Brady nodded. “Then we have an understanding.”
Kash grinned. “And to illustrate…” He handed me a keycard. “Feel free to use my room to get … cleaned up.”
Brady’s brows shot up. “I think you and I are going to get on just fine.”
* * *
Water beat down on us as we joined, our bodies slick and wet in all the right places. I held on, legs wrapped around Brady’s waist, my back to the tiles as he thrust into me. Hard, deep thrusts that tore primal sounds from the back of my throat. This was mating, this was rutting, and our bond demanded it.
Kash had given us the use of his room, the immense shower, and the … Oh, God, that felt good.
I raked Brady’s back with my nails, digging in, moving against him, wanting more. Needing more. Our mouths were locked, tongues stroking and tangling, teeth nipping and grazing. I breathed for him and him for me, and as we came together, the world finally clicked into place and righted itself.
Brady’s huge hands spanned my waist, and his mouth trailed kisses down my neck and across my collarbone. I licked at his pectoral, biting down gently to elicit a groan from him. The orgasm was still coursing through my body, evident in the tremble of my thighs as I tilted my chin, offering him my lips.
He kissed me with soft plucking pecks, lingering to suck on my bottom lip, drawing a line right down to my core.
“I fucking missed you,” he said.
“I missed you too.” I kissed his jaw and then his neck. “We have tonight, and then he’ll be back.”
Brady nuzzled me. “I know. Let’s make the most of it.”
He claimed my mouth in a searing kiss, his arousal swelling inside me with intent, and then he began to move inside me, and the world was devoured by sensation.
* * *
Showered and back in our armor, Brady and I made our way down the main staircase toward the exit. We needed to get back to base, but I had to find Kash first. Voices and music drifted out of the ballroom. I shot a frown at Brady before making my way to the arch.
Three long tables had been set up, and council members and their families were gathered, eating, drinking, and laughing. They were fucking having a get-together.
While my men toiled and fought and slept on the hard-packed fucking earth out in the mist, these fuckers were sipping on wine and eating roasted meat.
“What the fuck?” I strode into the room, anger choking me.
No one batted an eye. In fact, no one even looked my way. The music continued to play. I spotted the stereo in the corner of the room. Unsheathing my blade, I strode over to it and brought my steel down over the plastic, plunging the room into silence.
All eyes were now on me.
“You think this is a holiday camp?” I advanced toward the nearest table. “Some kind of retreat?” I scanned the faces, relieved to see that Latrou and Helseth weren’t among them. “You think this is some kind of joke?”
“Justice!” Baron, the man I’d once called father, stood. “Watch your tone. We are the council.”
I shook my head. “No, there is no council on this side of the veil. Only those who are useful and those who aren’t. The council holds no authority, not in time of war. In time of war, the militia rule. I rule.”
Brady came up to stand behind me, and I caught Kash enter the room in the periphery of my vision.
“You have no right—”
Brady brought his ax down on the ground with a clang. “You want to fight me on that, Baron?”
The use of Baron’s first name was a direct insult.
Baron took a step back. “You’re making a mistake. Orion won’t stand for this.”
My lips curved in a wicked smirk. “Orion is at base camp getting ready to fight alongside us. I guess he’s not a coward like all of you.” My gaze grazed faces, men and women, able-bodied, maybe not to fight, but to help in other ways. Washing armor, cooking, building fires. They could have been helping in so many ways, but instead, they sat here on their arses eating.
My attention dropped to the tables laden with food. So much fucking food.
“Armies need good food.” I looked at the head server. He was a man with a wiry frame and a look of disdain on his face, not for me, but for the council. “Hey, you’re in charge of the kitchens, right?”
He nodded, his eyes lighting up as if he knew what was coming.
I grinned. “Pack up the food and stick it in a wagon along with any other food that won’t spoil too quickly.”
He inclined his head. “It would be my pleasure, and if I may, I’d like to offer my services as cook for the troops.”
