Page 49 of Beasts of Shadows #1

“Fuck-a-doodle-doo,” Cat whistles the next morning when she appears in the common room and I’m still curled up beside Ravi. After our activities last night, he gathered pillows from the couches and blankets, making us a makeshift bed on the floor.

That is now being interrupted by Cat.

She gives a low whistle. “What did I miss last night?”

Ravi turns over sleepily, but doesn’t wake at Cat’s questioning. Clutching my head, I try to recall the events of the night.

All I remember is Ravi. Between my thighs, against my mouth, making promises of everlasting love—.

No. before that. There was something…

“Have you seen Reema?” I demand, drawing the throw blanket around myself and searching for my clothes.

“Not since that shit show at dinner yesterday,” Cat retorts, arms over her chest. “She probably went to her dorm to hide out. Or to Geneir—.”

“Geneir was with Picca.”

“Oh.”

Cat blinks, holds my eye.

“ Oh ! Oh no.” She shakes her head, throwing my shirt over mine—it’s the last thing I need to put on—then drags me into the hall.

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We cross paths with Geneir on our way up to the third floor. He has flowers in one hand, and coffee in the other.

Both of which immediately tumble from his arms when Cat hits him first upside the head, then again in the arm.

“What the hell were you thinking?” she demands, before I can get my own claws into him.

“I wasn’t. Shit, Cat, I barely remember last night. I don’t even know how I wound up in the common room, let alone with Picca.”

I have an idea about that. If Picca really was responsible for releasing the Tantalus pomegranate because she wanted Geneir, then it’s possible she slipped him something else when he didn’t seem to want her.

And if that’s true… gods, that’s so much worse. But what do I know? I’m not exactly the moral authority after the night I just had.

Geneir’s whimper is swallowed by the harem that is the sophomore girls’ hall. Clothes are optional. Dignity’s dead. Lust hangs in the air like fog someone sprayed from a can.

There’s something to be said about Picca’s “lover, not a fighter” strategy for handling the Bonfire Moon. It’s hard to say whether this full moon was safer than the last—but it’s definitely messier.

Cat hops over a girl I think I recognize from Symbology , c anoodling with a water nymph. She lands hard enough to jostle the floorboards, jarring the couple awake with a muttered, fake apology.

She’s having too much fun with this.

I wonder how many couples are waking up with regrets this morning.

Do I regret what happened?

Gods, I don’t even know what I feel. I’m still trying to separate what I wanted from what I needed—from what Ravi was offering, and what I actually took. There’s a line somewhere in there, but it’s all smeared now, like paint that didn’t dry fast enough.

Later. I’ll figure it out later.

We can deal with Reema first.

Cat stops outside her door. As the top of the mortals in her year—surpassing most of the shades, as well—Reema has a corner, private room.

Cat digs out the spare key—the one she kept in case Reema ever got locked out again—and moves into the darkness. Geneir reaches for the light switch, but I catch his arm to stop him.

Something’s off.

My heart kicks against my ribs. Maybe it’s Nikolai waiting in the shadows with that half-smirk and a dagger behind his back. Or a bogey, or worse.

But instead, I find a trail of red splotches spilled across the floor.

Cat and Geneir follow my attention, frowning. The dorm space is tiny, so there’s not a lot. They spread from the door to Reema’s bed.

Roses. They’re rose petals.

I glance at the normally neatly made bedspread. The sheets are ruffled, but there are two figures beneath them, not one.

Like some kind of Three Stooges act, we move closer to the bed, unsure what to expect.

But it’s Cody’s white-blond curls splashed on the pillow behind Reema. His shoulder barely visible from the navy-blue comforter. They’re both breathing easily in sleep, unbothered by our presence.

You don’t need prophetic sight to read Geneir’s face. Two plus two equals betrayal, and the grief rolling off him is loud enough to drown out the hallway moans and groans.

Cat meets my eye. Oh shit. This is about to get crazy.

“Let’s go,” I caution, reaching for Geneir’s arm before he has a chance to fuss.

He bats me away, unusually quiet.

“Geneir, we can’t stay—.”

Cody stirs first. No wonder, Reema can sleep through an earthquake. He lifts one eye, oblivious to our presence, notices Reema, and pulls her closer, readying to go back to bed.

That’s enough for Geneir, who finally snaps.

“What in the afterlife?” he shouts, dragging the blanket away from my cousin and best friend, and then dragging Cody head-first off the bed.

The thud of Cody’s shoulder hitting the floor is nothing compared to the crack of Geneir’s fist against his ribs. I wince, torn—because gods, Cody deserves to explain himself, but Geneir’s pain is pouring out the only way he knows how.

