Page 20 of Shadow Weaver
I sucked in a deep breath of the sweet air and then lost all coherent thought because standing in the middle of the moonlit courtyard was the man who’d shattered my heart.
Hyde’s attention snagged on me, lingering for a moment longer than necessary, and my pulse began to hammer in my throat like a live thing wanting to get out. Run. Don’t look at him. Don’t fall under his spell.
“You’re okay,” Harmon said firmly.
I licked my dry lips. I was fine. Totally fine because he was no longer looking my way.
Another man joined Hyde—slender and wiry, dressed in dark clothes that sat starkly against his pale skin. There was a twinkle in his emerald eyes and an amused tilt to his clever mouth.
“Venerick’s the name,” he said with a mock salute. “And whipping cadets into shape is the game.”
Hyde rolled his eyes.
“I saw that, Hyde,” Venerick chided. “Doyouwant to do this?” He placed both hands on his hips and mock-glared at Hyde. “Huh? You want to give the speech? You want to lay down the law?”
Hyde shook his head. “Floor’s all yours, Ven.”
“Good. In that case, line up, the lot of you. Let me take a look at what fate has served.”
He was fast-talking and younger than expected—couldn’t be older than Hyde himself.
As we lined up, I caught Brady’s eye. He was standing off to one side, his arms crossed over his chest. He lifted his chin in a gesture that I read to mean,you got this. The tremor in my gut retreated.
Venerick walked down the line, pausing here and there to comment. “Nice hair. Got the muscles for it. We’ll need to beef you up.” And then he got to me. “Oh, hello there, lady.” He smiled. “The female cadet. I’m honored.”
I offered him a skeptical look.
He let out a bark of laughter. “Yes. That’s bullshit. I don’t care if you have tits or not. You have the gene, so you belong to me. You belong to the knights.” He walked away. “And it’s my job to fast-track the fuck outta you and get you work-ready.” He joined Hyde again. “The shadow master has determined that you’ll be taking the gauntlet alongside the second years in twelve weeks.”
A murmur of disconcertion filled the air.
“Enough!” Hyde snapped. “Shadow knights do not doubt their ability.”
Venerick nodded, his expression suddenly serious. “If you doubt, you will fail. And failure isn’t the lack of a certificate. Failure in the gauntlet is certain death.”
Death, again. Nothing new there.
“Second year, is it? After that, you’re in deep. Feet in the lava, ass forever on the line. Got it?”
There was a stunned silence.
He cupped his ear. “Can’t hear you? Got it?”
“Yes, Master Venerick,” was muttered by all.
He grinned amiably. “You’ll be assigned to a second-year troop.”
As he spoke, more bodies appeared to the left, other cadets joining Brady. I spotted Lloyd, but he was the only cadet I recognized. The other two were unfamiliar. Leaders of one or two of the other troops maybe? Sulky, irritated faces.
Ven looked to Hyde. “You want to do the honors?”
Oh, God. Please, let me be with Harmon and Thomas. Please, let us be with Lloyd and Brady.
Hyde stepped forward. “Gimble and Mal, you’re with Leon’s troop.”
Come on. Please. Would he put me with someone else? Split me up from Harmon?
“Battersea and Underwood, you’re with Aaron’s troop.”
