Page 106 of A Bond So Deadly

I give him a stubborn look. “Well, it should be. I’m not going to sit here and stuff my face in front of them. The rule about them having to wait until the professors are finished is ridiculous. If we’re all going to die soon, the least we can do is eat together.”

Raith swallows his mouthful. “She has a point,” he says to the others as he waves his fork in the air. “I was never on board with Professor Yevar’s suggestion that we make the students wait.”

“You heard her!” Raith calls out to the students. “Let’s fuckin’ eat!” And he lifts his fork, stabbing a larger piece of steak and slapping it onto his plate.

Kenzie is one of the first to listen, but soon all the students are eating, and I smile, filling my plate and digging into my own food. Thankfully, Professor Lankin doesn’t protest, but I can’t help but wonder why she’s even here. We’re halfway through the meal when curiosity gets the better of me. “Professor Lankin, why are you here?” I blurt.

The professor looks up from her plate, and she returns my stare. My cheeks flush as I realize I’ve overstepped, but my mates peer at the professor like I’ve simply voiced what they want to know as well.

“I mean, of course we love having you here, and you have every right to be here more than I do,” I ramble, getting flustered, “but it’s just…I thought Queen Krosia would have warned you before she sealed the barrier.”

Professor Lankin places down her fork.

“It’s a fair question, Lankin. What the fuck are you doin’ here?” Raith rumbles through a mouthful of food, and he points his fork at her.

She gives him a tight smile before turning her shrewd gaze back to me. “Her Highness did advise me, but I opted to remain.”

Surprise hits me. “What? But why would you do that?”

“I am a professor of this academy,” she replies calmly, lifting her chin. “As I have been for centuries. I have a responsibility to my students. I’m not interested in abandoning this academy in its time of need. And I have never agreed with Her Highness that the weak are simply…” her gaze lingers on me, “worthless.”

I’m not sure if I should be offended at that or not, but I grin anyway.

“The queen will see your actions as an act of treason,” Thane warns.

“Well, Professor Thane,” Professor Lankin replies, “considering we’ve all been left here to die, I don’t foresee any impending punishment being an issue.”

Good point. I put my head down, focusing on my food.

“Well, we’re glad to have you,” Thane replies. “We need all the help we can get.”

Chapter Forty-One

~ Shade ~

Preparations start straight after dinner and continue through the night. The students are split into groups, and I work with Kenzie and a couple dozen other warriors. Considering the tall stone wall that borders the academy grounds, the front gate is the logical entry point for the Xalgrith army. We work on driving metal spikes into the ground a short distance from the gate.

My shadows help to hold a massive spike in place at an angle, and Kenzie compacts the ground around the base.

Not far away, Thane is busy instructing a few of the other students, ensuring the placement of their spikes is correct, while my other mates are overseeing preparations in other locations on the academy grounds. None of my mates wanted to leave my side, but this is war, and I wasn’t going to let them babysit me when the Xalgrith army are on their way.

Professor Lankin stands on a patch of grass closer to the academy building with a handful of students, continuing to work with them on fortifying their minds. We can only hope the students will be strong enough to keep King Malgur out of their heads when the time comes.

“We’re all going to die, aren’t we?” Kenzie says softly as she finishes compacting the ground and straightens, wiping the sweat from her brow.

We work on creating another hole, and I conjure up another massive spike using my power. It’s as tall as the last one, but the metal is a little twisted at the top, and I frown. Even now, even with the curse removed from me and after bonding with my mates, my magic is still a little…unpredictable. Oh well, it’ll still get the job done. I try not to remind myself that its job is to impale Xalgrith warriors when the academy barrier comes down and they try to flood through the front entrance.

I notice then, that a few of the students near us are subtly watching me, and I realize I haven’t responded to Kenzie’s question.

“We’re not going to die,” I say as confidently as I can as Kenzie works on compacting the ground around the new spike. “Queen Blake and the demon army will come, and hopefully, she’ll be bringing warriors from some of the other realms with her, too. This is all a precaution. We just have to sit tight until they get here.”

Kenzie finishes her task, and I place two hands on the spike, checking that it’s holding firm.

Matching my movements, Satine checks the spike she’s been working on with another student, then she stares at me as she plants her hands on her hips. “What if they’re too late? What if the Xalgrith army breakthrough the barrier before your beloved demon queen comes? What then, Shade?”

A few of the surrounding students stop working, all of them with their attention on me. Thane is still barking orders at students some distance away, but like he can sense me looking at him, his brown gaze connects with mine.

“A little help here?” I murmur via our mind link. “What am I supposed to tell them?”