Page 3 of Satanic Shadow
Mel elbows her. “You idiot.”
But I’ve already dropped my satchel and turned on my feet to run down the spiral stone stairway, nearly slipping when I reach the bottom. Students who tower over me stare at me as I run through the main corridor to the exit, and no one stops me as I push open the doors and desperately try to reach the pier off the side of the beach, needing to get onto the little boat and get the hell away from here.
As soon as my feet carry me down the path towards the water, a large mass appears in front of me out of nowhere, and I collide with their chest so hard, I’m thrown back, hitting the back of my head off the ground.
My vision blurs, and I groan as I sit up, the shadow standing above me shading the sun and turning everything around me dark.
I note hair as white as snow, almost silver, with the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen as he comes into view, a desperate look in his gaze.
“Who the hell are you people?” I shout, pushing to my feet. I barely reach his chest.
At my words, the worried look vanishes from his handsome face, and his jaw sets, his eyes darkening. He steps forward, and my neck aches when I try to hold eye contact.
“Dane,” he says. “Ever heard of me?”
Trembling, I shake my head. “Never.”
The concern vanishes from his face entirely, anger replacing it, and he grabs my chin in a firm grip, drags me towards the pier, and whispers in my ear. “You don’t belong here, human. You’ll be ripped apart by the end of the fucking week.”
He shoves me forward, and instead of falling onto the start of the pier, pressure encases me, everything spins, and I drop onto the floor of my dorm room.
2
The grandfather clock that echoes throughout the entire castle begins to strike, telling me it’s ten minutes until class. I’ve been staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror for the past ten minutes while Mel and Poppy argue about their hair.
Mel leans on the sink beside me, twirling her black hair around a finger while glaring at her twin. “I still don’t think you should have cut it,” she says, using one extremely long, sharp nail—which could pass for a dangerous weapon—to flick her sister’s short curls just above her shoulders. “Why did you dye the ends pink? You look like… What is it the humans call it? A Barbie doll.”
She glances at me for confirmation, and I give a short nod.
Poppy scowls at her sister, eyes glowing yellow. “Mortals dye their hair, and the professors want us to be capable of living amongst them come graduation. You grew your nails to resemble blades, so what’s the harm in me coloring my hair?”
“You look ridiculous. Sera has brown hair and she’s human. And what are you doing with your eyeliner? You’re not a cat,” is her twin’s reply.
Ignoring Poppy’s building rage, she turns to me. “We’ll meet you at class, Sera.”
“Try not to kill each other on the way.”
My forest-green eyes stare back at me as I finish washing my hands. My friends have changed their appearances a lot in the past four weeks. Being around me definitely doesn’t help their new obsession with looking human—every day, they ask me multiple questions about what it’s like to be powerless and if I’m scared to die of old age.
I’ve grown used to their questions though. At first, the whole immortal aspect of the students made me uneasy, but now, although some of my classmates are terrifying, I’m just focused on getting the hell off this island.
A month. An entire month of this and I still have no answers as to why I’m here.
The halls are busy when I exit the bathroom, students making their way to class in a rush, some glaring at me as I try to get through the crowd.
Someone materializes in front of me, and a solid shoulder hits mine. The abrupt collision is hard enough that I fall to the ground, a rush of air escaping my lips and my books scattering across the floor.
The same person who appeared in front of me a month ago on the beach is staring down at me—dark brows, white hair that falls over his left eye, tall enough to make me crane my neck.
I scowl at the large presence as he squats closer to my level, elbows resting on his thighs. His eyes dance at the sight of me on my knees before him, trying to gather my things.
“You should watch where you’re going. This seems to be a daily occurrence now.”
He moves a few strands of hair covering my eyes and face, tucking them behind my ears. Although the act is soft, the expression and the way he’s looking at me tells a different story.
“See you in class, mortal.”
I seethe, slapping him away and gathering my things as he straightens his spine, smirking down at me. “Stop touching me. And I already told you to stay out of my way.”
