day has started off with a massive win. Even I would want to fuck me right now.

Determined to ignore Knox and his irritated expression, I turn my gaze to the massive room.

Countless weapons line the walls, from swords that are almost the length of my body, to maces the size of my head.

On one half of the room, thick mats cover the floor, and on the other, sections have been marked out with gray paint, dividing the space up.

Whispers follow me as I find a place, standing with the students who have grouped together in front of Knox. I intentionally make sure I’m close to Jensen, who’s sporting a violet mohawk today that contrasts strikingly with his pale green eyes.

He admires me appreciatively as I stop beside him, grinning like someone’s just given him a present. “Damn new girl. Looking good.”

I shoot a grin back at him. Okay so sure, he doesn’t have daddy vibes like four certain professors, but he’s still pleasant to look at, and this girl has needs.

Smirking, he peels off his shirt, revealing an impressive set of abs that I have no problem admiring.

Satine huffs from not too far away, planting a hand on her hip. “No one wants to see you without your shirt, Jensen,” she quips, yawning.

“That’s not what you said when you walked in on me at the showers,” he retorts, tensing his muscles like he’s posing for a photographer.

There are a few sniggers, and Satine’s face goes beet red, but I make it a point not to get caught staring at her. Nope, I do not need that drama. Even if the story does sound juicy…

Knox clears his throat, and I reluctantly turn my gaze to him, only to find the professor looks like he’s one word away from strangling someone with his shadows.

And by someone, I mean me. Power radiates from him as he glares at me, his shadows curling and writhing around his tattooed arms. Seriously, why does this man hate me so much?

The guy is unusually uptight for someone who got laid not that long ago.

“Oh, looks like soldier boy is in a mood today,” Elgen’s voice pops into my mind at that exact moment. “I love it when he loses his temper. Do you think anyone will die today?”

Soldier boy? I spy her and Tarlaz high up on the left wall, watching us all, enraptured. And is that…shadow popcorn? I frown, not sure if I’m seeing the bucket between them correctly, or if I’m imagining things.