by KC Kingmaker
I would have done anything to see a friendly face in that moment. Or even an unfriendly face like Sunny’s. The pure loneliness made me feel defeated, dragging me into a depression. I couldn’t believe I was in jail, for the first time, and it wasn’t even a human jail. I’d been caged at the hands of supernaturals, who were supposed to be like me.
But they weren’t like me. They were cruel and petty. They really are freaking Abnorms. I hate them all.
I understood what Jace Hudson meant now, by people pushing me down and taking what they wanted. I’d had my fair share of run-ins with grade-A assholes before, but nothing like this. And I’m not even an official student yet.
I tried to reach the key a few more times, huffing and sucking my body in as much as it would go. They had me dead to rights.
With a sigh, I turned around and started pacing, letting my mind run free. This is a test, girl. You can do this. Don’t give up before the fight has even started. I nodded to myself, able to feel slightly invigorated from my little pep talk. Think of what Sunny and Dax said: the name of the school, using my head . . .
Shadowblade Academy. Back at Jose’s Ranchero, I pushed Sunny into a shadowy wall. Venn picked me up and transported me here via the shadow cast by the moonlight in my room.
Okay, I’m seeing a running theme here.
I chuckled despite myself, then sat cross-legged near the bars. When I tussled with Sunny, I didn’t feel like myself. I shouted at him to get off me, and then it was like I used some inner force or power to push him away.
I cocked my head at that thought.
Plap-plap-plap.
“Fuck!” I screwed my eyes shut and faced the ground, covering my ears with my palms to try and block out the constant dripping noises.
I’m going to get that key, I told myself. I was attempting the old mind-over-matter trick.
I opened my eyes and realized something I hadn’t first noticed.
Before rounding the corner to my cell, the dreary walkway had been lit up by wall-torches, about one every twenty feet. It had given me some dim light to see where I walked, but not enough to make this prison look any less creepy or medieval. One of those sconces must have been close to the corner, because a small crescent of light shone just beyond my bars, slightly illuminating the key.
With the key partly lit, it cast a shadow on the ground around it, angled away from my cell.
“Oh shit,” I said aloud. Maybe they want me to use my powers to, like, drag the key’s shadow to me, which would in turn move the key? But how? I can’t control shadows. “I don’t know how to use my powers!” I yelled. My voice bounced along the hall.
I liked my theory but had no way to execute it. For a few minutes, I tried sticking my hand through the bars and doing every Harry Potter, abracadabra, silly-hand-gesture I could think of.
When nothing worked, I sighed and stood. Cracking my knuckles, I turned and surveyed my cell. I inspected the tiny room as closely as I could, making sure there weren’t any hidden bricks dislodged, or secret stash spots, or anything I could use to hook the key with.
After about thirty minutes of intense investigating, I came up with nothing. The lingering thought of defeat threatened to come barreling back and overwhelm me.
No, stay focused, dude. You got this.
I totally did not have this. It didn’t take me long to sit at the edge of my cot in a self-pity puddle, knees drawn up to my chest. I’m gonna fucking die here.
A little voice in my head said: No, you will live.
I furrowed my brow, surprised at my own encouragement. “I’m already going fucking insane and it’s been less than an hour.”
Leaning my head back, I blinked at the ceiling, eyes getting droopy. No, I can’t fall asleep. That’s the surest way to lose track of time.
Like it or not though, I was still weak from the poison. I hadn’t slept since getting drunk with Marlow for my twenty-first, which now seemed like eons ago. I desperately needed a recharge.
Just a little nap . . . My thoughts drifted and I let my peepers close.
A small scuffling sound altered me. Any sound other than the tinkling water droplets was loud enough to break the silence. My eyes popped open and shot to the bars.
A small shadow grew in the dim light around the corner.
I hesitantly stood. “I-Is someone there?”
No footsteps accompanied the shadow down the hall. I wondered if I had fallen asleep—if some apparition was haunting my dreams. I would have heard footsteps at least thirty feet out, given the loud echo of the enclosed basement chamber.
