Page 33 of Shadow Warrior
Ten
Kash’s grandmother would be at the meal, and my stomach was in knots about speaking to her. What if she refused to tell me anything? What if she told me something I didn’t want to hear?
Kash and I had just reached the bottom of the main staircase when Joti arrived in a whirlwind of floral perfume, trailed by a man carrying boxes and several bags. She caught sight of me, let out a squeal, and then rushed over. Her arms were like eager bands hugging me a little too tight. But it was impossible not to get caught up in her enthusiasm.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” she said, swaying from side to side in our hug. “Oh, God, we are going to have so much fun!”
Of course, she believed I was here for the ball, and so I needed to put on my game face. I plastered a grin on it as she released me.
“So, what have you been up to? You two, huh?” She dimpled, looking from Kash to me. “I knew you liked her,” she said to Kash.
“You did, huh?” Kash drawled.
“I caught you checking her out in class.”
Kash shrugged. “Justice is pretty easy on the eyes.”
I looked up at him sharply, expecting to see a mocking smile on his face, but his expression was sincere. Wow, he was playing the boyfriend card well.
“And you?” Joti nudged me. “I knew you’d fall for him.”
I couldn’t keep the surprise off my face. “You did?”
Joti’s smile softened. “Okay, so I didn’t know, but I hoped. You both have this light inside you. I can’t explain it, it just matches.”
Kash chuckled. “Joti has a thing for auras,” he explained. “I guess ours complement each other.” Once again, the sincerity in his tone caught me off guard. But then his face broke into a grin. “Or maybe my little sister is simply delusional.”
“Right, just for that, I’m stealing your girl.” She linked arms with me. “We’re going to my room, and we’re going to eat ice cream and try on shitloads of dresses.”
Dress up? Hell no! I did not do dress-up. Ever. I shot Kash a panicked look. “Don’t we have to do that … thing?”
“Oh, it can wait.” The bastard was clearly biting back a smile.
I narrowed my eyes as I was dragged back up the stairs by Joti, trying to convey the sentimentI’ll get you back for this.
In response, Kash blew me a peach-scented kiss.
Fucker.
* * *
Dress-up sucked.But I was a trooper and tried on seven dresses before allowing myself to settle on one, because that was the way to do it, right?
Joti was in her element and totally ready to start talking hair and makeup when, thank God, it was time for dinner. But, horror of horrors, that meant more dress-up because dinner at the Rajs’ was always a formal affair.
I hadn’t brought anything nice with me, but Joti and I were about the same size, and she loaned me a tunic dress with a scoop neck that ended just above the knee. My hair was loose for the first time in ages, and I realized how much it had grown. When I’d come to the Academy, it had fallen to my shoulder blades; now it was a couple of inches above my waist.
“You have such pretty hair,” Joti said as we made our way downstairs.
“Thanks. I don’t really do much with it.”
“I guess being a shadow cadet means having it tied up a lot.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll just cut it all off.”
“What? No!” She looked genuinely horrified. “You can’t do that.”
We came to a standstill at the foot of the stairs. “Why not? It’s just hair.”
