Page 4 of Monster's Melody
This time, though, I would not only have the comfort of my sister communicating with my snakes.I would also have my mate to stave off the loneliness.
IfI could figure out who she was.
Unfortunately, Yukiko was a stubborn snow beast, and the day we were scheduled to return to our Academies, I was still clueless as to the identity of my mate.
As usual, Yukiko and I traveled to the docks together.I walked her to where her ferry waited and was glad to see her best friend, Ember, already there.
My ferry would be leaving shortly after theirs, which meant I would only be able to stay long enough to see the two of them on board.
I hugged Yukiko and murmured, “I’ll miss you, Kiko.”
“I’ll miss you too, Zak.”Her voice broke a little.
I pulled away, then said, “Look.I know I’m always giving you a hard time about chatting with The Hissies, but I want you to know, it’s the one thing keeping me sane when we’re apart.”
She gave me a confused look.“What are you talking about?”
Great.She probably didn’t know that I knew.“It’s not a big deal.I mean, it’s pretty obvious when they start dancing and weaving that you’re talking to them.It makes me feel like we’re not so far apart.So don’t stop, okay?”
She blinked.“Zak, Blackthorn’s three thousand miles from Guardian Academy.I can’t chat with your snakes over that great a distance.”
My jaw dropped.“What?Then who have they been weaving and dancing for?”
She rolled her eyes.“You really are an idiot, you know that?”
Holy shit.
“Yukiko.”I poured as much pleading into my voice as I could.
She snickered, then grabbed me in a tight hug and whispered in my ear, “Her name’s Jasmine.”
Jasmine.
Did I know a Jasmine?
I didn’t think so.I couldn’t pull up a single memory or face to go with that name.
My thoughts were whirling as Yukiko dropped a kiss on each of my snake’s heads, one by one, then gave me a jaunty grin and sauntered down the dock toward the ferry where Ember waited.
When she reached Ember, both women waved, then boarded the ferry and were lost in the crowd of students already on board.
I spent my own ferry ride, circulating among the other Blackthorn students, trying to find out if anyone knew a Jasmine.
By the time we docked at the island, I’d learned of a year two and a year three student.
Since my snakes had comforted me with their dancing from my very first month at the academy two and a half years before, I immediately eliminated the year two student and tried to get as much information as possible about year three Jasmineandher schedule.
A couple hours after walking through the doors at Blackthorn Academy, I left its main office with a new schedule clenched in hand.
I’d managed to enroll in Dragon Riding 101, which had required some fast talking on my part, considering I’d missed the entire first semester.I’d also switched from Extreme Sports Ed to Extreme Water Sports Ed.
Switching from one sports ed class to the other wasn’t a big deal.My snakes loved the water, so we’d be fine in either class.
However, Dragon Riding 101 might be a different story as my snakes weren’t fond of dragons.Worse, the dragons at Blackthorn Academy were positivelyferociousin their hatred of the little bastards.Probably because The Hissies were major instigators.
I just hoped I hadn’t signed up for an entire semester of dealing with cranky dragons for a woman who wasn’t even my mate.If shewasthe right Jasmine, though, I’d brave worse than dragons just to be near her.
Now, all I had to do was show up for our mutual classes and let nature take its course.