Without being able to help it, I shuddered at the prospect of some kind of actual ghost visiting me. My loneliness? I take it all back. I’d rather be alone than that!
A tiny face popped out from around the corner. Tiny, white, furry, whiskered.
My mouth fell open on a gasp. I scurried to the bars on all fours. “Lord save me!” I said in a hushed, excited whisper. Inside, hope and relief blossomed, making my heart hammer. “Bruce Kittenson!”
Brucey stalked forward, tentative and deliberate. His bright eyes cut through the darkness. When he felt safe enough, he padded over to the bars and nuzzled his fur along them until I started petting him.
“There there, Mr. Kittenson. I knew you’d come for me,” I said in a baby voice. “I never doubted it for a second.” I slowly nudged my chin past Bruce to the key on the ground. “Brucey, do you want to be a good boy? The bestest boy of all time?”
Chapter 8
Sunny
I STOOD IN THE BASEMENT lobby, staring down the dreary hallway, tapping my foot impatiently, waiting for something to happen. I wanted to see firsthand if this new girl had any sort of skill—even a glimmer of what Myria was capable of.
From the corner of the room, in the shadows, Dax watched me. I didn’t need to see him to know he had his eyes on me. The sneaky rogue was always watching. I’d never met a more observant man, and though I called him my brother, it got annoying sometimes.
It’s not that I hated the attention. On the contrary. But I liked to know why I was the center of attention—was it a girl fawning over my long hair, a daydreamy look in her eyes? A crowd laughing at my wit? A teacher I’d caught admiring my physique, wondering when I was going to graduate?
Dax being so silent was aggravating, never knowing what was going on in his head. “Yes, Dax?” I said aloud, keeping my back to him. “I can feel your gaze on me. Spit it out.”
“Tapping your foot isn’t going to make this go faster. And it’s annoying.”
I let out a bark of laughter before turning to face him. “Annoying? That’s ironic, isn’t it?”
He cocked his head. His dark skin, coupled with his fondness for keeping to the shadows, made him almost impossible to see.
I pointed behind me, down the hallway. “What if she makes it out, hmm? What then?”
His shoulders rose to meet his ears. “Then she becomes a Ghost.”
I seethed. “And we just let her roam freely around campus? A spitting image of Myria? Doesn’t that rub you the wrong way? Doesn’t anything ruffle your feathers?”
“You do, occasionally.” He emerged from the dark to stand before me. He was shorter but not intimidated by anyone. Dax Kilmeade was as solid as they came. “Why must you involve yourself with everyone, Sunder? Why does it concern you? Isn’t it exhausting . . . caring so much?”
I frowned, my brow knitting together. “Oh, right, I forgot I was talking to a sociopath.”
His upper lip twitched. “You know that’s not true.”
Inside, I scored a point for myself for pushing Dax’s buttons. He was a truly hard man to fluster. “I know. I’m just pissed she’s here. She shouldn’t be—”
“Well, she is. Too bad. Our mission was to retrieve her. Venn succeeded where you failed. I’m starting to think you failed on purpose.”
I snorted, slapping an offended hand to my chest. “As if my ego would ever allow that.”
He raised a single brow. “At least you’re self-aware.” He took a step back and my shoulders loosened. “Coralia Hargrave is Myria’s sister. She’s not Myria. I don’t even think they’re spitting images. Why don’t you give her a chance?”
A million answers ran through my head, but they all fell flat. In the end, I was left shaking my head sadly. “Because I . . . can’t. I can’t do that to Myria’s memory.”
“You act as if she’s dead, unequivocally.”
“We both know Jace’s words were bullshit. She’s not on any solo mission. She’s gone, and we haven’t heard a peep. Jace can say whatever he wants, but I know what’s happening here. The Academy is doing exactly what they said they weren’t.”
“Which is?”
“Replacing Myria with Coralia, hoping we forget our comrade.” I put my hands on my hips, flaring my nostrils. “I won’t do it.”
