Page 87 of Shadows of Ruin

I needed him for more than crossing the void though. I was tired of fighting it. I craved his presence. Desperate to be close to him, to touch him, to be by his side. The inexplicable draw to feel his shadows around me thrummed in me almost constantly.

Our lives were clearly intertwined by these damnedprophecies. But some moments made it feel like so much more than that.

Thirty more minutes passed of my circular thinking of Ian, plans to leave, Kade, and back to Ian. My torment throwing me between pain, grief, fear, and need. All I had succeeded in was creating knots in my hair and wrinkles in the covers from my constant movement.

I grabbed the black satin pillow from behind me and placed it over my head, screaming in frustration.

A whisper of a breeze rustled the covers down my body. I frowned but didn’t remove the pillow.

The covers moved on top of me again, and I jerked up, looking down the bed to find I wasn’t alone.

Kade’s shadows were here.

They pulled the covers off, whipping them back. I cocked my head to the side. Were they playing?

Would it be absolutely ridiculous if I tried to pet them?

I let out an incredulous breath.Get it together, Lana. They are shadows, not a damn pugron.

That thought only reminded me of Lucien. A smile played on my lips thinking of my brave, ferocious pugron waiting for me at home.

Kade’s shadows moved up the bed and snaked behind me, pushing me to the edge of the mattress.

“What are you doing?”

They stalled momentarily before pushing harder, pressing against my back and wrapping around my front.

They called to me. Wanted me for something.

Quickly, I grabbed the pair of training pants strewn on a chair next to the bed and shoved my feet into the flat brown shoes I’d taken to wearing here.

The shadows tremored urgently. The dark pool of them slipping under the door worried me, turning what I thought playful fun into an anxious need to get to Kade. The distancefrom Kade’s room to mine must be stretching their limits. I’d never seen them extended so far away from him.

I opened the door, slipping out and following their trail, all while they danced in front of me.

Come.

An ache from deep within urged me forward.

They shifted from a large outpouring to a singular trail.

Follow.

We silently moved together, calling on my skills as the Hidden Henchman to sneak down the hall. Before we rounded the corner to get to Kade’s room, the shadows halted.

Stay.

The shadows crept up my body, surrounding me just as they had when they’d protected me in a hallway similar to this back home. When they’d shielded me from Casimir.

A blanket of night stretched into the hall itself, no lights giving me away. Regardless, there was no doubt in my mind the shadows would protect me.

Click.

The sound of a handle made the faintest noise down the hall. I peeked around the corner to find King Dargan exiting Kade’s room.

What was he doing in Kade’s room at this hour?

The king glanced up and down the hallway, dropping a small object in his pocket, as he walked forward. Directly toward me.

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