Page 138 of The Stone Initiation
His eyes went round then he nodded hesitantly.
I opened the door a little wider. “Derek, meet my friends.” He peered at them then ducked back into the gloom. “It’s okay. They’re nice. I promise.”
“Hey.” Touron stepped forward. “I’m Touron, and these are the twins, Ginia and Palia.”
They both waved.
“I’m Sharniza.” Shar stepped forward and Derek looked up, his eyes widening at the sight of her. “Mmmmrggg.” He ducked his head.
Pretty
“What did he say?” Sharniza asked.
I bit back a smile. “He said—”
“Nnnng.”
Don’t
“He said, nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Sharniza said.
“Mfffg yar frggg,” Derek said.
“Okay.” I closed the door. “He said he needs to rest for a bit. I think holding off Ignus took it out of him.”
“But how did he do it?” Palia asked. “He’s a tulpa. A boogeyman, and he just went up against a…what even is Ignus?”
“A graynite.” I held up my hand to stem the questions. “I don’t know how, but he is. That’s what Basque said anyway. And I have no clue how Derek managed to hold Ignus off, but I’m going to find out.”
“So, what happened in the office? What did Carter say?” Sharniza asked.
I took a deep breath. “It wasn’t Carter that wanted to see me. It was my father. Lionel Basque.”
* * *
We talkedfor an hour before yawns and sleepy eyes forced us to accept that it was time to turn in, but we hung out for a little longer, lounging around my room and watching the sun grow brighter while feeling its weakening effects on our bodies.
“We should get some sleep,” Ginia said. “Classes are in a few hours.”
Palia stood and yawned. “And we have a new class added to our timetables.”
“Urgh,” Touron groaned. “What is it?”
“No idea.” Palia shrugged. “There’s an announcement saying we have a new instructor joining the academy and new timetables will be available shortly.”
“Might not be on your timetable though,” Touron said. “You’re training with the elites.”
“She’ll still need to know the academic stuff,” Palia pointed out.
“We’ll find out soon enough, but for now, shoo, all of you. I need sleep. Halfblood here, remember?”
My friends drifted off to their own rooms, and I closed the door with a sigh and then spotted Touron’s blue hoodie on the end of my bed. I’d give it back to him later.
I kicked off my shoes and crawled onto the bed.
There were no more secrets now. By the time I woke everyone would know who I was. Everyone would know I was training to become an elite. The next few hours would be my last as the halfblood with an unknown sire.