“As would I,” another server said.
“You can’t do this.” Baron was seething, and it warmed my twisted heart.
“Who’s going to stop me?” I raked over the gathered aristocracy, good only for barking orders and lording over the peons because of their bloodlines. Well, their bloodlines meant nothing right now. “You?” I pointed at a portly man to my right. He shook his head, looking terrified. “Or you?” I pointed at a nightblood who shrank back. “Or you?” I looked at Baron.
Baron’s jaw ticked with the need to do violence, but he kept his mouth shut.
The clip of boots drew my attention to the entrance. Brunner entered the room and surveyed the scene, and then turned her head to look at me.
“What can I do to help, Indigo.”
* * *
It was only when all my new recruits were gathered in the foyer and the food had been loaded into two wagons that it hit me. We didn’t have any armor for the newbies.
Shit.
I looked at Brady and saw my revelation echoed there, but then two figures appeared on the stairs carrying a huge black case between them.
Madam Latrou and Helseth.
“We’re coming with you too,” Latrou said.
Shit. “Listen, you’ll have to stay here until I can get some armor sent back to you.”
Latrou smiled. “Oh, no, dear, there won’t be any need for that. Take a look outside.”
I headed out of the front door and down the steps into the night.
“Look.” Helseth pointed. “Isn’t it beautiful.”
I followed her line of sight, looking across the flat land, which led to the ruined fortress. The night was clear and filled with stars.
Clear.
My pulse hammered in my throat.
The mist was gone.
Twenty-Three
We entered camp with an entourage.
“Madam Latrou!” Several weaver cadets who’d opted to stay at camp rather than the nearest barracks came running over to help Latrou and Helseth with their case, one which they’d been adamant they’d carry themselves.
I turned to Brady to find him staring at the ruins, one hand on his hip, the other covering his mouth.
It was his first time seeing it. I should have warned him of what to expect, but I’d been so caught up in our reunion and then yelling at the lazy, gluttonous council that painting a detailed picture of what he was about to see had slipped my mind.
I placed a hand on his back. “I know. I know, babe.”
“It’s gone. It’s really fucking gone.” Brady’s voice was a ragged whisper.
We’d been living here amongst the evidence of death for a week, and it was as if it had always been there. As if the fortress had never existed. But it had, and it had housed men born to fight. Knights who’d kept us safe for decades.
The fir bolg had wiped them out.
That was the truth.
Brady shook his head. “Those bastards have to pay.”
“Justice?” Lloyd approached. His lean face was illuminated by firelight, and I noted the lines of fatigue etched around his eyes. He’d probably been neglecting his need for blood.
That would have to change if we were going to have a chance of beating the fir bolg.
I raised a hand to greet him, but his attention slipped past me to Brady, who was turning to face us.
&nb
sp; Lloyd froze in his tracks. “Brady?”
Brady nodded slowly. “Yeah, Faraday, it’s me. I’m back.”
Devon and Aidan appeared behind Lloyd.
“It’s him,” Lloyd whispered. “It’s Brady.”
And then the guys were descending on Brady in a flurry of hugs and pats on the back. They stood in a classic huddle, arms across each other’s shoulders, foreheads pressed together.
I heard Carlo’s name, and my throat pinched. But this was a private moment. A moment for a troop to mourn.
I slipped into the night, leaving them to grieve their fallen comrade.
* * *
I stood on the rise among the ruins with Hyde, Kash, Brady, and the rest of the troop on either side of me. The land stretched out below us, and far into the distance, lit by moonlight and stars, shapes scuttled about in a frenzy. The beasts of the mists had drawn their last mist-rich air and, driven crazy by the lack of the elements their bodies needed, attacked one another.
Cadets watched from a safe distance, defending where necessary.
“It won’t be much longer,” Orion said from behind me.
I didn’t glance his way as he joined us and didn’t move as Hyde stepped aside to make room for the fey.
