Page 5 of Shadow

“Of?”

“Open it and find out,” he urged.

Feeling uncomfortable, I pulled the red ribbon and let it fall from the black wrapping paper. Carefully, I opened the gift to find a wooden box with a woodland scene burned onto the top, complete with all sorts of forest animals.

I raised a brow and looked at Mirage.

“You guys got me a jewelry box?”

Bryce laughed softly while Mirage outright snorted. Even Sirena offered me a smile.

“I suppose you could put jewelry inside it. Bryce actually did the artwork. Nice, isn’t it?” Mirage said.

I grunted, noting the artwork really was outstanding, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.

I opened the lid to stare down at the contents.

It took me a moment to get my wits about me, but when I finally did, I reached inside and pulled out the jar with the heart preserved inside.

“What the fuck is this?”

“Adam’s heart,” Sirena whispered, her colorful eyes dark.

I blinked at her answer and looked at Mirage.

“It was Asylum’s idea,” he said. “He likes to keep parts. He has a lot of hearts. He thought you might like one of your own. Sirena and Shadow loved the idea, too. So we did it for you.”

I stared at the jar and licked my lips.

“I want the details,” I finally said softly. “Specter?”

She stared at me for a long time. I didn’t really think she’d speak since she’d completely returned to her old self. Finally, she parted her lips, her sweet voice so soft on my ears.

“Mirage gave me his knife. I stabbed him until he stopped screaming,” she said, her eyes wide as she stared at me.

I nodded slowly. “How did that make you feel?”

“Alive,” she whispered.

“Do you regret it?” I studied her pretty face.

“I willnever,” she answered fiercely before going silent on me.

I gave her a smile and cupped her face with my hand. “Then I cannot wait to join you in that darkness someday when we take out more of these assholes. If you’ll have me.”

She pressed her lips against mine and kissed me, her tongue teasing mine. I had a way of getting lost in her. I pulled her close with my free arm and deepened our kiss, forgetting the world around us for a moment. She was telling me yes, and I was more than fucking agreeing to it.

Mirage cleared his throat, bringing me back to the living room and away from my sweet little ghost.

Breathlessly, I broke off the kiss and stared him down.

“What else?” I asked.

“Always so smart, Dante,” Mirage said, smirking at me. “We presented this to you to prove we’re all in this together. Even Shadow.”

“Shadow.” I snorted, looking to Bryce. “When did you get a superhero name?”

“When it was realized I was pretty fucking useful,” he answered strongly.

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