Page 8 of Shadow Bonds

Those four men hate me. Well… they hateSena, not me. Not… I try to think of my name again, but there’s a blank spot in my memory where it should be.

After a few minutes of getting nowhere, I give up, leaning my head back against the rock and glancing up at the sky now starting to twinkle with stars.

I need answers. But in order to get them, I need to get out of here first. To get past the shields and barriers that are supposedly impenetrable.

Exhaustion quickly seeps into my mind and body, and my stomach grumbles, reminding me I haven’t eaten in a while. But it’s not the first time I’ve gone without food, and I doubt it will be the last.

Pushing the thought of food away, I curl into my knees, letting the soft ripple of the water help lull me to sleep.

Tomorrow… I’ll figure it all out tomorrow.

CHAPTER 3

“Where the hell could she have gone?”

“She couldn’t have gone far.”

“We should have let her in last night. She was injured.”

“She was faking it.”

“There was blood. You could smell it, so could I.”

“She had to have done it to herself.”

Iwake to the annoying sound of four familiar voices. They’re close by, but I have no intention of telling them where I am.

I wait until they’ve left before getting up and stretching, soon regretting my spot near the rocks when I find every part of my body groaning and aching with multiple kinks from my awkward position.

I stretch them out and then make my way to the main building, hoping there’s a free canteen inside.

Once I hit the main door, a delicious scent hits my senses, and I follow it. After a few wrong turns and strange looks from the males here, I eventually find the canteen and make my way toward the long table of food.

Nobody looks to be handing over cash or cards, so I chance my luck and line up in the small queue. When it’s my turn to pick out some food, I get a bit of everything, eggs, pancakes, sausages, and any extras and then head for the nearest empty table. When no one tries to stop me for not paying, I take it as a win and sit down to dig in.

A couple of minutes later, a shadow blocks my light, and a male with blonde hair and warm brown eyes sits down in front of me.

I glance over at him with a raised brow.

“Where are your companions?” he asks as his eyes dip to my lips and eyes.

“Around,” I tell him, still unaware of the rules here and what I should and shouldn’t be saying that won’t get me or those four idiots into trouble. I dig back into my food, loving the fact that its free and warm and with the hope he’ll take the hint and leave me to it.

“You shouldn’t be by yourself,” he says, making that little hope shrivel up and disappear.

I glance at him, wondering if he’s trying to warn me. But he’s smiling at me, his body relaxed. “No one as beautiful as you should be sitting alone.”

Instead of smiling back at him, I frown. “I’m a little new to this. But isn’t there rules against trying to chat up another Shadow’s companion?”

“Only if the other Shadows find out.” He smirks again and gets up from his chair. “You ever get bored of eating alone, come find me.”

With one last look, he turns and heads out of the canteen while I’m left confused and annoyed that the females here are seen as nothing more than tradable objects.

I quickly finish off my food and ignore the strange looks from every other male in the room before heading out of the canteen.

My hopes for a shower and change of clothes gets derailed when I get flagged down by a tall lean male with brown hair and glasses that looks to be in his early thirties.

“Sena? There you are. You’re supposed to be in class. Come on, I’m heading that way now,” he says before ushering me towards a room down the hall.

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