guys we'd noticed at the club. I'm sure Shadow Jade only recalled him because he had far too many piercings to count and he was interested in buying us a drink.
I crossed my arms and tapped my chin. "See. I could have totally handled all of that. Except for that pierced guy. He freaks me out."
Alaric gave me a bored look.
"Ten missed guys is a slight oversight. We caught our stalker and I'm assuming you were the one who caught Leonardo. Problem solved, right before the storm," I pointed out.
"Bianca has to stop training you."
"No," I whined. "She's badass and understands my dark humor,"
"She's teaching you how to harness that tunnel vision of yours. What if I hadn't been told you were sent out without my confirmation?"
"Jade would have gotten it."
He arched an eyebrow at me. "Jade. Meaning you."
"Ah, no. Shadow Jade." I pointed to her as she rested her chin on my shoulder.
"Me?! Kill!" She beamed at our attention.
"See? She was more than ready."
"I really should ground you."
"Alaric! I'm eighteen. You can't ground me!"
"You could be twenty-seven and I'd still ground you," he noted. "And it's past curfew."
"You said it wouldn't count!" I gasped in horror.
"Curfew? Bad." Shadow Jade shook her head. "Kill!" she began to skip around us, singing the Kill song.
Alaric and I watched her, just as the droplets of rain began to fall from the dark, grey sky.
"Aww. I like this outfit," I mumbled, realizing in a minute we'd be soaked.
Shadow Jade stopped skipping, moving to stand next to Alaric. "Dad! Home?"
I returned my gaze to see Alaric's smile as he lifted his cane and shifted it into an umbrella large enough to fit the three of us.
"Yes, Shadow Jade. We should head home."
"What about the bodies?" I asked, pointing to the pile.
"Right. Forgot about those," he said. He flicked his free hand to the side, the pile of dead men flying right back into the wall. "They'll dispose of them later."
Shadow Jade looked my way. "Home!"
"I love how excited you are." I shook my head, but walked up to where they stood. "Why can't we just teleport back or something?" I asked Alaric, who offered his arm to my Shadow. She hugged it like she always had since the day we officially became Alaric's daughter.
"It's not family time if we just teleport home. Walking in the rain is more of a bonding experience," he replied, offering his other arm.
Hooking mine in his, I gave him a curious look. "As long as you don't lecture us, which is basically just me since Shadow Jade won't listen to you."
"Why is that?" Alaric curiously asked.
"She's gonna sing the Kill song until we get home," I admitted. "I promised."
"Ah." He nodded his head in understanding like my words truly made sense. "Well, then. I'll lecture you two when we get home."
I rolled my eyes but smirked. "Gives me enough time to figure out a way to escape such a punishment."
"Kill. Kill. Kill!" Shadow Jade began to sing, her appearance shifting to match mine once again. "Kill?"
"Yes, my Shadow. You can sing all you want now. We're going home."
"Kill. Kill. Kill," she sang happily through her eerie giggles.
Alaric began to walk and we both followed his lead in unison, the three of us walking in the rain, under Alaric's golden umbrella.
What a weird family we are, but...I'd never regret accepting Alaric's love.
4
Academy Who?
"You want me to do what?!"
"Shhhh."
I deliberately took my time as I turned my gaze to the tall, pink-haired woman to my left. She blinked her pink eyes while giving me an innocent smile.
"Keep your voice down." She pointed to the chair next to me. I looked to my Shadow, who was curled up hugging one of our many dolls and was fast asleep.
"Really, Bianca?" I muttered, looking back at her. She shrugged.
"What? You don't want to wake up your adorable Shadow," Bianca reasoned, walking from her spot near Alaric's desk to stand in front of the chair my Shadow was curled up in.
With a flick of her hands, a light pink blanket appeared out of nowhere, floating down to drape over my Shadow, who didn't even stir at its light weight.
"You tuck her in, but always kick me out off the couch when I fall asleep by accident," I voiced, crossing my arms as I narrowed my eyes accusingly at the woman.
"That's because you're either having a nightmare or causing everything else in the room to float but yourself," Bianca argued. "Besides, you’re nowhere as cute as