Page 51 of Shadow's Claim

"This isn't a rescue," I tell him, my hands covering my belly where the shadow patterns pulse with the baby's fear. "This is a killing. You're trying to murder a conscious being who's part of me now."

Constantin steps closer with the injector raised. "You're too far gone," he says, real sadness in his voice. "This is mercy—getting their control off you so you can be yourself again."

He doesn't get it at all. He can't see that I might actually choose this connection, that my attachment to the baby and even to Kael might be my decision rather than some infection. In this moment, I realize Constantin isn't here to free me—he's here to force me back into being the person he wants me to be, by killing part of who I've become.

A huge crash booms from the end of the corridor, and suddenly darkness floods in like a tidal wave. Kael smashes through the light barriers, his four arms controlling shadows with deadly skill. His huge body seems to swallow the emergency lights as he moves toward us, trails of darkness flowing out like reaching fingers.

Constantin turns toward this new threat, pointing his light weapon at Kael. The beam hits Kael's left side, making shadows peel off his body with a sizzling sound like water hitting a hot pan. Kael makes a deep growling noise that vibrates through the walls, but keeps coming forward.

With Constantin distracted by Kael, I suddenly know what I have to do. There's no middle ground anymore. I have to choose. The baby's mind pushes against mine with fear so strong I can taste metal on my tongue.

Something changes inside me—not the baby moving, but something deeper. The shadow patterns on my skin suddenly feel ice-cold and burning hot at the same time. Darkness gathers around my hands without me even trying. Power surges through me like nothing I've ever felt before, the shadows responding to my desperate need to protect my baby.

Without thinking about it, I reach my hands toward Constantin. Shadows shoot from my fingertips like they're part of me, wrapping around his throat with just enough pressure. I don't want to kill him—this man who once meant everything to me—just knock him out so he can't hurt my child.

His eyes go wide with shock. The light weapon falls from his hand as he claws at the shadow tendrils around his neck. I see the moment he realizes what this means—that I'm not the Nova he knew anymore, not the resistance fighter who saw all shadow demons as monsters. I've become something else, something in between worlds.

As Constantin's eyes roll back and he passes out, I keep just enough pressure to make sure he stays unconscious without causing permanent harm. The shadow tendrils follow my thoughts with surprising control, gently laying him on the floor once he's out.

Kael reaches us, his shadows joining with mine naturally. There's no missing what this means—our darkness flowing together to protect what we created. His four arms move around me protectively, making a barrier between us and the rest of Constantin's team who are still fighting the shadow guards.

"You chose," he says simply, his purple eyes glowing intensely.

I look down at Constantin's unconscious body, then at my hands where shadows still dance between my fingers. "Not between you and him," I explain, feeling the baby's mind calm down now that the danger is gone. "Between accepting what I've become and pretending I'm still who I was. I can't go back to being that person."

Kael's shadows mix more completely with mine, wrapping us in darkness. "And what have you become, little translator?" he asks, using the nickname that once marked me as his prisoner but now means something more complicated.

I lift my hands, watching the shadows move across my skin in patterns that match my thoughts. "Something new," I answer, feeling the baby's mind brighten with what feels like hope. "Something that doesn't fully belong in either world—just like our child."

Around us, the fight between light and shadow goes on, a physical version of the war that's been happening inside me for months. But I've made my choice now. Not choosing captivity over freedom. Not giving in over fighting back. But actively deciding to protect the new life we've created—a life that might show us possibilities beyond the simple us-versus-them thinking of both human and shadow demon worlds.

For the first time since my capture, I see a future beyond just surviving. I see a chance to transform—not just my body, but the lines between winner and loser, between captor and captive, between shadow and light.

CHAPTER20

THE CHOICE

Constantin liesunconscious at my feet, shadows still dancing between my fingers like living ink. I can hardly believe what just happened—what I just did. The resistance fighters who came with him are either subdued by shadow guards or have retreated down the corridor, their light weapons creating flickering patterns against the walls as they pull back.

"They'll return," I say, my voice steadier than I expected. "And with more firepower."

Kael nods, his four arms working in coordinated motion to strengthen the shadow barriers around us. "This was merely the first wave. Your former commander is nothing if not persistent."

The hybrid shifts inside me, its consciousness brushing against my mind with something that feels like questions. It's aware enough now to sense the danger, to understand that something significant just happened. I stroke my hand over my rounded belly, feeling the shadow patterns pulse beneath my palm.

"We can't stay here," I say, watching as shadow guards drag Constantin's unconscious body to a secure holding area. The sight should disturb me more than it does. This man was once everything to me—lover, commander, the only person I trusted after the Blood Week took my family. Now he represents a threat to my child, and I find myself monitoring his removal with practical detachment. "Between Constantin's Purists and Obscura's transfer order, we're trapped."

Kael's glowing purple eyes narrow as he surveys the damage to our quarters. Light weapons have burned holes through shadow-rich furniture, leaving edges that smolder with unnatural brightness. The emergency lighting casts everything in eerie red, making the destruction look even more apocalyptic.

"The Umbral Academy," he suggests, turning his attention back to me. "Dr. Grey's scientific authority might provide temporary protection."

"Against Obscura?" I ask, skepticism heavy in my voice. "The Sovereign controls everything in the Shadow Dominion."

"Not entirely." One of Kael's hands—his upper right—gestures toward the corridor where communications equipment still functions despite the attack. "Scientific research holds unique position in shadow hierarchy. Knowledge acquisition occasionally supersedes administrative authority."

I consider our options, which are depressingly few. Staying means facing either Constantin's next extraction attempt or Obscura's transfer order. Running seems impossible—where in the Shadow Dominion could we possibly hide from the Sovereign's surveillance network?

"How would we even get there?" I ask, thinking aloud. "The moment we leave your protected domain, Obscura's forces will intercept us."

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