Shadowborn Academy_ Year One (Dark Fae Academy #1) - G. Bailey Page 0,6
But once you shift into a certain creature so many times, it starts to become addictive. You feel more comfortable in one form as opposed to many.
My raven is my main shift, but then my wolf does like to come out and play sometimes, especially on a full moon.
“As it is in life, you do not have a guide. Find your own way or you won’t survive.”
Before I can even guess which keeper spoke, they all disappear into another cloud of smoke, leaving nothing behind apart from an old, endless road and the enchanted forest overshadowing us.
“It must be some kind of test,” Sage murmurs as everyone bursts into loud conversations. “We should just head into the forest and stick together.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agree, turning back to the forest that calls to me.
I can already hear the whispers of the faeries—the creatures that led me to my death. Pitch’s remorse for what happened cleaves through my train of thoughts, momentarily silencing the whispers. He doesn’t say anything through our telepathic link. He doesn’t need to. We’ve had the same discussion a million times before.
He never meant for me to die.
He also never meant to be so severely injured that he had no choice but to latch on to my soul. It was the only way for him to survive the explosion of dark magic, and when he’s not outside my body as a shadow or a man, he’s nestled quite literally around my heart, the tendrils of his darkness entwining with my own. Not many shadowborns can say their demons are tethered to them in such a way. To think that his presence used to torment me.
For years, I naturally blamed him for what happened. I even tried to claw him out from under my skin to the point that I was hospitalised. But over time, I’ve grown to accept that he never truly meant to hurt me or my family, and I managed to forgive him. My mother used to say that forgiving someone even when we don’t want to is a strength unlike any other. I never realised how strong I was until I forgave him. Now that Pitch is a part of me, I can’t imagine my life without him, even if he is fae.
Even if I’m only here, at the beginning of this stupid forest again, because of him.
“Ready to go?” Sage asks, linking my arm with hers.
“As I’ll ever be,” I can’t help but mutter.
We’re the first to grab a torch and step into the forest. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but Sage practically drags me inside, a child-like skip to her walk. As I hold the torch for us and follow in her wake, I catch the opened book in her hand and the blood drains from my face.
“Dammit! I left my book back with my trunk,” I tell her, stopping at the entrance. “I’ll never hear the end of this if Keeper Maddox finds out.”
Sage snorts. “Well, she has been reminding you for the past ten years to always carry it with you.” She lets go of my arm and holds her own book with two hands, stroking her fingers over the scuffed leather. “Don’t worry. We can just use mine.”
I nod. “Now we really can’t get lost or I’m royally screwed.”
Another snort from Sage. “You know the spells in this book better than I do.”
She does have a point: there’s not one ounce of magic in the Book of Zorya I haven’t already memorised. But there’s a big difference between memorising them and actually being able to cast every single one of them. That’s the only reason I’m going to this academy instead of running for the hills. I want to learn how to harness my darkness and cast the most difficult of spells known to magics.
“Does the book tell us where to go?” I ask Sage, continuing to walk again.
“Nope. The only clue we have is to look for the Evening Star.”
“Figures. The Keepers don’t want to help us navigate this cesspit.”
Sage falls into step with me, and asks quietly, “Why do you hate the forest so much?”
I blink at her question, searching through my garbled thoughts for an answer. Sage knows I hate this forest but she’s never once questioned me about it. I don’t want to lie to her but I also don’t want to talk about what I did. If I confess that I accidentally killed all those innocent people and