Page 95 of Acedia

Iris smiled a little too brightly. “Very sure. It will be so lovely.”

“Damen, hurry up,” Astrid ordered, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. It may have been the most unsettled I’d ever seen her.

“Focus,” Iris said sternly, grabbing my jaw with both hands and holding my head in place. “We can talk about dinner afterward, okay? Focus on the task at hand.”

“Yes, princess.” Her scent immediately sweetened, and I was incredibly smug about it. “I’ll see you soon.”

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, wishing I could more blatantly tell everyone that Iris was mine in a way that wouldn’t be off-putting to her, before joining the others and heading through the portal.

Our small party was comprised of Astrid, Soren, Andrus, Galen, and myself—and only Andrus and Galen would actually be feeding. The rest of us were there for protection, and to scope things out and make sure it was all above board.

“Everyone ready?” Soren asked, keeping a hand on Astrid’s back as we headed toward the agreed-upon exit point near a park.

“Absolutely,” Andrus replied, rolling back his shoulders. “I’ve been ready for this since the day feeding in the human realm was banned.”

“Be smart about it,” Soren warned irritably. He was too noble to say out loud that Andrus was one of his least favorite members of the Guard, but I was confident it was true.

Harlow was waiting for us when we emerged through the darkness of the trees, dressed head to toe in black with a look of grim determination on her face. In my incorporeal form, I couldn’t communicate with her, but Astrid could translate. Her mating mark from Soren had given her the ability to hear us speaking to one another.

“How is everything looking?” Astrid asked, voice tight with tension.

“No concerns,” Harlow replied, whipping out a device I’d come to learn was called a phone. “I’ve got a live feed going too,” she said, showing Astrid the small, bright rectangle. “Um, do you guys need instructions or anything? You’ll just do your thing right?” she asked, looking between our shadowy forms.

“They don’t need instructions,” Astrid replied, a faint smirk on her face as she glanced at us. “You’ve got two minutes. In and out this trip, remember?”

Off you go, Soren ordered.

As agreed, Andrus and Galen shot off in different directions. I trailed after Andrus since he was the more experienced of the two and better able to handle himself, while Soren went after Galen and Astrid waited by the entry point so we could leave quickly.

Andrus quickly zeroed in on his target—a woman tapping away on her phone, not paying attention to her surroundings as she walked through the dark, silent park. A chill ran down her spine as Andrus approached, and she shut off the bright light, tucking the device close to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself, looking around as though someone was going to snatch the phone away at any moment.

Andrus struck immediately, taking advantage of the opportunity the woman and unknowingly given him by turning her portable light off. He pressed his face close to hers, drinking down her fear like it was water, his form growing darker and more defined as he drew strength.

And then it was done. The woman’s casual nighttime stroll turned into a jog to get back to the safety of the streetlights. Andrus was fed and pleased with himself.

It was dull and routine and predictable.

Exactly the way it should be.

This was the way it was always meant to be, and balance was finally returning. A little fear—the kind of fear that kept you cautious and alert—was part of the human experience.

But it was part of the Shade one too. The human realm was our equalizer, the one place where irrespective of power level, a Shade was vulnerable. Maybe some of the egos at court that had grown increasingly outsized over the past few weeks would shrink back down to normal when they experienced this level of risk once more.

Or maybe they wouldn’t—only time would tell.

But for now, my priority was going home to my love. I had a question for her that I desperately needed an answer to.

“Why are you in such a rush?” Soren asked. “Where are you going?”

“I thought I might try proposing again.”

Astrid coughed loudly, giving me a slightly disbelieving look. “Really?”

“Yes,” I said decisively. “I can see now that I asked too early last time—a foolish error in hindsight. And then I labored underthe ridiculous notion that I shouldn’t propose againat all, which was obviously not the right call.”

“And what is the right call?” Soren asked curiously.

“Keep asking until Iris says yes.”

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