Page 91 of Shadow Kissed

Arkynn turns to face me and walks backwards as we talk. “Well, what else would he be if he wasn’t a scath?”

“What about the Flame Borne? They have a vested interest in bringing the Shadow Borne down.”

Arkynn looks at me like I’ve grown another head. “Come on, Rey. The Flame Borne can’t access our realm. What matters is that the man at the top wants what we want, and that’s bringing the scaths to their knees and driving them out of our realm.”

He turns and stalks ahead of me and I hurry my steps to catch up with him. “They suspect, you know, that there are Asen soldiers here working for the rebellion. If you're caught, Ark…”

He whirls around so suddenly that I bump into his chest and stagger back. “If I’m caught, then I’ll face the consequences and I’ll die for what I believe in. Are you willing to do the same?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ark sighs, and he rubs at his chin. “Nothing, forget I said anything.” He turns to give me his back again and I reach out and grasp his arm.

“No, come on, spit it out. You clearly have something to say to me!”

He clears his throat. “it’s just you seem to be content in their company. There are rumours flying around about you and the Lord Commander.”

I glare at him, and he shuffles under my glare. “I’m in their company because I have no choice. They are my teachers. You know how I feel about being here and their part in all of this. You, out of everyone, should know how I feel.” I huff. “And what do you mean, there are rumours?”

He looks uncomfortable, but he’s opened this can of worms so he can damn well finish what he started. “Some soldiers say that you’re lovers.”

I reel back at his words. “That’s just ridiculous!” My cheeks heat. “You believe that I’d touch one of them?” Even as the words spill from my mouth, images of me kissing him, of him reaching under my skirt, flick through my mind. I’m a terrible person. I literally am cavorting with the enemy.

“I know! I know you wouldn’t, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you, sunshine. He looks at you like you're something he shouldn’t want, but he does.”

I snicker. “Trust me. He hates Asen women. He’s said so to me.” I step up closer to Ark and meet his eyes. “There’s nothing going on between me and the Lord Commander. Trust me.” The lie slides off my tongue.

Guilt flicks across his features. “Gods, Rey. I’m sorry. You’re right. I am aware that you would never sink to such a level. It would kill me if you ever chose one of them.”

“Then you need to make sure your illusive leader gets me out of there at the reaping because otherwise I’ll have no choice but to be tied to one of them for the rest of my life.”

I grimace inside at what a terrible person I am. Enough is enough. Whatever this thing is between me and the commander, it has to stop. My loyalty is to my people and my realm and not with a foreigner whose kisses bewitch me.

“Come on, we’re going to be late. Let’s get moving,” he urges, and we carry on the rest of our journey through the tunnels in silence. Guilt settles heavy on my shoulders and weighs me down.

We make it to the meeting just in time, slipping in at the back. I keep my hat on, and my head tilted down so no one can see my eyes. I remember my mother once making a crystal eye for one of our villagers when a tragic accident cost him his eye, she made it from clear quartz, and it makes me wonder if one could grind and sand it thin enough if a crystal such as lapis lazuli could alter the appearance of my eye colour and make them appear blue. If I was to go into hiding after the reaping ceremony, I would need to do something about my eyes. If only I had access to my mother’s tools from her workshop, I could put my theory to the test.

Corlan updates us on the drive to bring in new members and emphasises the need to keep sharing the story out there that the Shadow Kissed females weren’t kidnapped, but they were rescued and willingly sought salvation from their destiny.

An older man with a greying beard raises his hand from where he sits with beside a younger man that going off appearances could be his son. “What about the nightmares? Rumour is that people are having them again. We have enough trouble on our hands with the scaths; last thing we need is the Night Realm joining in.” There are mumbles of agreement andexpressions of concern from around the room, and Corlan holds up his hand to silence them.

“Our leader believes that there have always been Night Borne living amongst us here in Asen. He believes that the Shadow Borne are also aware of this and working to hunt them down and kill them before they can open the gateway to the sleeping realm.”

There are gasps of shock from around the room and it erupts once again into a flurry of expletives and hurried conversation as people process this news. The Shadow Realm stood to lose a lot if the Night Realm gateway opened. If what my professor had told us this morning was true, then Vespera, as the realm was known to its people, had an abundance of sunstone mountains. The very crystal that could kill a Shadow Borne.

Corlan calms the talk down and ushers everyone on to the next item on the agenda. I zone out, my mind still fixed upon the news that there could be Night Borne walking amongst us. My mind drifts back to my mother’s dying words and her warnings to me about the Shadow Borne. ‘Never let them know who you truly are’A cold chill runs down my spine as I add up the dots. ‘The Night Borne can project your worst fears as if you are living them’

It couldn’t possibly be, could it?

There is no way that my mother could have been warning me I was of night blood?

“Reya! Asen to Reya!” I blink, finding Arkynn waving his hands in front of me. “Where did you drift off to?” he asks, chuckling at me, but when I don’t laugh back, he sobers. “Are you okay? You’ve gone awful pale.”

I shake my head and plaster on a smile. “I’m fine. I was just daydreaming. It’s been a long day.” I look around in surprise when I notice the others are all leaving. Has the meeting finished?

“Corlan would like to speak with us in private once the others have gone,” he explains when he sees my confusion.

“Oh, Okay,” I reply, nodding. My mind is still reeling from the crazy idea that I could be one of the Night Borne living here on Asen, but it was nonsense. I’m allowing my imagination to run away with me. The very idea itself is crazy.

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