Page 41 of Shadow Weaver
She sighed. “Not that I know of. But don’t be uncomfortable, they’re just curious.”
We drank our tea in silence, and then a shadow fell over us.
“What do you want, Fiona?” Joti asked curtly.
I carefully set my cup down and looked up to meet Fiona’s eyes. “You come to join us for tea?”
Her smile was icy. “I came to offer you some friendly advice, Justice.”
“Uh-huh?” I looked her up and down. “Is it a tip on how to avoid stunted growth?” I tapped my chin. “Ooh, I know, you’re offering classes on how to be a mega bitch.”
Joti made a choking sound that sounded suspiciously like stifled laughter, and around us, the room had gone deathly silent.
“Everyone has a weakness, Justice,” Fiona said. “Even you.”
“Yeah, chocolate. It gets me every time.” I sighed wearily. “It’s my Achilles’ heel.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You think you’re witty. You think you can waltz in and take what’s mine, you— “
I stood abruptly, and she jumped back with a yelp. “I don’t think about you. Full stop, Fiona.” I took a step toward her, and she took one back. “I don’t waste mental energy on bitches, and I have no interest in anything that belongs to you. So, take your insecurity, your short stature, and your sugar-dipped voice and fuck off.”
A collective gasp filled the room.
“You’ll regret this, Justice,” Fiona said.
I threw up my hands. “When the fuck did I fall into a badly scripted teen drama?”
Joti openly chuckled this time, and Fiona shot her a lethal glare before turning on her heel and striding from the room.
One of her friends was waiting for her in the doorway, her attention on me. Was that a slight smile on her face? No, maybe I’d imagined it, and then she’d been swept from the room by Fiona.
“She’s dangerous,” Joti said softly. “I just wish I understood why.”
Not my problem, unless she made it so. Right now, I had a one-on-one lesson to go to, and then the barracks awaited.
Brady waited.
Twelve
It was good to be back at base, feet up in the watchtower, cocoa in hand, watching the mist roll by. The control panel beeped occasionally, signaling checks being done by other shadow cadets in the sector. My job was to keep a manual eye on the terrain through the many windows that lined the enclosed balcony.
I looked over at Lloyd’s profile. His eyes were half-closed, his mouth parted. It was the most relaxed I’d seen him in ages. He was dressed in sweats, a long-sleeved tee, and gray slippers hugged his feet, one of which was braced on the balcony as he watched the mist through the windows. The telescope sat between us, but neither of us had used it yet. Watchtower duty was chill duty.
The radio was silent, buzzing periodically with a burst of static.
Yeah, this was quiet time, but even though Lloyd was super cool to hang with, as were all the other guys, right now, I wished that Brady could be up here with me.
“How long is he going to avoid me?” I looked to Lloyd for a reaction.
He puffed out his cheeks. “This is new ground for him. For all of us. Brady is … he’s always been an enigma. But this is more about you. About what you want. Brady knows what he wants.”
My stomach trembled. “Yeah. I get that.”
“Just take each day as it comes. Right now, we need to focus on the raiders.”
“Do you think the knights are down there now? In the critter tunnels we found?”
He nodded. “Probably. Venerick said they were arranging a party to investigate the route.”
