Page 19 of Monster's Reward

Besides, given that we’d mated, I’d quite possibly have followed him to the next life, where we wouldn’t even have to worry about the ridiculous histories of our ancestors.

“He’s fine,” I said bitterly.

I could see the confusion on their faces, so I added, just because I knew I’d have to tell them eventually, “He broke up with me.” A ridiculously generic phrase that couldn’t possibly convey the cruelty behind the act or the devastation it had caused me.

“What?” Jasmine and Mikaela gasped in unison.

“That can’t be right, Kasi,” Jasmine said. “The way he acted around you, I was sure you two were mates.”

“Yeah,” Mikaela agreed. “There’s no way he’d—”

“He did,” I said harshly. “He rejected me.”

“I’m shocked,” Jasmine said bluntly. “Although I suppose if he met his fated mate—”

The thought of it sent fury through me. “I’mhis fated mate,” I snarled, the shadow monster in me stretching and unfurling at the thought of Jahrdran attempting to mate withanyoneother than us. “He’s mated to me!”

“Wait. You already mated?” Mikaela asked.

I nodded.

“I knew it!” Jasmine crowed, but her excitement died almost immediately as she frowned in confusion. “But then why in the world would he break up with you? It doesn’t make any sense. He—”

“Jasmine.” Mikaela spoke her name softly.

Jasmine glanced at Mikaela, who shook her head silently, then carefully sat on my other side.

She drew in a deep breath, then asked quietly, “He found out what you are, didn’t he?”

I froze, unable to breathe, unable to process what was happening.

Dideveryoneknow my secret?

“What are you talking about, Mikaela?” Jasmine asked. “What is she?”

I breathed a little easier. So Jasmine didn’t know.

Maybe Mikaela didn’t either.

“She’s a shadow monster.”

I bit my lip, anxiety pouring through me.

Was I about to lose my only other friends at the Academy?

“What’s a shadow monster?” Jasmine asked.

“They were monsters who could take the form of shadows and then use them to travel pretty much everywhere in the known universes,” Mikaela said, “maybe even the unknown ones, but then they were supposedly all executed hundreds of years ago, which makes Kasi a complete mystery.”

“I’ve been searching the Academy library for the past two years, trying to find any reference to shadow monsters,” I said, “and it’s as if we never existed, so how’d you find out about us?”

Mikaela smirked. “I may have read my mother’s collection ofSpecial Editionsover the summer.”

Mikaela’s mother was a high-ranking official in the witching community, which meant she had an extensive library and knew whereallthe skeletons were buried, at least the witchy ones.

“Okay, so Kasi’s a shadow monster,” Jasmine said, “but why would Jahrdran reject her because of it?”

“Are you sure you want to know?” I asked bitterly.

---