Page 72 of Monster's Melody

Of course, they were completely useless as they panicked, trying to figure out how to get us to stop crying.

Eventually, Jahrdran just scooped Kasi into his arms and carted her into the Shadow Realm.The last we saw of them was Shadow crawling up his back, then sliding over his shoulder to stretch out in the space between him and Kasi, clearly sensing that something was wrong.

Elliot absconded with Mikaela to her room at the same time, and while I’m not certain how he and Jahrdran comforted their mates, if I had to make a guess, I’d bet their approach was similar to Vorzak’s and involved a lot of kissing and sexytimes.

At breakfast the next morning, Kasi shared the plans she and Jahrdran had made the night before.Now that we’d defeated the Shadow Killer, they planned to turn their attention to searching for shadow-beast survivors.

“I’m not ready to give up yet,” she told us.“Jahrdran believes Varulvka hunters may have suicided to protect shadow-beast survivors in hiding.If no one alive knew there were survivors, the hunters’ oath would die with the hunters and the survivors could live in peace.”

I didn’t tell her what I was thinking, that it was just as likely, perhaps even likelier, that the Varulvka had suicided because they couldn’t bear the guilt of the genocide they’d committed against an entire race of innocents.

Instead of sharing my skepticism, though, I simply hugged Kasi and wished her the best of luck.

Like Vorzak, Mikaela and me, Kasi had another year at the Academy, but she and Jahrdran planned to start their search over the summer.

As for Mikaela and Elliot, they were planning to spend the summer with family, but they too had a mission.“Elliot may have gained access to the Shadow Realm,” Mikaela confided.

“When the shadow army was streaming past and their shadows were touching mine, it was like for a brief instant, I shifted into my dragon, but not fully.”Elliot looked troubled as he explained.“I can’t really explain it, but it’s like I had no form at all.It wasn’t until later that I realized I’d probably shifted into shadows.Likehim.”

“Like Miki-Leopard,” I corrected.

“Exactly!”Mikaela exclaimed.

“It must be because you’re Mikaela’s mate,” Jahrdran said.“That’s how I got access to the Shadow Realm.”

“That’s what I said,” Mikaela said.“Since Miki-Leopard was born in the shadows, that kind of makes her a shadow-beast like Kasi, or really, more like Shadow.Anyway, since shadow-beast mates gain access to the shadows over time, I’m kind of hoping it means that eventually Elliot’s dragon will be able to go into the shadows with us.Wouldn’t that be cool?”

I grinned as I pictured Elliot’s huge dragon racing through the Shadow Realm, spewing flames to light his way, Miki-Leopard on his back.

“We’re going to practice when we get to Elliot’s family’s land in Scotland.There’s a lot more space there for him to go flying and for us to experiment with moving in and out of the shadows.”

“It definitely sounds like an adventure,” I said.

“Oh, and their application for the apartment in Wellspring was approved, so we’re all set for the fall!”Mikaela beamed.

That wasn’t such great news for me.Though Kasi and Mikaela would still technically be my suitemates, with an entire apartment at their disposal, I knew they’d spend most of their free time there.

I’d definitely miss having the two of them around, though Vorzak and The Hissies had ensured the loneliness that had haunted me for years was now a thing of the past.

Our last week at the Academy passed quickly as we raced through the rest of our finals.

Somehow, now that the threat of Zowen no longer loomed over our heads, the stress of those last exams didn’t feel so bad at all.

Before we knew it, exams were over, and for Jahrdran and Elliot, their entire Blackthorn Academy education was done.

We spent our last night hanging out in the fourth floor common room, then retiring to our suite where we stayed up late, laughing and talking.

We were all bleary-eyed the next morning, which would explain why it wasn’t until I sat down across from Mikaela at breakfast that I noticed.“Oh, my goddess!She did it!Miki-Leopard did it!”

Mikaela grinned.“I know, right?I woke up this morning and there she was, sprawled across my shoulders and chest, like she’d been born there.She’s been moving around all morning, freaking out the other students.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t show me first.”I scowled at her.

“You were sound asleep when we got up and Miki-Leopard was full of energy.She wanted to show off her accomplishments.”

Miki-Leopard’s front legs reached all the way down Mikaela’s left arm while her back legs and tail trailed down her right.

The rest of her body curled around Mikaela’s neck, creating the illusion of a leopard draped across her shoulders.