Page 10 of Shadow Master
Brunner pressed her lips together. “And what if they refuse?”
She had a point. But the option to volunteer was merely a ploy to let them think they had a say. If we didn’t get enough volunteers, if students refused … “Then, we conscript them.”
Orion’s lips curved in a satisfied smile. “Maybe you do have the stomach for this, after all.”
I didn’t want or need his approval, but having him onboard would make things easier, so I returned his smile with an empty one of my own.
“Maybe I can help?” Latrou joined us with another woman. “Helseth and I were talking, and if the weavers pool our energies, we may be able to put up a temporary barrier to fortify the mist. It won’t stop the fomorians from coming through, but it will act as an alarm and give us an early warning of any intrusion.”
Helseth nodded. “It will allow the cadets a little peace of mind while they train the other students in whatever they need to know to patrol the mists.”
“How long?” Orion asked. “How long can you hold this alarm?”
“Five days … a week, maybe …” Latrou shrugged. “I can’t say for certain.”
It would have to do. “What do you need to make that happen?”
Five
While Brunner hit the intercom system to call an assembly, the gargoyles started placing chairs in rows in the ballroom.
I steered Harmon to the window where the night sky was visible dotted with stars and a neat crescent moon. A spot where we were partially hidden from probing eyes by a thick pillar jutting up from floor to ceiling. God, people were ridiculous sometimes, grown supernaturals gawping as if they’d never seen anyone different before. Made me want to poke their eyes out.
“You mad?” he asked.
“I’m not mad, but I did ask you to stay behind.”
He may have changed physically, but there was no mistaking his signature flat look. “I not one of your cadets. Not anymore. I saved your ass.”
He was wrong. “You’re still one of us, Harmon, and you know I could have handled those guys.”
He nodded slowly. “But it not what you want. Need those guys. Not want to hurt them.”
I sighed. He knew me too well. I placed a palm on his bicep. “Thank you. For coming.”
The sharp green hue of his eyes softened to a mossy color. “I always got your back.”
“I know.” I stepped closer and did what I’d been wanting to do ever since I’d found out he was alive. I hugged him.
His skin felt rough, hard, but it was flesh, not stone. His chest rumbled, and then his huge arms wrapped around me as he returned the hug. It was like being enveloped in a mountain. I laid my cheek against his chest and breathed him in. There he was, his moonkissed scent beneath the strange, indescribable scent of the fomorian he’d become.
We remained like that for long seconds before we pulled away from each other.
“Thomas?” Harmon asked. “Didn’t see him.”
Oh, shit. “They sent him home. When they brought you back and he couldn’t see you, he lost it. Henrich ordered him dismissed.”
Harmon’s jaw tightened.
I touched his arm lightly. “We’ll get him back. Once this shit is over, we’ll get a message to him and get him back. I promise.”
“No,” Harmon said. “Don’t. I can’t … I can’t let him see me like this.”
It was a fully formed sentence, but I could see from the tightness around his eyes that it had been an effort.
There were so many things I could say. Remind him that Thomas loved him, no matter what, and that he wouldn’t care how Harmon looked now. That love didn’t care about the physical, but that would force him to reply. It would cause him pain.
So, instead, I nodded. “We can worry about that once we have the mist in lockdown again.”
