Page 23 of Shadow Weaver
She laughed prettily. “Oh, Archer and I have our understanding, Uncle.” She peered up at him from beneath her brows. “I’m a grown woman.”
“That you are, that you are.” He swept a hand toward the table. “Sit. Join us. Eat.”
I ducked my head, chest tight, mouth dry as they took the seats opposite Brady and me.
Brady ladled stew into his plate, and the meaty smell tickled my nostrils.
“Smells good.” I smiled up at Brady, making sure not to look across the table at him. At them.
Brady scooped up a spoonful and held it out to me. “Try it.”
I could feel Hyde’s gaze hot on the side of my face, and even though my stomach was as tight as a drum, I opened my mouth and accepted the spoonful. Brady’s eyes flared, silver sparks shooting across the obsidian depths, and for a moment, I was lost in the darkness, cradled in it, cocooned and safe.
Someone cleared their throat.
Deana.
I met her eyes, and she smiled a genuinely kind smile. “You must be Indigo. You’re famous out in the real world, you know? A female shadow cadet. How does it feel?”
“To be female?”
She laughed. “No. To be a shadow cadet.”
“Why don’t you ask Master Hyde. He was one once.”
Her smile faded a little. I picked up another carrot and chewed on it. I needed blood, and I needed it now.
Farther up the table, Mal had finished his food. He sat back and pushed his plate away.
I scooped up the last of my tomatoes and finished them off. Done.
“Who will feed our nightblood brothers?” Henrich said.
“And sisters,” Venerick added as he entered the room.
Henrich harrumphed.
Gimble pushed back his seat. “I’ll offer my blood to Mal.”
Wait, what?
Mal and Gimble walked across the room together and left through a door at the back of the room.
No blood bags? My pulse began to race. Beside me, Brady tensed. My gaze swept the room in a panic, looking for a way out, and snagged on Hyde. He was pushing his chair back and standing. Deana, his lover, looked up in shock.
“I’ll offer my blood to Justice,” Hyde said, his voice low.
A low growl rumbled in Brady’s chest, and Lloyd coughed loudly.
“No.” The word was instinctual.
“No?” Hyde canted his head. “Is Hyde blood not good enough for a Justice?”
Was he serious? What was he playing at? Why was he doing this?
Deana smiled uncertainly at me. “Maybe the cadet feels uncomfortable drinking from a tutor?”
Yes, good excuse. I nodded vehemently. “Yes. So uncomfortable.”
