Page 39 of Shadows and Stone

The sudden, sharp sound of a lock turning makes my eyes snap open.

I whip my head toward the doors. They're closed now. A shadow stands between me and the exit. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. My heart races, but the first thought that comes to mind is probably a stupid one. Ryker is going to be pissed.

"Teagan," a voice rasps.

My blood turns cold.

That voice. A voice I’d know anywhere. It’s the same voice that spent a whole year singing next to me under blinding stadium lights, and the same voice that accused me of ruining his life when I walked away from our group’s contract renewal.

Out from the shadows steps a tall, lean figure wearing an ill-fitting dark suit. His hair is dyed a faded crimson, messy beneath a black masquerade mask that barely hides the sharp, hollow line of his jawline and the intense, unblinking glare fixed entirely on me.

"Jae-hyun..." The name escapes my throat in a terrified, strangled breath.

Three years ago, he was my fellow bandmate, hopelessly infatuated with me and desperate to keep our group together. Now, he’s just a ghost of my past—fueled by pure envy, delusion, and a lingering obsession that followed me all the way to Creelin.

He looks older somehow, like life aged him ten years rather than three.

"You remembered my name!" Jae-hyun steps forward, a ecstatic grin stretching across his pale face. He holds something tightly in his right hand. It’s a large, rusted iron spike with a jagged tip. "I knew you hadn't forgotten me, Tae. I knew it! All those fake people around you... that monster you were dancing with..."

I immediately press my back against the wall, my mind racing. The corridor is empty. The doors to the main hall are shut to block out the noise of the intermission setup.

"Jae-hyun, stop right there," I say, forcing my voice to stay as steady. I keep my tone clear like the practiced tone I use when dealing with press. I walk backward, never taking my eyes off my stalker. "You shouldn't be here."

"Shouldn’t be here?" He laughs. A high, manic sound. He takes another step closer, twirling the iron spike between his dirty fingers. "I followed you across the fucking ocean, Teagan! I gave up everything for you! I watched you from the shadows while you smiled for those stupid-ass cameras. I sent you gifts! I left you messages! And what do you do? You throw yourself at a monster!"

His face contorts. He steps fully into the light, and I see the scratches on his hands, the bags under his eyes. He looks wrong. So fucking wrong. Like he hasn’t been eating or sleeping properly.

"That creature corrupted you," Jae-hyun sneers. He lunges forward, pinning me hard against the stone wall. His weight slams into my chest, trapping my arms. My head hits the wall behind me and my vision swims. I can’t push him off. He brings the sharp iron spike right up to my neck, the cold metal biting into my skin. "He put his filthy, non-human hands on you. But it’s okay, Teagan. I'm going to fix it. I'm taking you home tonight. We can restart our band, find new idols to join. We can tour together again, as a couple."

I swallow hard. Angry, confused tears flood my eyes. My breath comes in short, panicked hitches. I look past his shoulder, down the empty corridor toward the closed doors of the ballroom.

I should scream for help from campus security. Maybe call out for Dean Yaga, but I don’t.

I take a deep breath, throw my head back, and scream for the only person on my mind.

"Ryker!"

Chapter eighteen

Ryker

Agargoyle’s mind is a wonderful thing. I once read that it takes less than a heartbeat for a gargoyle to sense danger. I don’t know if its true, but I sure as shit feel it. I’m standing near the refreshment table, holding two cups of iced punch, when every fine hair along the back of my neck stands on end. The scent of something foul with a metallic tang makes my stomach plunge.

A door clicks closed. I pivot sharply, my tail lashing out and sweeping past a startled student in a werewolf mask. The spot near the propped-open side doors where I left Teagan is empty. That damn door is closed.

The gargoyle I nodded to earlier rushes forward. That mother fucker. He was supposed to be watching my mate!

"Teagan!" My voice cuts through the chatter and the music.

Nothing.

A cold adrenaline pumps through my veins. My gargoyle instincts flare into full, blinding panic.

Where the fuck is my mate?

I drop the cups, moving before the liquid even hits the floor. I slam into the double doors leading to the side corridor with my shoulder, shoving them open so hard the handles slam against the stone walls like gunshots.

The hallway is dark. Dimly lit by flickering wall sconces, the long stone passage stretches out. Then I hear it. My name.