Page 73 of Every Shade of Shadow

“Yeah, it’s nice in spring when everything’s in bloom, but this kind of peace and quiet? Forget about it.”

“Can’t be any worse than Aldershot,” says Ava. “I think it’s been a regular feature in Britain’s Top 10 Crappiest Towns for almost a decade running.”

“Promise not to judge when I mention where I’m from,” Lily says, raising her hand like a schoolgirl as the waiter leaves the drinks on our table.

“Do tell,” I smile.

“Hollywood, California.”

I snort in amusement. “Figures.”

She gives me a look of amusement before picking up her wine and clinking her glass to mine. “A toast, ladies. To a kickass ball...and a good, solid dicking.”

Our glasses clink together. I sip some of the wine and let it wash over my tongue, noting how surprisingly fruity it is, before looking up and finding Cassandra and her friend approaching the table.

Fuck me.

Now?

“I thought I smelled a rat,” she says, looking at me.

The cringe…Christ on a bike.

But okay. We can do this.

“Really?” I pitch my voice higher in mock interest. “Because I thought I smelled a skank.”

“You…”

“Cass, no!” Her friend shouts and grabs her by the wrist, just as she’s about to pounce on me.

“Oh, let her at it already,” I tell the friend—a strangely mousy individual who’s the human personification of a head of garlic. “I’ve got nothing to be afraid of.”

“You’re lucky,” Cassandra mumbles, her friend continuing to pull her back.

“Am I?”

But the friend manages to turn her and get her out the door before any more bullshit tumbles out of her mouth.

I look to the others. “What is that bitch’s problem with me, seriously? It’s not like I spat in her food or fucked her boyfriend.”

I consider that for a moment, that Cassandra had something going on with Darkwood, but no, she doesn’t seem like his type.

“Being a bitch is just her MO,” Lily informs me, her tone dropping in volume and nerve. “Don’t take it personally. She likes to assert her dominance to all the newbies. I’m sure she’ll forget about you when someone fresh joins the Academy.”

“She was like this to you guys when you arrived?” I ask Lily, shifting my gaze over to Ava. “And you?”

Ava nods.

“But I told her to fuck right off,” Lily goes on, “and Ava, well, Ava is Ava, so Cassandra kind of moved along after a while. Though I will say she seems to have taken a special interest in you.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Great.”

Ava leans forward, the wine glass between her hands. “We’re all fledgling witches here—some of us are bound to be stronger than others. I just thought it would be juvenile of me to let Cassandra drag me into her silly games, considering where we are. The knowledge contained in this Academy…” She whistles. “There are better things to focus on. The library, for example, only houses some of the rarest and most ancient books in all Magic.” She directs her attention to me. “If you’re looking for answers, you are in the right place. And as for Cassandra? She can get royally fucked.”

Lily gives an audible gasp at that, raising her glass. “Yes! Let us drink to that.”

Several glasses of wine later we head back through the forest tipsy and a touch juvenile. I carry the bag with the dress in it, pausing every so often to admire the navy fabric peeking out the top.

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