Thank the deities, they’re both fully clothed. I don’t think I could handle seeing Cody naked, on top of everything else that went down this morning.

“You slept with my girlfriend? You’re supposed to be my best friend, ” Geneir growls, getting one good shot into Cody’s ribs.

I let them hash that out for a minute, turning my attention to the now-stirring Reema.

“No!” she cries, the moment she realizes what’s happening.

Cat is pressed against the wall to stay out of the way, and both men have moved out into the hallway, stirring the still-sleeping crews.

Reema’s eyes flit to me for a second, wild and guilty. I recognize that look. It’s not lust—it’s escape. The kind of move you make when the person who was supposed to love you shatters you, and you just need someone—anyone—to remind you that you’re still worth holding.

And I can’t help but feel it like a bruise on my ribs—because I did the same thing. Not with Cody. With Ravi. The difference is Reema went to someone she once trusted. I went to someone I used to believe wasn’t real.

Not that it’s any of my business, but I’m pretty sure they didn’t have sex. Still, I’m curious about what did occur.

Especially given the letter my cousin keeps hidden in his journal. Did she come across him by accident, or did she search him out? Did he confess his feelings to her?

One thing, I think, is certain. Neither of them were affected by the smoothies. This is not some morning-after regret.

“Nothing. Happened !” Reema shouts, rushing from the bed in the same clothes she had last night.

One night. That’s all it took to turn us into a pile of emotional wreckage. I slept with a god who used to be my teacher. Reema fell into bed with my cousin. Geneir woke up next to the person he swore was a snake. Honestly, what the hell is wrong with us?

Thank the deities I didn’t cave and go to Nikolai. There’s only so much chaos I can handle on a Sunday morning.

Cat and I stumble after Reema.

Cody’s breathing heavily and bleeding over his brow. He gets Geneir away with an uppercut to the jaw. But it doesn’t last long.

Geneir swells back on him a second later. It reminds me of one of those hockey fights. They’re both hitting at each other, but they’re so close that I don’t think anyone’s really taking a beating. They’re just sort of grappling to get the upper hand.

Still, the blood over Cody’s head prompts a twist in my gut. Apparently in Reema’s too, because she swells forward to break it up.

“What are you doing?”

They’re all close in height, making it easy for her to grab the back of Geneir’s shirt and jerk him away. Cody, still mid-swing, lands a punch to her gut, but she keeps a hold on Geneir so he can’t retaliate.

“Get off me,” Geneir snaps, shooting her a dirty look from his dark eyes. “How long has this been going on?”

“What?” Reema redirects her footing to get a more equally aggressive stance. In case she needs to defend herself.

“How long have you been seeing each other behind my back?” Geneir barks.

Cat’s gotten an ice pack—who knows from where—and is forcing it into her brother’s hands. He’s taken a seat on the floor, holding his side with one hand. Without looking up, he gives a chuckle, dropping his head into his free hand with resignation.

The laugh does nothing to help.

“Have you two just been shacking up and laughing about it?” Geneir demands. “Has this all been some kind of game? I thought you were better than that, Reems, but—.”

“You were with Picca ,” Reema counters. “Not that it matters, because unlike you —nothing happened.” Geneir flinches. “And even if it had —we’re done.”

Geneir glances between all of us, and the dimly awake student body watching the scene unfold like a soap opera. Shaking his head, he stalks away.

Reema remains standing, rigid, until he disappears into the elevator.

It’s only Cody’s groan that draws her attention back to the scene.

“Sorry,” he grunts.

I’m not sure what he’s sorry for, but at least he said it.

Reema stalks to him, punching his chest.

“What is wrong with you? Is this another one of your ridiculous schemes to ruin my life?”

Cody makes a face, and I can tell she hit a sore spot.

“Ouch. You know that turns me on.”

She gives a disgruntled sigh, then moves to help him back into the bedroom.

“I’m fine,” he manages, as Cat and I silently follow along. We exchange scandalous eyes, wondering what’s actually going on here.

“Nothing’s broken, aside from my dignity.”

“To be fair, that needed to go down a few notches, anyway,” Reema mutters, wrapping her arms around him.

“Should we go?” Cat tentatively posits. “Maybe you two want to kiss and make up?”

At the word “kiss,” both flinch.

Maybe last night wasn’t completely as innocent as they claimed.

I don’t know what happened last night. Not really. But I have a sinking feeling the Bonfire Moon isn’t over yet.

Not for any of us.

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