Page 10 of Shadow Weaver
Ihit the main foyer in less than five minutes and was heading toward the administration wing when the huge doors were flung open, letting in a gust of icy air and peals of feminine laughter.
The scent of jasmine filled the space as several figures breezed in. They were dressed in long winter coats, calf-high boots, and leather gloves. Travel bags dangled from the crooks of arms and smiles adorned faces.
The women brushed ice from their coats while two guys hurried to close the doors. A petite woman with a heart-shaped face and skin like cream led the group. I recognized her from the Revelation Ceremony—Fiona Payne, a weaver. Which meant the people with her were probably all weavers too. By the looks of their designer clothes, my assessment was spot-on.
Weaver legacy families were money.
Whatever, not my problem, except they were all suddenly looking at me as if I was an interesting object to be dissected. It was downright creepy.
I shook my head and made to pass but slammed into an invisible wall. It took a moment to process what was happening, and when it did, rage burst in my chest.
I turned to the weavers. “What the fuck?”
It was the tall, dark-skinned Adonis at Fiona’s side that answered. “Fiona wishes to examine you.”
“I’m sorry, did you sayexamineme?”
He shrugged and ran his tongue across his even white teeth, his honey eyes glittering almost menacingly.
“Riiight, whatever.” I turned away, but an invisible force grabbed me and spun me back to face them.
Bands wrapped around my torso and head, holding me immobile. It happened so fast there was no time to fight it, not that I’d have been able to. This was weaver magic.
Fiona dimpled at the Adonis. “Thank you, Kash.” She took a step toward me.
I tried to move but couldn’t.
“She doesn’t look like a shadow knight,” Fiona said in a saccharine voice.
She giggled and looked back at her group of friends for confirmation of her assessment.
They laughed on cue, all except a slender female with inky, heavy bangs. She rolled her eyes as if this whole situation bored her.
“Let me go.” I bit out the words, fists clenched, panic warring with fury.
“In due course,” Fiona said. “I’ve never seen a female shadow cadet before.” She leaned in slightly, and if I could have moved, I’d have head-butted her. “Are you female? I mean …” She placed an index finger to her dainty chin and looked to her friends. “Does she have the requisite parts?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “I can categorically confirm I have bigger balls than you. I don’t need to use weaver magic to incapacitate someone.” I bared my teeth. “Want me to show you how?”
She took a step back before checking herself. “I suppose being feral comes with the job.” Her gaze traveled down to my crotch. “But I wonder … Kash, would you be a darling and check for me?” She pouted prettily and then smiled, flashing cute dimples.
I looked to the guy. Seriously? Was he going to—
Kash’s expression was impassive, but I caught the flex of his jaw before he raised a hand toward me.
The zipper on my pants began to inch down. A shot of rage burst out from my solar plexus.
“Stop it!” The girl with the heavy bangs stepped forward. “Kash, you know you’re not supposed to use weaver magic on other students. It’s forbidden.” She tugged on his arm. “Please.”
He looked torn.
“Kash, baby,” Fiona crooned. “You wouldn’t want to disappoint me, would you?”
He exhaled, his gaze flicking upward. “Of course not.”
The zipper came all the way down, and the top button of my pants popped open. This could not be fucking happening. This was some next-level, surreal shit. Was she really going to stand here and get her boyfriend to expose my hooha to satisfy her curiosity? But this wasn’t about curiosity. It was about power. I was a tool for her to use to reaffirm her status in her posse.
Thing was, there was nothing I could do about it. Yet.
