Page 18 of Shadow Caster
“It’s too late to offer Minnie the human,” Harmon said. “The herb will block the effects of any blood she consumes.”
So, I’d fucked up. Big deal. It was just a game. Still, my cheeks warmed. “I’ll gather some wood.”
“Least you can do,” Thomas called after me.
I flipped him the bird, but my insides were quivering. I may just have cost us the exercise. May have cost Minnie the grade she needed.
My success didn’t matter, but hers did.
This time, there was no pretending I didn’t care.
Seven
The bodies of the delirium were piled in a corner, still dead, still here in the sim. At least they hadn’t disappeared and ruined the realism of the situation.
Maybe this was more authentic than I’d thought.
Minnie’s pain certainly was. We’d put the tarp down for her to lie on at a safe distance from the fire Harmon had built. The hairy dude crouched by the flames, poking them with a stick every now and then. Thomas watched him, using the side-eye, and Oberon … well, Oberon was staring at me.
I glared back at him, not bothering to hide my irritation. “What? Spit it out.”
He canted his head. “Well, if you insist. I was wondering how you could possibly be related to Kat Justice.”
Yeah, this was bound to come up at some point. My older cousin was a legend in the Nightwatch. A prodigy who’d aced every exam and test and graduated with fucking wings.
I gave him a close-lipped smile. “Did you not pay attention in genetics class in lower school? Or do the feybloods not learn about that shit?”
He gave me a half smile, unfazed by my irritation. “You got the moves. You’d make a solid officer for the Watch.”
“Right. Uh-huh, except I don’t want to be in the Watch.” I enunciated each word. “I’m here because I have to be, and I’mherefor her.” I jerked my thumb in Minnie’s direction.
“You act all tough like you don’t give a shit but you do. You care about Minnie,” Oberon said. “I see through your façade.”
What the fuck? “There is no façade. I was perfectly happy in my life before …” I ducked my head.
“Before you killed someone?” Oberon said softly. “You didn’t mean to do it, did you?” He leaned forward. “Tell us what happened.”
The memory of that night, of the blood in my mouth, of the sweet taste, and then the hunger, sudden and overwhelming, and then nothing. Nothing. I fucking didn’t remember anything.
“Indie?”
My head snapped up. “Don’t call me that. You don’t get to call me that.”
He held up his hands. “I’m sorry. I just. I think if you allow yourself to open up, you might find this is exactly where you need to be.”
“Oh, my God,” Thomas drawled, shooting Oberon a disgusted look. “The shit you’ll say to get laid.”
Was that what he was doing? Softening me up. I locked gazes with him to find him watching me with an intense expression, and then his face broke into a grin, and he shook his head.
“Hey, got to pass the time somehow.”
Wanker.
The human made a choking sound. He’d been sitting quietly up until now, and I’d succeeded in ignoring his presence, but that was impossible to do if he made noise.
“You okay?” Harmon asked gruffly.
The man nodded. “Yeah, just. This is the weirdest dream I’ve ever had. I mean … I keep thinking I should wake up now, but I can’t.” He poked Thomas’s arm. “So real.”
