Page 33 of Shadows of Fate

However, many things that should have come easily, didn’t—where we’d lived beforehand, what my mother looked like, when I’d been turned, how I’d escaped.

I released a breath and forced my mind away from the past that I couldn’t fully piece together, and I gave myself a moment to enjoy the novelty that was water pressure and heated water. Slowly coming back to life, my thoughts started drifting to another male. I tried to steer those thoughts away from him, but he was quickly becoming the main focus of my waking and sleeping thoughts—not that I’d ever tell him that aloud.

Leaning back against the shower wall, all that kept passing through my mind were the visions of him helping me at The Arcane Theater. The way he destroyed the male he saw coming at me with my own dagger. I leaned my head back on the wall and closed my eyes, running my hand over my breast and down my hip bone. The thoughts of him helping me torture and kill Joel. I knew I needed to push my mind elsewhere—on to anyone else. Anything else. But the visions wouldn’t stop coming.

I ran my fingers through my heat, spreading the wetness that had already begun accumulating. He confessed to watching me kill Rogan, he’d begun trying to find me after that. Not to arrest me or imprison me—no, he wanted something much more nefarious.

My fingers skimmed over my clit, and I gasped as I started to picture my fingers as his mouth.

He was knelt in the shower before me, my leg thrown over his shoulder as he ran his tongue through my heat all the way up to my clit. His deep onyx eyes stared up at me through thick lashes. A growl vibrated through his chest when I tried to dig my fingers into his hair to ride his face.

He released a few shadows from his grasp to hold my hands above my head so he could have me just the way he wanted. Another shadow sneaked around my throat and constricted my breathing as he pulled my clit into his mouth. I closed my eyes and tried to move my hips against his mouth, but his massive hands gripped around my waist—refusing to let me move.

“Patience, my little ice queen, I’ll get you there when I wish for you to arrive and not a moment sooner,” he growled against my soaked cunt.

An orgasm hit me almost violently, as I blinked a few times trying to remember where I was, and brought my breathing back down to normal. I slowly caught my breath and rinsed off again, trying to shake off what I just allowed myself to do.

Turning off the water, I stepped out of the shower and dried off quickly. I wasn’t sure how much time I actually had before whomever Raiden was sending would arrive. Donning a pair of black leggings, a thick black sweater, and my black boots, I slid my two shadow stone daggers into my boots. Normally I’d let my hair air-dry out, but I didn’t have time this evening, so I braided it into a simple plait. I was ready to face the world—or in this case, Raiden and the rest of his inner shadow court.

Taking a deep breath, I walked back into my chambers and toward the windows. I’d stayed up for a bit after Raiden left, just standing beside the windows as his shadows covered them, feeling the heat from the sun radiate through. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt the heat of the sun on my skin. There were many things I missed, or I would miss if I could remember having it before I’d been turned. But the sun was one of the top ones.

I could still enjoy food if it was offered to me. Sex was of course still available. But the sun? I couldn’t remember it. All of the random memories that came back to me through my dreams, the miscellaneous flashbacks, none of them had been me enjoying a day in the sun with my sister or helping my mother tend the garden. Nothing I’d heard of human families doing together.

I was always hopeful something would slide through, but it hadn’t. Not yet anyway.

A gentle knock at my door brought me back down from my thoughts. Raiden sent one of his lackeys to come and collect me after all. I hadn’t left my chambers since I’d been shown to them. Any other time, I more than likely would have. It wasn’t every day one had the opportunity to explore the entire home of a court ruler. However, collecting my thoughts and making a plan on how best to ignore the way the shadow court ruler made my insides feel seemed like a better use of my time.

Upon opening the door I saw the same male that had brought me here before sunrise. A small smile on his face. He was a bit shorter than Raiden. His skin reminded me of the color of the trees when you peeled bark from them to see what lay underneath. His eyes were what truly stood out, though. They were a stunning shade of dark forest-green that against his skin tone almost looked unnatural.

“Raiden asked me to show you the way to the library. I’m Bastian, by the way. I don’t think I actually introduced myself before,” he said.

I nodded. “I appreciate the guide, Bastian. I’m Silvana, but I’m sure His Lordship already told you that.”

He chuckled and stepped back, waving his arm for me to follow beside him. “I feel like he’s finally met his match after all.”

I arched a brow, confused. “What does that mean?”

Bastian was still smiling as he led me down the hall toward a set of stairs. The entire building was stunning. Walking across the small bridge that led to the front door, I felt like my soul had finally found that slice of heaven I’d always longed for. Of course, it’d be here of all places.

From the dark, graying stone, to the ivy and roses growing up the sides of the castle—because that’s what this was. I didn’t care what Raiden called it, a castle was a better term in my opinion. There was a dense fog covering a great bit of the building itself, but you could just feel the power and tranquility here.

I glanced back at Bastian, patiently waiting for him to explain himself, but I had a feeling he had no intention of doing so. So, I chose a different avenue of questions.

“How’s Allie?” I asked.

The smile still hadn’t left the male’s face. What exactly was his purpose here? He seemed like he knew too much and enjoyed it.

“She’s doing quite well, actually. She’ll be in the library with Raiden and Micah, waiting for you, I’m sure. She’s been a great help to Micah while gathering information,” Bastian stated.

“Is Raiden not going to find her somewhere safe to go?” I expected him to get her out of the city. Not let his friends keep her as a pet. I could feel my anger rising, and Bastian noticed.

He stopped in the middle of the stairway and looked at me, the smile finally falling from his face. “To be clear, Silvana, no one has forced Allie to stay here. She asked to stay and help. This is where she wanted to be, so we let her do so. In return, she’s provided us with an insurmountable font of information. She’s been well taken care of, given space when needed, her own chambers, and more. You can ask her yourself if you’re so worried.”

Bastian turned and continued up the stairs before I could reply. Clearly, I’d offended him. Letting out a breath, I followed him. Pissing off the people that worked with Raiden wouldn’t do me a single favor, so that was unfortunate.

We continued down another hallway until we came to a set of double doors that were already opened. He didn’t stop until he was inside the room and sitting in a comfortable-looking high-back chair that resembled the ones in my room.

I struggled not to roll my eyes at the miniature tantrum he was throwing and instead looked around the room he brought me to.

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