Page 62 of Shadow's Claim

"Direct intervention," he confirms, shadows darkening around his massive form. His upper arms create protective barriers while his lower pair reaches for me, drawing me deeper into the shadows. "The official transfer order has been reinstated."

The walls shake again, more violently this time. Dust and debris rain from the ceiling as something massive approaches the abandoned storage facility. Through cracks in the deteriorating structure, I glimpse an unsettling sight—shadows darker than night itself, moving with terrible purpose toward our location.

"We need to go," I say, stating the obvious as fear grips my chest. "Now."

"The transportation is behind this facility," Kael says, guiding me toward a back exit. "But Obscura will have surrounded the perimeter."

The hybrid suddenly shifts inside me, its movements almost frantic. Its consciousness floods my mind with urgency—not just fear but determination, accompanied by images I can barely comprehend. Shadows folding in on themselves, darkness becoming doorway, a passage through nothingness.

"Shadow transit," I realize aloud. "Like we did before."

Kael's glowing eyes fix on me with surprise. "That would require significant shadow manipulation. Your previous transit nearly exhausted you."

"Not me," I clarify, feeling the hybrid's consciousness push against my mind with unmistakable intent. "It wants to try. It thinks it can create a shadow path."

Disbelief crosses Kael's face. "That's impossible. The offspring isn't even born?—"

Another violent shake interrupts him, a large section of ceiling collapsing mere feet from where we stand. Through the new opening, six massive arms become visible, manipulating darkness with terrible precision as they tear the building apart around us.

"Choice made," I say as the hybrid's consciousness floods me with determined energy. "Tell me what to do."

To his credit, Kael adapts instantly to our desperate situation. "Focus on the shadows," he instructs, his four arms creating patterns that draw darkness toward us in swirling currents. "Not as absence of light, but as doorway between locations."

I close my eyes, concentrating on the hybrid's guidance rather than my own limited understanding. The shadow patterns beneath my skin burn with cold fire, darkness gathering around my fingertips like living extension of my will. This feels different from before—more controlled, more deliberate. Not just borrowing Kael's power, but channeling something that belongs to all three of us.

"Visualize our destination," Kael continues, his voice steady despite the destruction closing in around us. "The territorial boundary. The neutral zone beyond."

The hybrid's consciousness provides the image—a desolate stretch of land where shadow-rich architecture gives way to barren territory unclaimed by any Prime species. I've never been there, but the hybrid pulls the knowledge from Kael's mind, creating bridge between us that transcends normal communication.

My hands move in patterns I don't consciously direct, the hybrid working through me to manipulate shadows in ways I couldn't possibly know. Darkness gathers before us, folding inward like fabric being tucked into itself, creating what looks like a tear in reality—a doorway made of living shadow.

"Remarkable," Kael breathes, his glowing eyes wide with astonishment. "This shouldn't be possible."

The ceiling above us tears away completely, revealing Sovereign Obscura in terrible glory—nine feet of midnight-black skin, six muscular arms extending to grasp the very fabric of darkness around us. Eyes containing swirling galaxies of purple fire fix upon me with hungry intent.

"The specimen will be secured," Obscura's voice resonates directly in my mind, bypassing my ears entirely. "The offspring belongs to the future of our species."

The hybrid responds to this threat with startling ferocity, its consciousness burning against my mind as shadow patterns across my skin flare with brilliant purple light. The shadow doorway solidifies before us, edges sharpening into defined portal.

"Now!" I gasp, grabbing Kael's hand and pulling him toward our escape route.

Our fingers intertwine, his midnight-black skin against my shadow-patterned palm. This touch feels different from all those that came before—not claiming, not ownership, but partnership in desperate flight.

We plunge into darkness just as Obscura's six arms reach for us, the shadow transit swallowing us completely. The last thing I see before reality dissolves is the Sovereign's expression—not rage at our defiance, but calculating interest in the hybrid's unprecedented power.

Then we're falling through darkness absolute, the hybrid's consciousness guiding us toward uncertainty, toward danger, toward possibility.

Toward freedom.

CHAPTER23

SHADOW BIRTH

Shadow transit islike being turned inside out while someone throws you into a blender—not painful exactly, but definitely the weirdest sensation I've ever experienced. My body feels simultaneously weightless and crushed, like floating in space while being hugged by a python. Darkness surrounds me completely, not as absence but as substance—thick, velvet-soft, alive with currents and eddies.

Throughout this impossible journey, two anchors keep me from losing myself entirely—Kael's firm grip on my hand and the hybrid's consciousness burning bright within my mind, guiding us through the void with surprising confidence.

One moment we're plunging through absolute darkness, and the next?—

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