Dax shrugged. His non-reaction gave my valiant stance a little less oomph, and it shot a wave of anger up my spine. “All I’m suggesting is you give her a chance to prove herself.”
“You sound just like Venn,” I snarled.
“And why shouldn’t I?”
“You’re admitting to taking his side now?”
“And what is that? Taking the side of right over wrong? Do you want Coralia’s parting words to be true, Sunder? She called us evil. Just because we attend Shadowblade Academy doesn’t mean we have to prove her right.”
I blinked at him.
“And no, I’m not taking Venn’s side,” he added, thrusting a finger toward me. “Perhaps Venn’s kindness toward her is to fill the gap of Myria. You clearly don’t want her here. I’m simply staying neutral.”
I mulled over his words, trying not to react. My temper was a problem and I was trying to work on it.
My self-control lasted all of five seconds.
Throwing my hands up in frustration, I said, “I’m sorry if I’m the only one refusing to let Myria’s memory be washed away.”
“It’s only her ‘memory’ because you always imagine the worst case scenario. In this case, that she’s dead.”
“Then let’s go looking for her!” I punched my fist into an open palm.
“We can’t. It’s not our mission.” He had the decency to look away, as I was sure shame crossed his face and he didn’t want me to see.
Always abiding the rules, aren’t you, Dax? “Am I the only one who sees what’s going on here? The Academy is tearing us apart. Ever since this new mission with Coralia, we’ve been clawing at each other’s asses like hound dogs. It isn’t like us, and I think it’s intentional.”
“We were frail before she showed up.”
I gritted my teeth and bent my knees in anger. “Take that back,” I said darkly. “Hudson’s Glove has never been frail.”
“No, but we’re not impenetrable, either. Ask yourself, Sunder: Why would the Academy split apart Hudson’s Glove? We’re the top of our class. If given the chance, we’d do their dirty work. Well.”
My anger whooshed out of me at his disarming question, because I didn’t have an immediate retort. After stalling, I said, “I don’t know. Things have just been fucky since Myria and—”
“What’s been fucky, Phantom?” a voice called as the door to the side of us opened.
Dax jerked, straightening like a good little soldier with his hands clasped behind his back as Wrist Hudson walked in.
I said, “Nothing. Dax and I have just been bickering like old maids again.”
“Nothing new there,” Jace said. “You can’t seem to get along with anyone, can you Sunny?”
He gave me an amused smile and Dax let out a tiny chuckle. Of course it was all frowns and dark looks with me, but with his beloved commander, he finally flashed those pearly whites. Damn ass-kisser.
“I’m sorry, Jace,” I said, my voice low.
The Wrist’s smile vanished. “I don’t like secrets being kept from me, Sunny. Or lies. What were you two talking about?”
I tried my best to hide my astonishment. My big mouth had fucked me again, because I couldn’t exactly say, “Oh, I was just trash talking your shitty decision to bring Coralia Hargrave here, and accused you of lying when you said you weren’t trying to replace Myria.” I had always been rather informal with my captain, calling him Jace instead of Wrist and such. It was a boundary Dax never seemed to cross, and now I saw why.
I couldn’t lie to Wrist Hudson. I opened my mouth to speak—
Echoing footsteps cut me off.
We all faced the dark, creepy hallway, our collective eyebrows rising as one.
Coralia stormed down the hall toward us, her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she marched. It sent a flutter through me, seeing her so resolute and pissed off. Myria had always been calm and collected, but Coralia appeared to be an entirely different animal.
A much angrier one.
When I focused on her pinched face, her full, pouting lips, and her swishing black-and-red hair, a twinge of something else grew inside me.
I had to clear my throat to keep the lust from building. First she’s on her knees, then she’s marching toward me like she’s going to drive a stake through my heart. Is there a better look on a woman’s face than one of utter rage? It’s a feeling after my own heart.
And damn, but she is fucking pretty.
Jace took the lead as she entered the room, standing in front of me and Dax. “I apologize if we all seem surprised, Miss Hargrave. We didn’t expect you to escape so swift—”
“You can eat my whole ass,” she spat.
