Page 73 of Ties of Shadow

I pressed my fingertips across his lips. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

I leaned forward, threading my fingers through his locks. Then I pulled him down, crashing my lips into his. My hand rested on his chest, my fingertips touched his collarbone, and his heart thudded against my palm. His arms wrapped around me, one hand grazing my ribcage, the other gripping my hip, pulling me toward him. White light exploded between us as my necklace beamed. Heat ripped through my chest and burned its way around my heart. My soul sang. The mark on my neck tingled pleasantly. And when we finally pulled apart, the Sh—no, Shea—pulled up his sleeve and tugged on the top edge of his leather bracelet to reveal a swirl: two arms thinning as they spun once, twice around itself in a widening circle. His completed black bond mark. His fingers tickled my neck as he traced what must have been a similar pattern. So that’s where his mark was.

Brightness burst between us, but it wasn’t from my necklace alone anymore. Looking down, my hands glowed, my skin bright with its own light. Shea gaped. Hot white heat burst from two points in my back, streaking outward on either side like sunlight through storm clouds. I turned and saw impossible wings that arced behind me. I had magic. Light magic. I laughed.

Shea’s shadows, now as dark as night, contrasted like darkness around a candle flame. They reached forward, danced along the edge of the brightest beams, wrapped about my ankles, slid through my hair, and traced circles along my spine. His emotions, awe and contentment, flooded through me with the strong scent of forests in winter.The bond was complete. He was mine, and I was his, and no one would take him from me.

“The power of a full, heartfelt, powerful yes.” Shea smiled. “I knew it! When we played hide and seek as children, I swore you glowed in the dark! But then my stupid father and idiot brother and those ridiculous nobles drained you dry. You poured out yourself for others for so long, Dayspring.” He cackled. “Look at how amazing you are.”

A wrenching cry ripped through the wonder. The worm was pulling back. Its eyes clenched shut, and it whipped its head back and forth. Shea dropped his shadows to the ground to see what was happening and held my hand. My light burst brighter at the contact.

“Too bright. Too much light.”It wailed. “Give me what’s mine, and I’ll go,” the worm cried. What’s his? Shea looked behind us. His irritation vibrated under my skin.

The prince and a group of soldiers were closing in behind us, rallying for another fight. Shea pierced Leon with a glare. “What did you take?”

The prince shifted his grip on his pommel as he stood at the ready. “An egg.”

“An egg?!” Shea cried, the shadows boiling along the ground in wild waves at his agitation. “You stole an egg? Is it alive?”

“It is. We were going to study it and raise it…you know. For science. For the kingdom’s defense,” the prince replied weakly.

Rolling his eyes, Shea turned back to the worm. “We will give you your young,” he said. “Then will you leave?”

The worm swayed his head back and forth.“Stop destroying my home.”

Shea added, “She wants to know if you’ll stop digging.” Oh. She was a mother worm, of course.

“She has my word,” the prince cried back.

“Mine too!” The king regent had stepped forward to the edge of the broken balcony. “Leave us in peace, beast, and we will leave you to yours!” he shouted. The worm growled at the him, who stumbled back into his galers.

“Very well.”The worm held still, lowering her head until she lay not twelve feet from us, her uninjured eyes glaring at Shea as she waited. The rest of the creatures from the caverns held still as well. The cloudy sky was lightening by degrees. The badger stood atop of the wall with a long spyring leg dangling from its mouth. The crunching echoed in the stillness. As we waited, my glow settled slightly, still present but not blinding.

Several long moments later, a massive egg was rolled out from the stables by twelve soldiers, with several ropes holding it onto a wheeled platform. Pitch black, impenetrable shadows raced across the courtyard and lifted the massive object, waiting for the soldiers to drop the rope. Then the shadows delicately set it before the creature.

“For the mother worm. May you go in peace,” Shea said.

We stepped back as the worm lunged forward and grasped the egg as tenderly as a toothy-vortex ever could.“May you keep your word.”She rumbled as she dove back into her caverns. She screeched, apparently calling to her creepy minions, and they all fled back into the darkness.

Shadows billowed, stretching around the castle, looking for stragglers. They wrapped the entire castle and filled the courtyard. Soldiers shifted uncomfortably as they brushed by, but when no more monsters were found, the shadows retracted back to Shea. With a smile, his hand slipped along the small of my back, and he pulled me to him. The happiness in my chest bubbled up again, and my skin brightened by degrees. I felt a little sheepish—definitely uneasy with this new magic. Shea felt my discomfort and kissed my temple.

“Shine brightly, Dayspring. Don’t hold back.”

I smiled, unable to restrain the shine now. Shea’s shadows traced the beams of light, thrilling and vibrating the very center of my soul. “Kiss me, Shea. Don’t hold back.”

Shea leaned down, his breath tickling against my lips.

“Wait.” I stopped him with a hand to his chest.

“Wait? What? Why?” Annoyance filtered through the bond.

I tugged on his collar. “You never said it.”

“Said what? Oh.” He planted a quick kiss on my lips, brightening the light around us. “I think you’re kind of okay.”

The Shade, a being of darkness and shadow, swept me backward in a glorious kiss. Our magic danced together—a beautiful mosaic of power—before he answered. “I love you, Dayspring. I have liked you since we were children, and I have loved you since you stumbled into my manor, and I will love and protect you forever. Every night needs day, every shadow is born from light, and every darkness needs a spark of hope.” Shea smiled. “You are my perfect match in every way.”

His lips met mine in a gentle fervor. Our emotions threaded together, woven in a contrasted tapestry of magic.My magic. His touch was gentle. Mine was not. I pulled him closer, wrapping my arms more tightly around his neck. I had chosen him, and I would never let him go. The clouds were thinning as the sun beamed at us from the horizon. We pulled apart, and a prickling discomfort made me fully aware of our audience.

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