Page 9 of Shannon in Sombra

Heading toward the check-out counter, jerking her thumb at the door, Kennedy asks me curiously, “What was Nita’s hurry?”

I wish I knew, Ken. I wish I knew.

CHAPTER5

ARE YOU MAD

SHANNON

Istew over the demoness’s reaction all the way through dinner.

Draven is one of the ash field farmers. His mate, Collidia, is an excellent baker who has been pregnant the entire time I’ve known Mal. Because of the whole ‘demonesses being knocked-up forthree years’ thing, we must’ve just started showing when I first met her. Now, it’s a race to see who will pop first: Kennedy or Collidia.

In Sombra, there is no real concept of money; at least, not when you live in one of the smaller villages like Nuit. Coins and wealth exist in larger cities, especially the capital, but, when you’re a part of a clan, you work together to survive.

There’s a casual barter system that we use, similar to the suburban habit of knocking on your neighbor’s door for a cup of sugar. If you need something, ask around, and you’ll eventually find someone who will help out. Either for a price now or a favor later, it’s amazing how the system works.

The farmers and the hunters share their food. A handful of villagers prepare it—like baking bread or ash cookies—and pass it out among the rest of us. Collidia and Draven are part of that provider circle. That’s why, after Collidia hear about the beautiful murals that Malphas painted on Alana’s nursery walls and mentioned she might like one for her own baby, my mate didn’t even hesitate. For the last week or so, whenever he could spare the time, he’s been painting her walls.

And, no, that’s not a euphemism. The best thing about locking down a Sombra demon? They are fanatically loyal. Seriously. A line-up of naked models wouldn’t turn Malphas’s head. If anything, he might wonder if they didn’t have clothes, before asking if they needed him to use his shadows to cover them up.

After all, us humans have such a puritanical view of nudity. At least, that’s the impression I gave him when, directly after I accidentally summoned him, I pointed out his obviously naked body and asked him to cover up. I mean, how was I supposed to know he was in the middle of taking a bath when I fooled around with theGrimoire du Sombraand read the true love spell?

Then again, how did I know my true love would be an immortal shadow demon from another realm? I laugh now to remember how I was hoping it might give me the nerve to ask Derek at the Beanery out on date. He was cute, but Mal… yeah. Fate definitely did her job onthatone.

Even as pissed off as I am that that demoness openly sneered at Alana, I can appreciate how gorgeous my mate is as he finishes the stew that Collidia sent him home with as a thank you for finishing her mural. And maybe if another demon—a young hunter this time—didn’t shy away from me and Alana as I carried her home earlier tonight, I might’ve been able to let it go.

Might’ve been… nah. I’m Shannon freaking Crewes. When have I ever been able to letanythinggo?

I do, however, manage to wait until after he clears our crystal table from the dinner mess and I’ve finished feeding Alana before letting her curl up in my lap and cuddle. Usually, I put her down after her last feeding, but tonight I want to hold her a little longer.

Is it because of me? Is it because she’s half-human? Since Haures decreed that we don’t discuss the prophecy with the rest of the villagers, it can’t be that. I never got the vibe that Nuit was full of anti-human bigots, but today was my tipping point.

I’m sitting on the couch in our designated ‘living room’, Alana on my lap.

“So,the weirdest thing happened today, babe,” I begin. “And by ‘weird’, I mean super fucking rude.”

His brows furrow. “Is something wrong, my flower?”

He can say that.

“It was the EL. One of the demonesses came in… not one of my regulars, but someone else. It doesn’t really matter who because, welp, this isn’t the first time it’s happened.”

Mal moves over to the couch, sinking down next to me. “What has happened?”

A small shrug as I try not to let my annoyance turn to out-right anger. Mal doesn’t deserve it. “I had just finished up with Yvette when I saw her. She was standing over Alana’s playpen, staring at our girl. But, like, not with curiosity or interest. She kinda looked… disgusted.”

That’s the word for it, and why it rubbed me the wrong way. Who the hell looks at a baby like that?

Mal gulps. “Oh.”

Oh?

What does he mean, oh?

“Mal?”

He sighs. “I had hoped that, over the many centuries, my people had given up their silly superstitions. That they would understand that, with you as her wonderful mother, our spawn might be different from others.”

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