Shadowborn Academy_ Year One (Dark Fae Academy #1) - G. Bailey Page 0,73

the past few weeks, he’s been going to the cave tunnels more than ever. I think he’s keeping the students down there. I’ve tried to get in myself, but I don’t possess the power to break down the barrier. Perhaps…” He trails off, glancing down at Echo, who’s trying to eat his foot. “Perhaps a Shadow Warden can help us.”

“Zander,” I say, nodding, and Pitch merges back into my body. “Let’s go.”

I turn on my heel without checking to see if they’re following me. Echo, of course, flies to my side and I hold him in my arms, using the back of his head to wipe the tears escaping from my eyes. Whatever Greyhorn has planned, I hope I reach Sage in time.

We find Zander in the common area, with Ronan and some others who are early risers. As soon as Zander sees me rushing over to him, he stands from the sofa. Echo lets out a strange squeal and flies over onto Zander’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong, my lady?”

“I need your help,” I say, pulling him out of earshot to explain everything that has happened.

By the time I finish, Zander’s eyes are bugged in their sockets. “And you need me to help break the barrier down?”

“Yes,” Gage says, still unable to meet my gaze.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Zander quirks his lips into a smirk.

And then I do something stupid.

I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him, my tears soaking into his shirt. He believes me. None of that ‘are you sure? Do you have evidence?’ bullshit.

Zander freezes for only a second, then his hands are on my waist and he’s reciprocating my embrace, saying softly into my ear, “Don’t worry, my lady. We’ll get down to the bottom of this. Won’t we, Echo?”

I giggle and look up at Echo on Zander’s shoulder, booping him on his little wet nose. “We will. Together.”

“I’m coming with you all.”

We turn to look at Ronan, who gives an affirmative nod.

“Some of the missing students were my friends,” he adds, looking directly at me. “I have every right to be there, too.”

I nod at him. “Gage, you said you know which tunnel we should go to. Can you get us there?”

Zander holds out his hands. “It’s too early for all those stairs, and Gage can’t shadowlocate like I can. Hold on tight.”

We each hold hands, and with a simple utterance from his lips, Zander drapes us in shadows. The familiar ethereal glow of the underground cave tunnels beams against my eyelids, and I open them to see all the breathtaking crystals. These ones are different from the others. The crystals are shaped like dragon eggs and they have gold rims with amethyst centers that shouldn’t but do catch the light rather beautifully.

“Which tunnel is it?” Zander asks, rotating his wrists like he’s getting ready for a fight.

Gage points to one of the three gigantic tunnels. “The middle one.”

“Stand back,” Zander orders, and the rest of us stand a good distance away.

Jonah remains just slightly closer, his own hands raised in preparation.

“Will you ever forgive me?” Gage whispers, glancing down at me.

I keep my eyes on Zander and the strange, fascinating incantation he’s performing. “I trusted you and you lied to me. You lied to all of us.”

Zander’s gold pentagram, flecked with unusual emerald symbols, stretches up to the size of the entire entrance of the tunnel. I watch in awe as the symbols transform into an enormous dragon, and the ground trembles beneath my feet, shaking the crystals carved into the walls. Holy shit, Zander is fucking powerful. I can see why Gage suggested we ask for his help.

“I did lie, and for that I’m sorry,” Gage says. “I wanted to be sure I was right before jumping to conclusions. But when I found my father snooping around your room, I knew something was wrong. I should’ve warned you then.”

“Yeah, you should’ve,” I spit out, though I immediately regret the words. Sage would have done the same thing and waited until she had evidence. Innocent until proven guilty and all that. “Ask me forgiveness once you help me find my best friend.”

“And the others,” Jonah adds, glaring over his shoulder. “Or are you forgetting that my sister is in there?”

“You don’t know that for sh…” Gage cuts himself off and trains his focus back onto Zander. “You’re right. Let’s end this once and for all.”

Zander drags his hands through the air, and the dragon soars over our heads and back again. It