“They were born in the mist,” Orion explained. “Their bodies have evolved to need the mist. An hour more and they’ll be gone.”
“It looks so strange,” Lloyd said. “The posts … They look so bare and pointless now.”
“They kept us safe for long enough,” Hyde said.
“No more safety net,” Devon growled.
“No need,” Aidan said. “We’ll be ready for the fuckers when they come.”
Kash was silent, reflective. He stood to my left, his wiry, athletic form dwarfed by the twins, but a quiet resilience radiated off him. A power that called to mine. Our weaver power.
He might not have the brawn, but Kash and the weaver cadets had another power at their fingertips, one that would prove essential in the fight to come.
This was the end of an era. An end to a defense that was now useless to us. Scouts were prepped and ready to cross the three sectors and signal the fomorian militia. In a few hours, our camp would be home to an army.
The smell of cooking meat was rich in the air as the Academy cooks worked hard at putting together a feast.
Tonight, we’d welcome our allies, and tomorrow, we would plan our defense.
* * *
Latrou and Helseth made their way around the camp with tattoo tools and an image of the mark etched into my skin. Everyone would be marked. Everyone would need to communicate with the fomorians when they arrived, not just me.
I’d caught sight of Harper and Minnie on several occasions but resisted the temptation to speak to them. What was there to say aside from try not to die. The friendship I’d shared with Minnie would always hold a special place in my heart, but it was now nothing more than a fond memory because she’d been instrumental in my change. And because of her, I was no longer the same nightblood who’d entered the Academy determined not to make any connections.
The hounds had been fed and were sleeping, and the camp was curiously silent. Cadets sat in clusters around campfires or congregated in the forge. Conversation was low.
Of course, everyone was worried. The fomorians we’d been taught to fear were coming. If I hadn’t gone to the other side myself, I might not have believed me, but Hyde had backed up my story, and Orion hadn’t contradicted it.
Brady sat with the troop swapping stories about Carlo. Hyde huddled with them, a smile on his face as the guys reminisced. He’d known Carlo, too. He’d been his tutor and trainer for over a year. Brady said something to Hyde, and masculine laughter drifted toward me. I caught sight of Kash making his way past the group, but Brady hailed him, and then Devon shuffled along on his log-seat to make room for the weaver.
Firelight played on Kash’s stunned face, but then he was smiling and accepting the meat that Aidan was offering.
My guys.
Lovers and friends.
These were my guys, and my heart felt too full. Carlo was here in spirit, and so was Harmon.
They needed this. Part of me wanted to join them, but the larger part was content to watch from the shadows as the men who meant the world to me bonded.
We had several hours till dawn, several hours before Lugh surfaced. I was about to turn away when Hyde caught my eye. He said something to Brady and then rose and began to walk toward me.
My skin prickled as Brady’s and Kash’s gazes fell on me. Kash arched a brow and shrugged. Brady’s expression was solemn, but he nodded slightly, and then my focus shifted to Hyde.
He walked past me. “Meet me at the stables,” he said.
And then he was gone.
I waited, holding my breath, counting to ten like an idiot.
I knew what he wanted.
I wanted it too.
The corner of Brady’s mouth lifted, and then he turned to speak to Kash.
They were okay with me going to Hyde, but Orion was here. If I joined Hyde, we’d be playing with fire, and if I didn’t … How much time did we have left? The fir bolg would be on us soon and then … who knew?
I left the camp and followed Hyde. I could see him far ahead, silhouetted by moonlight. It had been a while since I’d used my shadow caster ability, and a mischievous urge gripped me. I stopped following Hyde. Instead, I located the nearest pocket of shadow, visualized the stables, and dove in.
I emerged in Athos’s empty pen, crept to the door, and listened. Boot falls echoed down the corridor between the pens a moment later.
Hyde.
I caught my bottom lip between my teeth. Wait for it. He was almost abreast of the pen. One more second.
