Page 48 of Shadows of Fate

I’d ventured down to the docks by The Black Sea. Sitting on the edge, watching the dark murky water come splashing up the sides of the old worn-down wooden boards. The sound of the water constantly moving helped me think. Normally it brought me a sense of peace, but tonight it just seemed to be telling me my peace was elsewhere. Like back in the old Gothic manor, dressed in all black with shadows surrounding him in a way that should be terrifying but instead made my heart race and my body hot.

Letting out a groan, I stared up at the sky, leaning back on my hands. If I wasn’t a vampire and it was daylight, I imagined I’d be getting a phenomenal tan right now. Listening to all the fisherman hustle and bustle around, selling their catches, catching up on life with their longtime friends. I smiled.

Sometimes I envied humans. Their lives were so short compared to vampires that it made everything so much more important, more precious. I imagined on some level, it made things more enjoyable because you knew in your heart it wouldn’t last forever.

I closed my eyes, contemplating running again.

“You know I’ll just chase you down again, darling, so why bother?” said the deep growl-filled voice from behind me.

I chuckled. “I don’t know, My Lord. Maybe I just assumed you loved to watch the view of me running away.”

He sat down on the dock next to me, his thigh almost touching mine, looking so out of place it was almost laughable. He was dressed in his normal tight black pants, a black button-up shirt that billowed in the wind, and his black boots. Nothing about this male screamed dock worker.

Letting my gaze travel over him, I could see those swirling marks of his tattoos peeking out from where his shirt cut down, and I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to look away from his chest. Especially now that I knew exactly what it looked like beneath there. Although I wasn’t too ashamed to admit that I wished I had more time to look them over and ask him about how he’d gotten them.

Glancing up at his face, I realized he was staring out at the water, his eyes distant and almost… sad. Before I could think better about it, I reached over and took his hand in mine. Gently squeezing it. He didn’t pull away.

“I used to work here.” He nodded toward the water, and I stared at him for a moment.

“Don’t stop there, my death-defying shadow lord. What do you mean?” I asked incredulously.

He smirked and glanced over at me, his eyes softening when they met mine as he gently squeezed my hand back.

“Many years ago, when I was still human, of course, I lived here with my family. My father, mother, and my little sister.” He took a deep breath. “My father was a fisherman. I helped him when I was finally old enough. We’d get up before the sun, take out our little boat, and we’d stay out there for hours catching as many fish as we could. I hated it but at the same time… I was so proud that I was able to help him. That I was able to care for our family with him.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“My sister, Ophelia, she was my entire world back then. She’d get so excited when Father and I would come back home that she’d jump into my arms screeching. It didn’t matter that I was covered in the filth of the sea, she was just happy we made it home alive and safely.” He didn’t say anything else for a while, and I didn’t ask any of the burning questions I had. What happened to them, how did you end up here without them, please tell me it isn’t a sad story?

No, I didn’t ask, because some part of me, the part deeply connected to him, knew it was a sad story that he didn’t need to recount to me. Not in a place like this that should stay filled with memories of his father and taking care of his family.

Instead, I decided to do something I never did with anyone. I shared.

“I had a sister too. I don’t remember a lot about her, obviously. But her name was Cora. My complete opposite in every way. Long hair as dark as midnight. Dark blue eyes, as deep and endless as The Black Sea. Where I’ve always been loud and impulsive, she was the quiet sister. People always thought she was meek and shy, but truly, she was always planning. Cunning. But never in a malicious way. She was just always a step ahead of everyone else, ya know?” I looked over at him and found him staring at me. His onyx gaze said so much that his words weren’t.

“Where is she now? Do you know?” he asked cautiously.

I shrugged and looked back out at the sea. “I’m not sure, to be honest. She’s probably the one I remember the most. Obviously. I don’t remember seeing her… leading up to… everything. I think she was there. Around, maybe. But I can’t be sure. I thought about looking for her, a million times, I thought about trying to find her. But every time I’d start… my body just stopped. I couldn’t bring myself back to those memories. It was as if they’d been erased. Anything that could’ve truly helped me. I can see it, but it’s almost…” My voice dropped and I paused. “…blurred over. Everything except Cora’s face andhisvoice,” I whispered.

Raiden squeezed my hand, forcing me to look back toward him. The tenderness in his eyes made my heart squeeze. I let go of his hand and then leaned my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me, gently rubbing my opposite arm. We were silent for a while as the clouds moved in the sky and the stars glittered above our heads.

Just two people lost in grief, and I realized quickly I’d never felt less alone in my entire existence.

“Come on, my little ice queen. The sun is coming up soon, and I want to show you something.” He stood and extended a hand out for me to take. As I did, he pulled me to my feet, but he didn’t let go of my hand.

We walked for a few blocks, hand in hand, although it wasn’t far from the dock when he finally stopped in the middle of the cobblestoned street and faced a small home.

The stone was slate-gray, only two levels high, with a stone walk-up and three windows in total. It was one, like most in this part of Darkmoor, that was pressed up against its neighbors. Raiden didn’t speak for a few moments, he just stared up at the building.

“This is where I lived… when I was human,” he said in a low voice.

I didn’t respond, and once again, my heart squeezed at the fact that he wanted to share anything like this with me. Something told me that Raiden was similar to me in the fact that he didn’t share easily. That he’d rather bury the pain.

“My mother had a garden box out front under that first window, and another around the back window. That’s where the kitchen was. It didn’t grow much, of course, since it’s Darkmoor and the sun is allergic to this town.” He chuckled at his own joke, which made me smile. “We didn’t have vampires here then, ya know? We were just a small fishing town on the edge of The Black Sea. But Father always said the vampires would end up here, he knew. Said that the lack of sun would eventually be the death of us all, and he was right. It was.” He cleared his throat and tugged on my hand. “Let’s go home.”

I followed along with him, my hand still in his.

And for once in my life, I didn’t complain about the physical contact or correct him when he said home. Because it didn’t feel like a lie.

Chapter25

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