Not that I’m deluded enough to think they’ve forgotten about me . . . but a girl can dream.
“What?” Inara purrs. “Did you really think we couldn’t control one human censor? That you were safe now?” Her unnerving frost-colored eyes sift through the crowd until they find me, and freezing fingernails scrape down my spine. “Dance, monkeys, dance!”
I glance down at my arms and legs, both awed and horrified as I watch them twist and leap like some drunken Faerie.
Mack’s eyes are huge as they meet mine. The terror in her expression contrasts against the joyful way she spins and sways. Our bodies collide as we move faster. Spinning and spinning and spinning—
“Stop.” Inara’s command freezes us in place. I’m breathing hard, sweat pasting my tank top to my ribcage. It feels like my heart will beat right out of my chest.
The wolf pendant burns against my flesh, powerless to help me.
Inara’s focus hones in on me. Oh, goody.
I can tell by the murderous anger in her eyes that she hasn’t forgotten about me.
If anything, our months apart have only stoked her hatred to the next level.
What’s the saying? Absence makes the heart grow more stabby?
Her seven-inch crystal heels spear the grass between the cobblestones as she stalks this way. It’s like a repeat of last year, only now—despite all my training—I’m at her absolute mercy.
Frustration slams into me. I try to ball my hands into fists, to move even an inch, just enough to look intimidating, but I’m frozen mid-dance—arms out like I’m about to fly.
As soon as Inara nears, the others smell blood and converge. Inara smiles sweetly at me. Her hair seems bluer somehow, a dark ultramarine that’s pulled into a high bun, and her skin shimmers with ice crystals, as if she’s literally made from snow.
Blinding frost-white teeth flash as she smirks. “Wow, so brave to come back after your humiliation last year. Or, wait. Did you think your little prince would save you?”
I glare at her, my tongue loading up curse words that my frozen lips fail to deliver.
Dammit!
“What?” Inara continues. “Darkling got your tongue?”
Reina and the others laugh at Inara’s stupid joke. Everyone except Kimber, who’s feline gold eyes watch me through her veil. Once upon a time, I thought she and I could be friends.
She looks away from my pleading stare, making it clear how naive that notion was.
Inara nods at Mack. “Aw, look. It’s your bestie.” Inara’s focus flickers over Reina. “Is this the girl you told me about? The one who was rude to you?” Reina nods, a gleeful smirk lifting her cheeks.
Anger and fear darken my heart. If they hurt Mack, I’ll gut them.
Every. Single. One. Of. Them.
Relief loosens my shoulders as Inara’s cruel focus drifts back to me. “It’s hot, isn’t it?” she asks. “Why don’t you take off your shirt and shorts?”
No. I refuse. Hell no . . .
Looking down, I watch in horror as my fingers curl under my shirt and tug up up up—
A cold breeze ripples over my bare stomach and chest as I lift the shirt over my head and chuck it to the ground. My shorts are next. When I’m done, only my gray underwear and black sports bra cover me.
I know none of this is my fault. I know I’m not in control. But shame fills me anyway.
A deep, raw, overwhelming shame.
“Pathetic.” Inara looks me up and down. “What? Did you think you could force your way back into the academy with that stunt last semester and escape punishment?” She glances around, her blue lips curled in derision. “As long as Summer is enrolled in the academy, I will punish all of you. But I’m not without mercy.” She flashes an icy smile to prove her point. “The first shadow responsible for making Summer flunk out or be expelled will not only have my favor, but you’ll receive a fourth year’s stipend.”
By fourth year, shadows actually earn a wage for their services. It’s not much, but considering our work conditions now, being paid anything is like winning the lottery.