I burst out of the pen, arms up, hands made into claws. “Rawr!”
“Fuck!” Hyde clutched at his chest.
It was the first time I’d seen him thrown, the first time he’d been taken by surprise, and the look on his face, part horror, part annoyance, had laughter bubbling up my throat, and then I was in full-blown guffaw mode.
The laughter rolled out of me in uncontrollable waves, forcing me to double over and clutch my stomach. Tears of mirth blurred my vision. A part of me recognized that my reaction was a little extreme—I mean it wasn’t that funny—but every time the laughter began to subside, the look on his face played through my mind and I was losing my shit again.
“Fucking hell, Justice.” His tone was laced with amusement.
I straightened and held up a hand. “Just … Just give me a … m-minute.”
His rich chuckle joined my laughter, and then his arm was around my waist, and his mouth was on mine. My mirth was burned away by searing heat as my body caught fire with desire. No armor to get in the way. No injuries to slow us down. I bit his lip, drawing blood and sucking on it. Fuck, so sweet. He grabbed the back of my head and guided my mouth down to his neck.
“Bite me.” He was panting, his arousal pressing against my stomach.
My fangs slid out of my gums, and I obliged, sinking them into his jugular and drinking him in with greedy gulps.
“Fuck.” His back hit the wall between pens, and then his hands were on my hips, holding me tight as he ground against me. “Fuck, Indigo, fuck.”
I was wet and throbbing in time to his pulse. His blood was an aphrodisiac, and the endorphins my bite had introduced into his system were a drug that was making him wild. I slid a hand into his pants and gripped the head of his arousal. It was hot, kinda spongey at the tip, and slick with pre-cum. I traced circles with my thumb, drawing shudders from his body.
He made a growling sound of exasperated need, and then my slacks were being yanked down my legs.
I withdrew my fangs and laved the wound closed just in time to be spun and pressed to the wall in his place. My slacks were off, panties pushed to the side, and then Hyde was inside me.
He swallowed my cries with bruising kisses as he fucked me. No eye con
tact, no loving looks, no time for that. Instead, we used this opportunity to wring every ounce of pleasure we could from the act, until my body was tightening, ready for an epic release.
We came, bodies fused together, riding the wave and milking the pleasure until there was nothing but our breathless pants and the sweeping heat of post-coital bliss.
Hyde pressed soft kisses to my cheeks before pulling away to look into my eyes.
Now that it was over, now that we’d broken the rules on mortal soil, panic began to seep in.
“We can’t do this again.” I gently extricated myself from him.
He stepped back, watching with dark eyes as I pulled on my slacks.
“I shouldn’t have come to the stables.”
“But you did,” a voice that didn’t belong to Hyde said.
Hyde whipped around to face the speaker, and my fingers fumbled with the buttons to my slacks.
Orion stood at the entrance to the stables, his expression obscured by shadow. “You must want her very much to share her,” Orion said.
Hyde’s hands curled into fists. “I love her.”
Orion walked closer. The shadows melted to reveal his face, stern and cold. “You know what you’ve done, Hyde.”
Hyde stepped in front of me. “And I will pay the price. But you will leave Justice out of it.”
Orion’s gaze was speculative. “You’ve made that impossible, Hyde. I could ignore your infatuation while you were merely mooning over her, but now you’ve consummated your relationship …”
“So what?” I stepped around Hyde. “You’ll have us killed?” I snorted. “Take a look around, buddy, we’re about to be fucking slaughtered.”
His mouth pinched. “She knows?” He looked to Hyde.
“Yeah, I know, and it didn’t come from Hyde. Your secret isn’t as secret as you might think, and it won’t be long before it becomes common knowledge. At least if you’re going to be an arrogant arsehole and forbid your bloodlines from making unions elsewhere, you could be more transparent about it. At least the nightbloods are open about their prohibition.”
Shadow Master: The Nightwatch Academy book 4 Page 14
