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Chapter Four

D ray

“I’m beginning to suspect that while people are nodding obediently to our faces, they’re ignoring our fucking commands behind our backs,” I say, my gaze flicking around the Onyx common room, my left leg jiggling, my jaw working as I chew on gum.

The trial is over. Nearly every shadow weaver, but a handful, fucking aced it.

Obviously not as fast or with as much style as I did, but as suspected we performed better as a collective than any of the commoner kids from the other Quarters.

It’s made the kids here tonight high! It’s not their fault.

They’ve been told all their lives how wonderful they are.

Now they’ve proved it. They’re dancing on the tables, firing magic around the room, hooking up, and snorting lines of dust.

Usually I’d be right in the thick of it, shirt off, balancing some girl on my shoulders, licking powder off another’s chest, and howling up at the ceiling.

Tonight, I’m stewing in the corner with Beaufort, observing. Every one of my wolfish senses is alert and finely tuned.

“What makes you say that?” Beaufort asks, dragging his own gaze away from the spectacle and back towards me.

“Despite making it clear she’s ours,” I say, rocking back on my heels and then forward again, “despite Thorne’s little temper tantrum, she’s still walking around like she’s a punchbag and not a human person.”

“Agreed,” Beaufort says, leaning against the wall, and drumming his fingers against the plaster, “the question is, which of the idiots gathered here tonight do you think was responsible for what happened to her in the maze?”

I sweep my gaze across the collection of fuckwits – sweaty and disheveled, grinding against one another, pawing at each other.

“None of them,” I say.

“Yeah, agreed,” Beaufort mutters with irritation, “but then who was?”

I fix him with a hard cold stare. “If she was talking to us, we’d know. If you’d told her the tru–”

“She’s not ready for that,” he snaps back.

You’d think we’d all be as high as the rest of them tonight. We’re not. We’re irritated. Moody. Brewing for a fight.

“If she knew the tru–”

“Maybe she’d be in even more danger,” Beaufort says lowly so that only the two of us hear.

“What makes you say that?” I ask, my body suddenly deadly still, my ears practically pitched as if I’m standing here in wolf form and not human. “Have you seen something more?” I whisper, barely moving my lips.

Beaufort shakes his head.

“Then what–”

“The argument.”

“You said it was just a stupid disagreement,” I say.

“Because I thought it was,” he drags his hand down his face, “but the more I think about it, about what she told me, the more I think, maybe it wasn’t.”

“What the hell are you talking about, dickhead?” I mutter in irritation. “Stop talking in fucking riddles and tell me.”

“It could be nothing…”

My body convulses, flicking for the briefest of moments between my two forms. “Fucking tell me before I rip you limb from limb.”

“Fine.” He stares right ahead. “She had a sister. An older sister who died at the academy.”

“How?”

“Accident apparently. But Briony doesn’t believe it. The way she talks about her sister, it’s as if she was special or something.”

“Everyone talks about their sister that way,” I mutter.

“You might talk about your sister that way, pervert,” Beaufort snaps, “but I–”

“Go to hell,” I snap right back. “I don’t have a sister and you know what I mean.”

“What if Briony is right?” Beaufort continues, scratching at his cheek. “I don’t know, man. The name, Storm, I feel like I heard it somewhere else before.”

“How? When?”

“I don’t remember. In fact, I’m not sure if I’m just imagining it.” He growls in frustration. “But what if someone killed her sister and now they’re going after Briony too?”

“It doesn’t make any sense, though, Beau. Why would anyone waste their time trying to kill a couple of girls from Slate?” I say. “It’s not like she has any powers. You said so yourself. Those scars. No shadow weaver could withstand that kind of torture without their magic breaking through.”

“Yeah,” Beaufort says, nodding his head. “Yeah, you’re right. Much more likely to be one of those cunts thinking they’ve grown too powerful to listen to what we have to say. Trying to get at us, through her.”

“Then let’s fucking remind them,” I say, bouncing forward, my shadows all too ready to inflict some serious damage on all these dickwads.

“No,” Beaufort says, catching me by the arm. “That didn't work last time. They’re operating behind our backs.”

“If she just wore the damn collar,” I say, scowling at Beaufort.

If he just kept his mouth focused on satisfying her pussy instead of spouting fucking nonsense and ending up entangled in arguments with her, things would probably be a lot more different to how they are.

In fact, I’m pretty damn certain she’d be lying in my bed right now – she’d probably be coming on the end of my tongue right this second.

“You don’t think I’ve told her that over and over again.”

“You need to go say you’re sorry. Make it up with her. Girls love that shit. Get down on your knees, beg for forgiveness and before you know it, she’ll be riding your cock again.”

Beaufort grunts. He doesn’t do apologies, it’s not in his nature, plus he’s never had to. Guys in his position never do.

“You could go now,” I prompt. “Night isn’t over. It’s clear we’re not going to solve this mystery tonight and besides, our best lead is the girl herself anyway.”

“It’s too late,” he mutters.

“Then in the morning?” His body tenses. I cock my head. “You’re heading home?”

“Yeah.” He rakes his hand through his head. “I’ve been told.”

“Got my Ma bitching at me to come home too,” I say. I didn’t mind the idea yesterday. The thought of heading home for the night, eating home-cooked meals, sleeping in my own bed, hanging with my brothers, sounded pretty tempting. Tonight, it’s the last thing I want to do.

I guess Beau feels the same way because he says, “Leaving Briony here at the academy after what just happened, is risky.”

“You think she’d come with one of us?” I say, and by one of us – I mean me.

Beau shakes his head. “Anyway, it could be just as dangerous. We don’t know who’s using her to get to us and if they suspect the truth …”

I chew this over, munching on the gum in my mouth that’s starting to lose its flavor.

“Thorne will be here,” I say at last, “we’ll make sure he’s watching her.”