Page 34 of Every Shade of Shadow

"What do you mean?" I ask nervously.

He looks pensive. "Some who delve too deeply into Shadowcraft lose themselves," he says. "Their minds become warped by dark magic and power. They become cruel, violent...insatiable in their desires."

My shoulders clip back at his words. Insatiable. The memory of my dream, whatever it was, comes rushing back in lurid detail. I squeeze my eyes shut.

"I don't want that," I whisper.

“Yet you want the power it will bring.”

“Yes,” I confess, my mouth once more moving of its own accord.

"Then you must stop this foolish exploration." His hands close over my shoulders, hot even through the fabric of my nightdress. "Promise me.”

I nod, blinking back tears. "I promise."

“I promise, what?”

“I promise, sir,” I add meekly.

His smile grows, crooked and uneven. “Ah, but it has already attached itself to you.”

I go cold, a chill flushing through me completely. I’m all but a standing corpse.

For a long moment he is silent. When he speaks again, his voice is rough, gusseted with emotion. "But we can use this…under my personal tutelage, of course. It can be an asset.”

I nod again, relief flooding through me even as I tremble in his grasp. "Thank you, Professor.”

"Mm," he murmurs again, a whole range of ‘hms’ and ‘mms’ that seem to convey every imaginable emotion. But his eyes gleam with something more than reassurance, something dark and hungry that makes my pulse race. "You are mine to guide, little lamb. And I will lead you into pleasures and power beyond your wildest dreams, but to do so, I need you alive, and well. You’ll need all your strength for what is to come."

The way he says that final word, lets it fall from his lips, that single syllable lingering… It’s too much.

“Are you ready to begin your real training?”

I cross my eyes in confusion. “What? Now?”

His smile grows, crooked and wanton. “As they say inanis, there’s no better time than the present.”

He whispers a rapid-fire spell, fingers lifting and swiveling as if opening a door.

And then, simple as that, everything slides into oblivion.

CHAPTER EIGHT

I open my eyes and blink at the unfamiliar surroundings. Deep red curtains cover what I assume are windows, shrouding the room in shadow.

Where the fuck am I?

My cheeks burn as I realize I'm still in my thin nightdress, the hem riding up to expose my bare thighs. I tug it down and sit up, clutching silken sheets that definitely aren’t from my bed to my chest.

Darkwood emerges from an adjoining room, dressed in tailored black pants and a charcoal vest that accentuates his tall, powerful frame.

His eyes lock onto me, a smoldering intensity flickering in their depths. "Welcome to my chambers." His voice is dark and sinful, the sweetest possible poison.

Heat builds between my legs as I clench my thighs, acutely aware I have no underwear on. How did I end up here? Oh, that’s right, I agreed to it, this so-called ‘training.’

A teleportation spell with non-momentary duration? That’s kind of badass, though.

The Professor prowls toward the bed, gaze devouring my body. He scans me from top to bottom, his eyes settling on my lips. "I will agree to tutor you privately. You will attend sessions with me as I request. But in exchange, you will submit to me completely, in all ways."

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