Page 25 of Shadow Master
“Look, Lloyd, I’m going to have to play it by ear. We don’t have maps of their world, and we have no idea what the creatures or terrain are like. I plan to look for tracks, to look for signs leading me to Brady, and if I can find some helpful locals, then great. But I’m not coming back empty-handed.”
Lloyd looked thoughtful. “No, but you can come back with a map. You can gather intel.” He focused on me intensely. “I understand your focus is Brady, but we need to be realistic. We have no idea if he’s dead or alive, we have no way of knowing how far they’ve taken him.”
I wanted to yell at him, to ask how he could possibly say that about Brady. How could he give up? But I swallowed my anger.Think with your head. Lloyd was simply being realistic by considering the possibility; ignoring it would be dumb.
Still, a sinking feeling opened in my chest. “He’s alive. I know he is. I have to believe that.”
“And I hope you’re right. But either way, you need to use your journey to benefit us all. Make a map and gather information. You never know what could come in useful.”
This was why he was troop leader. He was a tactician. He thought with his head, something I needed to remember to do, even when I crossed to the fomorian side of the mist.
I had too many other people relying on me to not be careful. “I’ll do what I can. But first, I need to tell Orion that I’m leaving and that you’re in charge while I’m gone.”
Lloyd stood tall. “I won’t let you down.”
Ten
Athos carried me across the mists, moving so fast the world was a blur. I needed to find Orion and get this over with, so I could gather supplies and prepare for my trip, and Athos was the speediest way across the barren land. We cut through a mist that was eerily silent, as if the creatures that inhabited it had retreated underground. The explosions and the commotion of a week ago may have spooked them temporarily, but they’d be back.
The mist retreated, and then we were bounding across green land toward the imposing silhouette of the Academy. The sun was making its death dive toward the earth. It would be night soon. I needed to make this quick.
We came to a halt by the fountain.
I slid off Athos’s back. “You want to come in?”
There was a rumble like laughter.I’d probably cause a few cadets to shit themselves if I did.
“Point. I’ll make this quick.”
Take your time, I’m not going anywhere without you.
I strode through the Academy doors and into the hallway. Commotion drifted out from the arch to the ballroom, drawing me toward it.
The Academy ballroom had been commandeered by the weavers. Lightning flashed, objects whizzed across the room, and mini explosions rained debris from the high-domed ceiling. I spotted Kash on the raised platform. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, surveying the weavers. His dark hair had been combed back off his forehead, and he was dressed in black combat trousers and a body-hugging T-shirt. He looked good.
And I guess the female weaver cadets thought the same. Several stood giggling to one side of the room, throwing glances his way. Which was fine. Look but don’t touch, right? But then one got bold enough to climb the podium and get close. She pressed a hand to Kash’s chest, and I couldn’t be entirely certain from this distance, but I was pretty sure she was fluttering her lashes at him. Her face was tilted up as she spoke to him.
Fuck her adoring gaze. I wanted to poke out her eyes. But it was up to Kash to tell her to back off. He frowned down at her, gripped her wrist, and removed her hand from his person. Relief trickled through me, and one word filled my head.
Mine.
He looked up at that exact moment, and our gazes snagged with an electric snap. His frown melted, and his eyes warmed. The weaver girl looked my way. Her lips thinned, and then she reached up to touch his face, to force him to look away from me and at her.
Something inside me snapped.
Jealousy reared up like a poisonous snake, and I was striding across the room before I could check myself. Weavers stumbled out of my path, yelping in shock. I leaped up onto the stage, grabbed the weaver girl’s wrist, and twisted. Not enough to break her bones, but enough to get her to back the fuck off.
She cried out in shock and stumbled away, rubbing her wrist with her hand.
“What the hell?” she snapped.
“What the hell, Shadow Master, to you.” I glared at her until she dropped her gaze.
“And just in case any of you were wondering…” I gripped Kash’s T-shirt, yanked him toward me, and kissed him.
It was meant to be a hard, short kiss. A kiss that staked my claim, but his mouth parted and then his tongue was touching mine, and I was lost in sensation, hands weaving through his luscious locks, our bodies pressed together as best as they could with the armor in the way, but hell, you get the picture. The room descended into absolute silence.
Fuck them, I was kissing my man.