My eyes widened. Um, is she talking literally? Because I volun—
“And you!” she yelled, jamming a finger in my direction. “Can eat an entire bag of dicks, dick.”
Her finger landed on Dax. “And you!” She stopped herself short, keeping her finger wobbling.
Dax cocked his head, a slight tug at the corner of his lips. “Yes? What shall I eat, Miss Hargrave?”
“I’m not sure yet!”
With that, the girl lifted her hand and Jace put his palm out, which Coralia dropped the key into. “What’s next on the list of inhumane crimes, Wrist Hudson? Is that all you’ve got? It’s gonna take a lot more than that to break me.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
In my eyes, even though the three of us towered over the girl and were probably, combined, six times her weight, none of us knew how to respond to her unadulterated emotion. It was baffling, to say the least.
“Congratulations on passing initiation,” Jace said, giving her a small bow. “I can only think of one other student who managed to get out faster.”
“Who?”
“His name is Ezekiel Caffrey. He’s no longer a student here. Something of a legend though, so you’re in good company. Quite an auspicious start to your Shadowblade Academy career, Ghost Hargrave.”
Her eyebrows jumped. “Ghost?”
“Yes. You’re officially a cadet. Welcome.”
Coralia looked surprised and vulnerable. It was something I wanted to explore. I couldn’t stop my body from reacting to her every move. I still needed work on that whole “respond don’t react” thing, I supposed.
Then the surprise all came crashing down around her features. Eyebrows dropped, lips flattened, creases smoothed. “Fuck you,” she said. “I want out.”
Jace’s head reeled. “You know that’s impossible.”
With a sigh of defeat, she asked, “Do I at least get a better place to sleep?”
“Yes. If you’ll come with me.” He started walking away. “Because it’s so close to the start of class, space is limited, but I know of one room that’s opened up in the female dorms recently—”
“Hold up,” Coralia said, stepping up right in front of me. She only came up to my chest, but like Dax, she showed no fear on her face. Even after all I’d said and all she’d been through.
If I was a kinder man, I might even be impressed.
“You mentioned my sister in there, Sunn
y,” she began, speaking through gritted teeth. “So I know you know her. You talked about her like she was as badass, which I agree with. I might not be Myria, but that doesn’t give you a right to disrespect me and act like a bastard. Got it?”
I blinked. A slow smile crept up my face, and I felt like a wolf watching a sheep.
She scoffed, rolled her eyes, and shouldered her way past me.
Jace’s words echoed as they walked down the hallway together. “Might I ask how you escaped so fast?”
“I, uh, dragged the shadow toward me, which took the key with it?” She said it as a question rather than a statement—no confidence whatsoever. I knew she was full of shit and lying to Jace’s face, but I couldn’t prove it. Can’t prove it yet, that is.
“Fascinating,” Jace said, his words fading. “Shadow manipulation and weaving all at once. Those are quite advanced techniques . . .”
I watched Coralia leave the room behind Jace, my eyes trailing along her shapely thighs and round ass.
She’s a sassy image of Myria . . . but she yells, lies, and barks like a dog?
I take it back. I am impressed.
I PARTED WAYS WITH Dax, now that guard-duty was over. We left on uneven terms, not exactly buddy-buddy like we used to be. I always got so frustrated after getting in arguments with the other Knuckles in the Glove, but Dax never seemed to bat an eye.
To him, it was all part of the job.
I took it more personally than that. I couldn’t help it—it was in my nature.
The last thing I wanted was to make Dax Kilmeade an enemy. I would never let that happen. Or Venn, even as much as I disagreed with him. They were my brothers. We’d been through a shitload together.
That was one of the reasons I missed Myria so much. Perhaps Dax thought my yearning was misplaced—that I had romantic feelings for our female Knuckle. But that wasn’t it at all. I thought of Myria as a sister. She was one of us.
And now she was gone.
In my opinion, Dax and Venn weren’t freaking out enough about Myria’s disappearance. Did they really just not care that our sister was gone? I couldn’t abide that.
