Page 25 of Shadow Caster
“Harper!” Minnie chided.
Harper held up her hands. “I’m trying here, Min. Just … Can we please go for a walk and chat?”
Minnie shook her head, but I caught the hesitation. She and Harper had been close before me. She had to have seen something in the blonde bombshell to be friends with her.
“Go.” I shrugged. “If I’m going to be taking this Academy stuff seriously, I should probably try and mingle.”
Harper looked at me in surprise.
Minnie locked gazes with me. “You’re just going to stand here and drink, aren’t you?”
I downed the contents of my cup and poured another. “Pretty much. But it makes me happy.” I raised my cup.
Minnie narrowed her eyes. “I’ll be right back. Hide a bottle for me.”
She headed off with Harper, and they slipped into the forest.
My stomach quivered. Fuck, this friendship shit was dangerous. It had you caring and feeling insecure and—
“What the fuck?” Harmon’s gruff voice, raised in anger, cut across the clearing.
I tracked the commotion to several half naked moonkissed being herded into the clearing by a group of guys dressed in black. Booted and lethal-looking, they caused the volume in the clearing to drop instantly and drew every eye.
Shadow cadets.
Second years by the looks of the burgundy emblems on their shirts. Hair combed back and clean shaven, they were the epitome of what the shadow knights were all about, and in a year, they’d be joining the veterans at the fortress.
Shadow cadet training was super strict. Fun was prohibited, or so I’d gleaned in my time here. The shadow cadets didn’t join in the social events of the Nightwatch Academy, so what were they doing here tonight?
Harmon thrust out his hairy chest and advanced on one of the cadets, who placed a hand on his shoulder and brought him to his knees. A petite, dark-haired moonkissed girl ran forward, yelling at the shadow cadet to let her brother go.
Lottie Black. Spitfire extraordinaire. She had a temper as volatile as mine but none of the control. So far, we hadn’t shared any classes.
The cadet shoved her away, his face contorted in anger, but he did release Harmon, who glared up at him murderously. Lottie fell to her knees by her brother, and murmurs broke out across the clearing. Angry and shocked.
What the hell?
The shadow cadets fanned out, circling the grove. Wait, was that a glint of steel at their sides. Weapons? They had weapons. What the fuck?
Something was wrong, and the atmosphere was now one of tension.
A familiar blond head came into view. Piercing blue eyes cast a net over the grove, and a chiseled jaw flexed with intensity. Lloyd Faraday stood at the edge of the clearing several meters away and proceeded to scan the crowd.
Minnie’s brother was there. This visit had to be official because no way would the stick-in-the-mud break protocol for a party. So, the question remained, what was he doing there?
The last thing I wanted was to be in Lloyd Faraday’s orbit. Derision didn’t look good spattered all over me, but my curiosity was piqued. Throwing back the drink in my hand, I headed across the clearing toward him.
Lloyd’s attention zeroed in on me as I approached. His nostrils flared in annoyance.
I crossed my arms, needing some defense against his searing gaze. “What the hell is going on?”
His attention slipped over my shoulder and then back again. “Nothing for you to worry about. Just remain in the clearing. Do not try and leave.” He made to brush past me, but I grabbed his arm.
I could smell his anxiety and hear the rise in his pulse. “You’re … afraid.”
His gaze slashed across my face. “I am not afraid. I’m concerned. You shouldn’t be out here. This is an unauthorized gathering. But then that’s typical of a rule breaker like you, isn’t it?”
“Look around, arsehole. I’m not the only one here. This shindig happens every term, and no one bats an eye, yet here you cadets are, surrounding the grove while carrying weapons.” My pulse spiked. Wait a minute. They were here as protection. They were here as a guard. “What is it? What are you protecting us from?”
