Page 56 of A Bond So Deadly

“Queen Krosia is pushing for more momentum now that our deal is sealed,” Blake adds. “She wants more allies, and I can’t blame her. None of us want the Xalgrith to succeed in taking the shadow realm. If they did, it would only be a matter of time before they set their sights on the other realms.”

Shade exhales through her nose. “Okay, makes sense.”

“We trust you can handle supervising this while we talk to our mate?” Thane asks Blake, motioning toward the sparring students and demons.

“Of course,” Blake replies, giving Shade the hint of a smile. “Talk later?”

The grin returns to Shade’s face. “Definitely.”

Chapter Twenty-One

~ Shade ~

The next few days pass in a blur. When I’m not at classes or having private training sessions, I’m spending time with my mates or I’m in the secret library reading the oracle’s journals. Things at the academy fall into a rhythm with the demons picking up the shadow fighting techniques quickly, and the students learning a lot from the generals.

Germain and Ambrose continue to bring zenali creatures to the dungeons for questioning, and I only agree because my mates assure me the creatures will be freed when we’re done. I know I don’t really have a choice, but I’m glad I stood up for the zenali.

I’ve questioned five other creatures, but so far none of them can tell me what the Xalgrith want or where we can find the fold. Like the nemins and Borshoz, the zenali all call me mistress and speak as if they think I’m going to help them somehow. Which is…awkward. The last thing I want is more expectations on my shoulders. I tried to tell the last zenali that I’m not who she thinks I am, but she only let out a dry, brittle laugh muttering something about my denial. At this point, it feels like the creatures are all part of some inside joke that I don’t know about.

It’s the second-to-last night that Blake, her mates, and the demons will be here, and I convince my mates to let us have a girls’ slumber party in my dorm. Thankfully they agree, not that Blake would have taken ‘no’ for an answer.

I sit cross-legged on my bed as Blake returns with a mattress from an empty dorm, and she drops it onto the floor, dressing it with a couple of blankets.

“Think your guys will survive without you?” I ask as Blake relaxes, and she stretches out on the mattress.

Her lips twitch. “Yeah, they’ll be fine. What about yours?”

I shrug a shoulder. “Girl, I need this, and I made sure they know it. I don’t think they’ll be interrupting us.”

“And thank the sweet souls of the shadow realm for that. We could use a night without the usual theatrics,” Elgen croaks in my mind.

By theatrics, she means me and my mates having fun times. Which have been admittedly a little less fun with the shadows in my head. Thankfully, Elgen and Tarlaz mostly stay silent when it’s happening, but I guess I didn’t think that part through when I decided to bind us.

“I’ll find you guys your own bodies one day. Then you can enjoy your own fated mates or whatever,” I comment.

Elgen tsks. “All I need is somewhere dark and quiet and away from here.”

Before I can reply, someone knocks on the door.

Blake gives me a look. “I thought you said your mates could handle a night without you?”

Grinning, I don’t get up. Instead, I send out my shadows, opening the door wide to reveal Satine standing awkwardly in the doorway with a mattress propped against her leg.

“What the hell?” Kenzie shadow whispers to me as she sits up on her bed.

“I know,” I whisper back. “But all her friends are gone, including her two lovers or whatever Craig and Ian were to her. I think we should give her a chance. Besides, she saved me during the games.”

“A chance to what? Stab us in our sleep?” Kenzie retorts. “She only saved you because you saved her first. Have you forgotten how horrible she was? How she tried to kill you?”

“I’m with the dog girl,” Elgen rasps. The shadow has called Kenzie that ever since she discovered what animali Kenzie has.

I wince. Honestly, that incident with Satine feels like it happened so long ago. “Of course, I haven’t,” I reply to Kenzie. “But look at her.”

My roommate raises a brow. “Yeah, I’m looking. It’s Satine. Not some cute puppy to be adopted!”

I stifle my smile as Kenzie gives me crazy eyes.

“Okay, fine. It might be a terrible idea,” I admit, “but I don’t know, when I saw Satine in the hallway earlier the invite just sort of happened. The demons and students have been training so well together. I can’t shake this feeling that if we’re going to survive what comes next, we need everyone to get along.”