Page 54 of Shadow Weaver
“Well, that’s just stupid,” Joti said. “You should always have a second exit.”
No point arguing about that now. “I need to stop the explosions.”
“What explosions,” Kash asked.
Shit, I couldn’t explain it to them. My oath prevented me from revealing any more. “Trust me. I’m going to get help.” I backed away, searching for a pocket of darkness. “I’ll be back.”
I spotted a cluster of shadow in the corner of the room between shelves. I needed to get to Hyde. He could radio in and stop the explosions. I ran into the darkness with Hyde’s face in my mind.
* * *
I emergedto the hiss of steam and the splash of water on my face. And then hands were grabbing me and slamming me against tile. A body pressed against mine, warm and hard.
My brain put together the pieces. Shower. I was in the shower with Hyde. He was staring down at me, wet and naked, his lips too close, his body too distracting. Think, Indigo.
“What the fuck, Justice?” he growled.
I pressed my hands to his pectorals, reveling in the feel of his velvet skin against my fingertips before pushing him back a little. “You can be pissed at me later. Right now, you need to get out of the shower and radio whoever’s in charge of the explosions and tell them to stop. Now.”
“What?” He ran a hand down his face to wipe away the water and reached around me to turn the faucet off. Muscles rippled under taut flesh, and his citrus scent clung to me.
“Explain yourself,” he demanded.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and focused. “The explosions are bringing down the weaver wing. The classroom I was in is about to cave in. The only exit is a port, and it’s broken. There are cracks all over that side of the Academy. I think Redmond blowing up the tunnels weakened the foundation of part of the Academy.”
He stepped back, and I was only human—I looked down. Fuck. Wow.
Hyde pushed open the shower door and grabbed a towel. I noticed his leg then, gold and silver feytech metal, woven together to look exactly like a limb and yet not a bead of water clung to it. It went as far as his knee, where it seemed to melt into his skin.
“Do not go back in there,” Hyde said, wrapping the towel around his waist and heading for the door. “Go to Brunner. Get help. Promise me.” He glared at me, waiting for an affirmative.
If I promised and had to break it … I caught sight of a shadow behind him and stepped out of the cubicle.
“Dammit, Justice. Promise me.”
“I’ll be okay.” I ran past him and into the shadows.
Sixteen
Imaterialized in Brunner’s office.
The headmaster yelped at the sight of me, and then her face clouded with annoyance. “What is the meaning of this intrusion, Miss Justice?”
I held up a hand to ask for a minute as the dark edges retreated from my vision. “The advanced weaver class is trapped. The port isn’t working, and the room is about to cave in. I think the whole structure is unstable.” The words tumbled out of my mouth in a rush. “You need to get the port open.”
“What? That’s impossible.”
“No, it isn’t. I can’t explain it all without breaking my shadow oath. But Payne will know. You have to get to the weaver wing and open the port.”
“I’ll find one of the other weaver masters.” She stood quickly.
I backed up, searching for shadows.
“What are you doing?” Brunner asked.
“I have to get back to the class. Maybe I can get some of them out using my shadow casting.”
“Can you do that?” She looked worried.
