Page 41 of Shadow Caster
There was a narrow corridor and two doors facing each other.
He indicated the door to the left. “This is your room. Key’s inside. Linens in the closet. Make yourself comfortable. There’s a sink in your room, but the bathroom’s down the hall. It locks. Training begins at nine p.m. sharp, and we meet in the lobby at eight-thirty p.m. sharp.”
“I can do sharp.”
He arched a brow and raked me with his strange blue-green cocktail eyes flecked with gold. Cyan was the closest color to what his eyes were, but even that didn’t describe the shade adequately.
“I’m sure you can,” he said. “But being a shadow knight isn’t like jumping into a pit fight, Justice. Being a knight takes discipline, graft, and heart.”
He knew about my pit fights? Well, then he needed to know the rest. “You think pit fighting doesn’t require discipline and heart?” I glared up at him. “I’m a trained boxer. I can wrestle, I can fence, and I’m perfectly at home using a variety of swords and daggers. I may not have trained in some prestigious establishment and picked up medals and certificates, but I can hold my own in a fight. I don’t go down easy. When I finally get into that mist, those fomorians better watch out.”
His eyes darkened a fraction, and then the corner of his mouth curved up in half a smile, and I was suddenly, acutely, and painfully aware that we were standing almost chest to chest in a gloomy enclosed space. There wasn’t enough oxygen in the air or enough saliva in my mouth.
And I was staring, just fixated on his lips. Shit. I tore my gaze up and got caught in the hunger in his eyes. He blinked, and it was gone.
He stepped back. “Get some rest, cadet. You’ll be taking your oath tomorrow, and then we’ll be headed to sector one for orientation.”
“Sector one?”
But he was already disappearing down the corridor, leaving me internally gasping outside my new dorm room.
“You’re thinking too loud …”
The voice drifted down the corridor. I reached behind me, twisted the handle, and tumbled into my room, slamming the door shut behind me.
It was time to get off the emotional rollercoaster.
* * *
My new roomwas smaller than the dorm room I’d shared with Minnie. Bare wooden floors. A single bed in need of sheets and a barred window. Nice. A dresser, small wardrobe, sink, and mirror completed the room.
I got the impression this room would simply be a place to crash after training. From what I’d heard, the shadow cadets didn’t get much downtime.
I dropped my bag on the floor and headed to the wardrobe to grab the sheets. Half an hour later, the bed was made, and my clothes were put away. The clock winked at me, showing it to be two a.m. Three hours till dawn. Time to put on my sleep shorts and ratty T-shirt.
Minnie and I would have been snuggled in bed by now, whispering about our day before falling into slumber. God, I missed her.
A sharp rap sounded on the door.
“Justice.”
Master Hyde? I opened the door to find him dressed in dark combat gear. “Is something the matter?”
His gaze fell to my bare legs, and he took a step away from the doorway. “We have a missing student.” He handed me a bundle of dark clothing. “Get dressed, and be in the foyer in five. We’re organizing a search party.”
He made to turn away.
“Who is it? Who’s missing.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “A student named Lottie Black.”
Fourteen
The clothes were too big, obviously made for a guy. I tucked and tightened best I could, shoved on my boots, scraped back my hair, and made it into the foyer in less than four minutes.
The space was already filled with bodies and the urgent buzz of conversation. I caught sight of Harmon’s tousled dark head and shoved through the crowd to get to him. Shocked glances were thrown my way.
“What’s a woman doing here?” someone said.
