Page 149 of Every Shade of Shadow

“You have me—all of me,” I tell him.

He flashes me one of his patent smiles, though I don’t see any malice in it now. “Very well. Tonight, you ascend fully, but make no mistake, this is the most dangerous trial of all.”

Thunder sounds somewhere outside the castle walls, echoes around the room.

“Tonight,” Darkwood begins, “we will share consciousness completely. You will know me, all of me, and in return, I shall know all of you. This…exposure, this…vulnerability.” He falters. “I have never shared it with anyone else before.”

“I’m ready, my love,” I tell him, knowing I’m testing the waters with that term of endearment. “I’m ready for all of you,” I say, mirroring my former statement.

He nods, but it’s resigned, almost mournful. “This is a spell that must be fed to maintain. The energy required is astounding. It only exists naturally in one, singular source. I have brought this source to us tonight.”

The thunder booms again.

He lifts his hand, a shimmering portal opening up to his left, but I can’t see what’s beyond it. Could be Nirvana. Could be a pit of needles.

But the trust between us has come so far. Tonight is nothing like the first time I met him in his chambers. Back then I was shivering with fear. Now that fear is gone. Whatever this is, I must ascend if we are to have any chance against Mortis.

“After you,” he says.

I pull in a tight breath, walking to the portal and stepping through.

I emerge into something cold and wet.

The Professor comes through behind me, the portal dissipating.

It takes me a while to get my bearings, but it soon becomes obvious where we are.

I lift my hand to my brow to shield it from the needling rain.

We’re on the roof of the castle.

A bolt of lightning dances, hot white, across the sky, illuminating gray clouds overhead.

The clouds swirl above us, dark and heavy.

The thunder comes again, far more present now.

Another bolt of lightning cuts down into the distant forest, the flash lingering.

The Professor leads me to the center of the roof, my naked flesh protesting in the rain.

"Are you certain you wish to proceed?" He has to raise his voice to be heard over the storm, rough with barely contained desire. "This could kill you, Ana.”

For the first time I see fear in his eyes. Perhaps the elements are out of his control. The other trials were dangerous, yes, but he has always been in control of every single detail.

I lift my chin, squaring my shoulders and blinking out the sheeting rain.

"Shall we begin?" he says.

More lightning cracks the sky, illuminating the shadows that cling to his harsh features.

My core clenches, arousal and fear twisting into a molten heat between my legs. “Yes,” I reply.

He grabs my hair, yanking my head back to expose my throat. His teeth graze my skin, a sharp sting that makes me gasp. "Yes, what?"

"Yes, Master." The words spill from my lips, raw and wanting.

"Good girl." He releases me, eyes gleaming with dark promise. "Now, the spell."

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