Shadowborn Academy_ Year One (Dark Fae Academy #1) - G. Bailey Page 0,44
walk out of the window and run across the treetops into the endless world ahead of you. When I finally break my stare from the view, I notice the rest of Zander’s place is just as nice. White sofas, a fancy modern fireplace in the centre of the room, lit and crackling away beside a white shaggy rug that is totally begging me to take a nap on right now. The kitchen is by the entrance, complete with a table and four chairs around it. On the other side is a huge black four-poster bed with ivory satin sheets. There are two counters next to it; one is littered with weapons and the other has oddly stacked books. I’m a little horrified at the way he’s just dumped some of them still opened. Poor books.
“Where is Echo, then?” I ask, turning to face him.
“Err, well, turns out he likes water, so…” Zander pauses and walks to one of the doors in the room. I follow him in to see Echo in a giant modern bathtub, and somehow the water inside is green instead of blue. It doesn’t look dirty, though, and Echo blinks up at us before jumping out of the bathtub and onto the side, tilting its head at us. “I don’t think Echo can fly yet. He’s too young. Neither can I find a creature that even remotely resembles him so I don’t know what the hell he is.”
“I don’t think asking anyone is going to go down well,” I say. “Pets aren’t allowed here. Not even familiars are.”
“Agreed.” He clicks his tongue and then chuckles.
I lean down and stroke the side of Echo’s damp face, and he makes this weird growling, kind of purring sound in the back of his throat. Cutie. I’m willing to bet the poor thing doesn’t have a clue what he is, either. He jumps back into the water, splashing me with it until my blouse is soaked and a little see-through.
“Thanks, bud,” I say, walking out the door and covering myself with my cloak.
“Do you want to borrow a top?” Zander asks and heads to the door at the other end of the bathroom. It has a huge walk-in wardrobe with hardly any clothes in it. Zander opens a drawer and pulls out a modern, soft-looking pale blue t-shirt and hands it to me.
“Thanks. Turn around then.” I twirl my finger, and he grins but does what he’s told. Good boy. I unclip my cloak and pull off my shirt, resting them both on the bathroom sink before putting Zander’s top on and tucking it in my skirt. “You can look now.”
Zander turns around and he makes no attempt to hide how he likes what he sees. “I was wrong,” he whispers. “I thought seeing you use magic was the sexiest thing ever, but you in my shirt beats it.”
Changing the subject before Pitch comes out and tries to kill him, I clear my throat and walk into the lounge again and sit on the sofa. Of course, Zander follows me over and sits right next to me, his leg pressing against mine.
He’s bold, I’ll give him that.
“How did you get promoted? I’ve never met a Shadow Warden before you,” I point out and a sad smile flits over his face. I get the feeling he doesn’t like telling this story much.
“A few years back, the gargoyles and trolls came up with a plan to try and overthrow the magics. They bred a creature together, a monster with hard skin of a gargoyle but the strength and size of a troll. As they tried to attack the academy, where I had just started working, they let the creature in. It killed five wardens and ten students before I found it and killed it on my own. I was branded a hero and promoted. I imagine it was because my mother had a say in it, though.”
“Who is your mother?” I probe subtly. She sounds important to the magics to have any say in who’s made into a Shadow Warden.
“Someone you don’t wanna meet,” he replies with a grin. “Now it’s my turn. Tell me how you became a shadowborn.”
“I should go—” I start, knowing there is zero chance I’m telling him anything. After my recent panic attack, I don’t trust myself to talk about it without having a meltdown. I thought I was ‘over it’. Turns out I’m not even close to being over what happened. What I did to so many