Page 14 of Shadebound
Hightower’s voice floated in from nowhere, crisp and clinical enough to make me scowl. “These will grant you access to the doors within the foyer, your dorm and the bathrooms. Any other door in the academy is currently locked and you are not permitted access. The cuffs also track your location, health, and energy levels, among other things. You’ll also use them to make purchases of supplies, or whatever else you might earn in the future. And yes, we’ll know if you try to tamper with them.”
She didn’t wait for questions or explain theother things. And it was with much effort that I tried to pretend I wasn’t curious.
The lift dropped before we could even steady ourselves, sinking fast and silently through solid stone. The air grew heavier. Thicker with cold. My shadows bled upward like smoke curling from my fingers, restless again. Strong enough, even with the runes clearly trying to quiet them down.
I think you were right,my brother signed. This place is a little creepy and... dangerous. It feels dangerous. Like how people say you feel, but worse.
My cheeks warmed at his description—not offended exactly, but stung all the same. Something about this place did feel... off. Not in the usualeverything-here-screams-dangerway, but deeper. The way the real shadows felt. Like they were dampened, but not weak. Perhaps like they were listening.
Orwatching.
My brother was right. They felt like my magic, only... not. More wicked in ways that I didn’t want him to find out.
After a moment’s silence, we came to a stop. As I swallowed the lump of curiosity in my throat, the doors hissed open, and the world exploded.
It wasn’t a hallway. Or a classroom. Or even a prison block.
It was anarena.
A massive underground dome carved from obsidian and bone, ringed with high stone seats packed full of students—no, not just students.Monsters. All kinds. Some wore the black combats, boots, and shirts that I knew were the Mors uniforms, thanks to their propaganda-like recruitment videos on the TV. Some wore nothing but grime. Others had human clothes and wicked smirks on their tiny faces. No doubt just attendees for the fight.
Evil here to watch the fun play out.
At a single glance, I could sense them all. Shifters, elemental wielders, sirens, vampires and worse. All of them monsters brought from the darkest of tales—if anyone here was normal, they weren’t obvious.
There were no humans. Still nobody mortal like the man in town, with his odd softness and weak flesh suit.
My brother followed me out of the lift, and the noise grew worse. The crowd roared like a beast, stomping and shouting and laughing as they saw their two tiny prey animals on a slaughter stage.
The floor beneath us was cracked, uneven stone that was stained in places. Covered with a layer of dirt and sand. The scent of sweat and scorched magic hung thick in the air. Torches burned in floating sconces high above, casting jagged shadows that danced on the walls. Strange glyphs pulsed in the stone at the arena’s edge, glowing faintly with a silver and lilac hue.
A fight pit. The voice in my head explained to me.Designed to test your mettle. To see how you will fare in combat in the war.
This looks like fun, more than a test. My eyes kept roaming, finding only one obvious exit and tables filled with every kind of metal weapon. No doubt made of iron or silver, the only two metals that could cause damage to most of our kind.
It is both. There was a moment of silence as Death blocked out all the noise but my heartbeat.Concentrate on your magic, and nothing else will matter. The darkness will always keep you safe. Even from predators who have paid to watch you all die.
I stepped in front of Draven automatically, curling one arm behind me to keep him close. He didn’t argue when I looked back at him. My baby brother just stared at the chaos with wide eyes. He didn’t look afraid, not exactly—just cautious. Like he knew this was going to be bad, and he’d already made peace with it.
I was rather glad our father had been bored enough three summers ago to teach him how to sword fight. And me how to wield smaller versions of blades I preferred. At least Draven would not be entirely useless at defending himself in this twisted form of entertainment.
A raised glass appeared at the far end of the arena, floating like a judge’s pulpit above the madness. And then, with the kind of magical weight that made my teeth ache, Hightowerlanded on it—wings wide now, glinting like blades, her suit still horrifically spotless.
I wanted to stain it.
“Tonight’s entertainment,” she called, and her voice boomed across the pit like thunder, “features two new recruits.”
The crowd screamed louder. My ears rang. Jaw clenched. I tried to work out the time again, but still came up short.
She’d said tonight, but that meant nothing. I wanted to know just how many hours we’d travelled away from home.
How many hours Draven had to get back.
“Usually,” she continued, “initiation is for the top recruits to show off their skills, and to prove themselves as potentials to go through the portal. But one of them is a shadebound. And we all know shadebounds never say no to death. Nor can I resist seeing her play in my pit.”
Laughter, gasps and jeers broke out around the arena—cruel, high-pitched, gleeful. My face stayed neutral, but my fingers twitched. My shadows rose in delicate coils across my spine like hackles lifting. Pushing through the cuff’s dampening magic after the tiniest moment of struggle.
Of course. She couldn’t just say prisoner. No, it had to be shadebound. Like I’d walked in with a target painted between my eyes.
