The Culling Trials (Shadowspell Academy #2)(26)

Shhhhh. Calm down.

I shut my eyes again, and this time I kept them shut, feeling the looseness of Rory’s muscles around me. Energy coiled in his body, ready to be called into action, but he remained relaxed. I bet his heart rate was nice and slow. I doubted his shirt stuck to his back like mine did.

His lips pulled away a little in silent approval and I focused on my deep but silent breaths. Rory had always been good at stealth. At hiding and fighting. And, apparently, lying. He, too, was House of Shade. He clearly knew what he was up against, and if he thought he could hide us from it, I’d let him.

Sometimes history could save your life.

My eyes fluttered open as one of those black boots lifted off of the ground and turned in the air. It came back down softly. The other followed, until both toes were pointed right at us.

My breath caught. My heart ramped up again. Raw talent, my ass. I wasn’t cut out for this.

Rory’s fingers tapped the vein on my throat again. I wanted to slap his hand away. I wanted to grab the knife I’d stupidly left in the room. I wanted to throw a pinecone, anything.

The boots didn’t move. They didn’t even shift from side to side. How the hell could anyone stay so damn still? My whole body trembled.

Rory’s fingers drummed on my neck, slower than my heartbeat. Strangely, with sweat pouring down my brow, I fell into that rhythm. Felt the comfort of it. When my heartrate eased, Rory’s fingers slowed a little more. And a little more.

One of the boots lifted and it stepped to the side. The other followed. After a beat, the stalker side-stepped again. Then one more time. Down the way a little, the boots creased, the stalker probably bending forward. A moment later, they moved on.

Still Rory stayed firm, his arms not relenting, his fingers continuing their soft beat against my pulse point. Minutes passed, then more, until I lost track of time altogether. All I knew was his comfortable smell, reminding me of home, and the tap of his fingers against my throat.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity had passed, his chest rose in a deep, silent breath.

“We’re good,” he said, and his arms came away. His legs straightened and then bent off to the sides, leaving me ample room to crawl away. Cold rushed in to replace his warmth and I shivered.

“That was close, too close. You can’t be wandering around alone. Not anywhere, and especially not at night, do you understand?”

His voice stayed even and calm, but I still heard the fear buried deep beneath the words. It set me on edge all over again. Which turned into an anger I couldn’t control.

History also had a way of dredging up old wounds.

I pushed up onto my knees and spun to face him, flinging out my hand and slapping him across the face.

I hadn’t meant to do that last bit.

His striking green eyes, the color just visible this close, surveyed me silently.

“I’m sorry for not telling you where I was going,” he finally said.

I pulled back my hand to slap him again, but at the last moment he reached out and caught my wrist.

“You got the one, and I’ll say I deserved it,” he said, his eyes twinkling now. A little grin pulled at his full lips. “You have to earn the second.”

Rory always could take me from spitting mad to giggling in a second, but I wrestled the smile off my face before it got very far. I couldn’t let my guard down until I got to the bottom of this. I needed a real friend here. Someone I knew I could trust. I had to know if he was still that guy.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked

He shrugged with one broad shoulder, much more muscular than when I’d last seen him. “The letter I got said anyone I told would be in danger. My mom said that they were a brutal organization and were entirely serious. She went to the academy when she was younger, too, with your mom. When I got the envelope was the first I’d heard of it. I said she could have most of the money, and she was gone so fast out of the house I didn’t hear much more about her past.” He shrugged, and suddenly his mom taking off made all kinds of sense. “Your dad and Tank hadn’t told you about the academy, and my mom said it was probably safer for you if you didn’t know. I didn’t want you to get hurt, Belle, honest. I was thinking of you, otherwise I never would’ve lied about something like that.”

My heart squished but we still had unfinished business.

“Fine. Then what about Tommy? You must’ve been there for that.” Tears blinded me, the pain still so raw. It had never healed, not even with time. “You didn’t come home for his funeral.” The last was an accusation. A plea to help me forgive him.

He reached forward to touch my knee, then pulled back at the last moment. I couldn't have said why. He dropped both hands between his legs, hunching his shoulders, the picture of a man defeated.

“I wasn’t there when Tank died, no. I should’ve been. I didn’t want to go to this lousy school. Any lousy school. I’d always planned to stay in Texas with you guys and help out with the farm. But when the recruiter told me that Tank was here, I came for him. To watch his back. I figured, if I had this skill, I should use it to protect my family…my real family…” He lifted his hands for a moment, then dropped them again. “This magic I have, Tank had it, too. If he did, I knew you surely would. I figured you’d be here in no time, lighting the place up like you always do. But…” He shook his head. “Tank kept a lot to himself. I didn’t know what kind of trouble was dogging his steps until it was too late. I came here to get his back, but when he needed me the most, I wasn't there. I wasn’t there.” Those last three words were spoken so softly I wasn’t sure he even knew he’d said them aloud.