Page 32 of Shade
"I haven't seen her in centuries. I don't even know if she's still alive."
"What happened?" I asked, sensing a story there, and Shade blew out a breath.
"I was an idiot," he said after a moment, and I frowned. "I was barely an adult at the time," he continued before I could defend him, and I wrapped myself tighter around him. "And I got curious. This was before I learned to teleport through shadows. We'd lived in a cave all my life up to that point, and I'd wanted to see the world. So when an animal walked past the cave one night, I hitched a ride in his shadow before my mom could stop me. Shadows don't have unlimited space. They go deep, but they're generally as wide as the animal or thing the shadow belongs to."
"So you couldn't hide in Pixie's shadow, for example," I said, and he hummed.
"Exactly. So Mom couldn't follow me because the animal wasn't big enough, and off I went, hopping from shadow to shadow until I reached a human village, where I started following a human traveler. Before I knew it, I lost track of my surroundings, and the direction my cave was in. I couldn't go back."
"Oh, Shade," I murmured, giving him a tight hug and wishing I could do more.
"It took me almost a century to get good at traveling through shadows, and the first thing I did once I was confident was go back to the cave."
"Was she there?" I asked with bated breath, but Shade's sigh answered my question before he spoke.
"No. She was long gone, but she'd left traces of her shadow for me, as if a message to tell me she was okay."
"Couldn't you track her through her shadow like you did with me?"
I felt him shake his head, his palm running up and down my back in a move that seemed to comfort him more than it did me.
"No. That only works with you because they were my shadows on you, and because you're my mate. It's not something I can do with any shadow."
"I'm sure she's okay, wherever she is."
"I hope so," he murmured in a low tone, and I regretted asking about her. I felt better knowing, but I hadn't meant to bring Shade's mood down.
Before I could fish for something to say to cheer him up, the lunch bell rang, startling the crap out of me.
"Lunch time," Shade murmured as he held me close, and I hummed, then pressed a kiss on his cheek before pulling back.
I sat up, then frowned. "Can you grab my clothes?" I asked, then something struck me, and I froze. "Did I...Did I talk to Keoni naked this morning?" My mind had still been on the whole light-doesn't-affect-Shade-near-me thing, and I hadn't even thought about it.
Shade pressed some clothes into my arms, then kissed my cheek. "No, you didn't. You were cloaked in my shadows, and no one would've been able to see through them, I promise. I'm not letting anyone see you like this."
My cheeks went hot at his claim, and I shook my head. Sliding off the bed, I started dressing as Pixie slid her way between my legs, trying her best to make me trip from her love.
Once I was dressed, I grabbed my phone, unplugging it from the power bank Liam had given him for his phone.
"Ready?" Shade asked, and I nodded, then grabbed him before he could move away, leaning up so he'd know what I wanted. Reading me perfectly, he cupped my face, then pressed his lips to mine, kissing me deeply.
I never got tired of kissing Shade, because it felt like the first time every time his lips touched mine. Maybe it was because we were mates, or maybe it was just because of how much I liked this man. The word 'like' didn't seem enough for the way I felt about Shade, but the other L word scared me a little. It was so big, and while I'd already said it to Shade a long time ago, that had been completely different.
"Come on, let's go before someone comes looking for us," he said, and I nodded.
I grabbed my cane from where I'd left it by the couch last night, then made my way outside, walking down the hallway to the door labeled Dining Room.
Keoni raced up to me the moment I stepped inside, the clatter of his cart making it easy to recognize him.
"Diego, hey! I was just about to come ask you guys if you wanted lunch brought over. Is Shade with you?"
"Yeah. We thought we'd eat with everyone."
"That's great! Come on. Sit with Khush and Dustin, and I'll grab you two some food."
"Oh, okay," I said as he directed me toward a chair, settling in as I heard him clatter off.
Shade had told me about Khush and Dustin, but I didn't think I'd talked to them before.
