Alex was startled by the unexpected interruption. One minute Caspar Lennox had been speaking about the lords and ladies of Deveraux House, circa two hundred years ago, and the next he was asking her to stay back after his lesson. At her hesitant nod, he continued his discussion as if there had been no change of topic.
‘Baffled’ didn’t come close to describing how Alex felt. She was so intrigued by the Shadow Walker’s request that she barely paid attention to the rest of his class. Thankfully, there were only a few minutes left before the gong rang and her friends and classmates filed out the door, leaving her alone with the professor.
Caspar Lennox sat on the edge of his desk and did nothing but stare at her for a full minute. It was unnerving to the point where Alex found herself fidgeting under his gaze.
“Sir?” she asked when she couldn’t take the silence any longer. “Have I done something wrong
“Not yet,” he said, his musical voice floating over to her. “But the future isn’t set in stone. I have no way of knowing the choices you’ll make.”
It was now Alex’s turn to stare.
“Never before have I come across a human quite like you,” Caspar Lennox murmured pensively.
Alex thought he might have been complimenting her until he added, “I’ve never known anyone who could find themselves surrounded by so much trouble in such a short amount of time. You truly are a unique individual.”
“Uh, thanks?” Really, how was she supposed to respond to that?
The Shadow Walker continued to stare at her. But then Alex realised he wasn’t staring at her, so much as through her. It was like he was looking for something else, something only he could see.
“The Shadow surrounds you,” he said, his bottomless eyes slightly unfocused. “But the Light within you… I’ve never seen anything like it. Even the Dayriders pale in comparison.”
His words left Alex feeling completely lost. She wasn’t sure what question to ask first, so she settled on, “What’s a Dayrider?”
Caspar Lennox blinked a few times until his eyes cleared again, and when he spoke, he acted as if she hadn’t. “Alexandra, we’re all born with Shadow inside us. But, as with anything, it’s up to us to decide what we do with that Shadow. We can succumb to its power, or we can overcome it and use it. Our level of control depends upon our ability to resist the Shadow’s hold on us. It’s a choice we must all make.”
He paused, apparently waiting for Alex to respond.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not sure I understand what you’re telling me. Or why,” Alex admitted. “When you say ‘we’, do you mean your race? And are you talking about Shadow Essence? Like, with your cape and my ring? That sort of thing?”
Caspar Lennox looked at her steadily and continued, more quietly than before, “Sometimes the Shadow can overwhelm us. The power it offers… The temptation can be too strong to resist. If we yield to it, it’s almost impossible to return to the Light. Unless there’s someone willing to help us find our way back.”
Alex was well and truly confused, finding herself with more questions than answers. But before she could figure out what to ask the professor, he snapped his head to the side as if he’d heard an unexpected noise in the room.
“Remember my words, Alexandra,” he said, rising from his seat with the ever-present cloud of shadows swirling around his feet. “Remember my warning.”
When she continued to look at him in bewilderment, he added a firm, “You’re dismissed.”
She had little choice but to leave, despite the fact that she didn’t know why he’d asked her to remain behind in the first place.
“What was that about?” Jordan asked when she met her friends in the food court for dinner a few minutes later.
“I have no idea,” Alex said, shaking her head in bemusement.
“Huh,” Jordan hummed, but he let the subject drop, probably sensing her confusion.
“Any chance you can help me with my Chem assignment, Bear?” D.C. asked their friend, pulling some broccoli from her stir-fry and wrinkling her nose at the vegetable. “I don’t get what Fitzy wants me to do with the Gorgonite. Is it supposed to react in water or in the air? Or just when it’s heated up?”
“I finished that assignment a few days ago,” Jordan jumped in before Bear could answer. “I can help if you want?”
Alex looked at Bear to find him glancing back at her with an equally knowing—and amused—look on his face. In their eyes, Jordan was so obvious. But, amazingly, D.C. seemed oblivious to his increasing attention of late.
At first, Jordan had kept his intentions subtle. He’d walked D.C. to class, asked her to hang out with him in the Rec Room, and offered to study with her in the Library—as un-Jordan-like as that was. But lately he’d stepped up his game, much to Alex and Bear’s entertainment.
“You don’t mind?” D.C. asked, looking at him from under her eyelashes.
Alex hid a smile and wondered if perhaps her roommate knew exactly what Jordan was doing. What a conniving little… princess. Alex almost laughed out loud at the idea of D.C. knowing all about Jordan’s infatuation. Because that meant she wasn’t discouraging him—which in turn meant she, just possibly, reciprocated his feelings.
Alex could already imagine their cute little strawberry-blond children frolicking around the palace years into the future.
“What are you thinking about, Alex? You have a weird look on your face.”
She coughed awkwardly and said, “Uh, I was just thinking about… cheese.”
Cheese? Really?
“You know, mozzarella,” she added, seeing their disbelieving expressions. “It tastes so great. All stretchy and… uh… flavoursome. Like rubber.”
To add emphasis to her nonsensical words, she picked up the slice of pizza in front of her and bit into it, “mmmm-ing” as she chewed.
“Right,” D.C. said, looking at her strangely. “Anyway…”
Alex was relieved when they returned to their conversation and the attention left her again. She swallowed her mouthful and glanced up to catch Bear’s twinkling eyes. He probably knew exactly what she’d been thinking—most likely because he’d been thinking the same thing. She mock-glared at him, and his grin widened.
“All right, enough Chemistry,” Bear said a few minutes later, and Alex nearly choked on her food at his double meaning. “Let’s talk about Kaldoras.”
“What’s to say?” Jordan asked. “I can’t wait for Gammy’s apple pie.”
Alex felt her mouth watering in anticipation. Bear’s grandmother made the best food Alex had ever tasted. When she’d stayed with the Ronnigans last Kaldoras, she’d been introduced to Gammy’s famous apple pie—and she could honestly say it was too incredible for words.
“I spoke with Mum yesterday and she asked me to confirm you’re all coming back to Woodhaven with me,” Bear said.
“You know I’m in, mate,” Jordan said, shoving a meatball into his mouth and swallowing quickly. “There’s no place I’d rather be.”