Page 111 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“What does this mean?”
“It means we need to think about that later, because you need to save your guy.” She pointed at Raymond. “I’m assuming you know what to do now?”
“No,” I sighed, and then that intuition screamed at me again.
Go to him! Hold him!
I lowered to the ground beside him and pulled his head into my lap.Do what feels right.I sighed and held his face in my hand. What felt right? What would be enough?
“Listen to me, because I know you can hear me. I know you’re still here,” I spoke as Likosa moved back from us. Maybe she wanted to give us privacy, or maybe she thought I would blow up the place. It didn’t matter.
“All this time, you’ve been worried about protecting me, keeping me safe. And thank you for that, really, but I don’t need you to protect me. You know how many times I told you that, but it doesn’t mean I don’t need you. Raymond, Idoneed you. I need you to challenge me, to keep me grounded. I need you to continue to be my safe space and allow me to be vulnerable enough to grow. You are so much more to me than my protector.
“I fought it, but I think I knew very early on that you were someone I could never live without again. Because in you, in us, I have found a part of me I didn't think existed. I've been able to let go in a way that should have felt uncomfortable. But because of you, it doesn't. I thought I was coming here only to save Natalie, but that's not true. I came here for you. A part of you was trapped here, stuck in the past you could not outrun. And just as you came into my life to help me be free, I'm here to do the same for you. So, listen to me when I say this. Stay with me. Fight with me. Live with me.”
After I spoke, I kissed him. As soon as my lips touched his, a quiet energy moved through me into him. It returned to me warmer and then moved back to him. I felt that power move back and forth between us, pushing and pulling, eachtime stronger, different. His name repeated in my mind, sometimes in my voice and others in his.
And then, the vines lifted from my skin. They wrapped around him and me, back and forth, weaving us together like a cocoon. And then, his shadows did the same, intertwining, lifting from him, mixing with my vines.
And then, his eyes opened. I thought he would break the kiss, gasp, and question what the hell was going on, but he didn’t. Raymond deepened the kiss. He pressed against me, his arms wrapping around me as he pulled me tighter than the cocoon already had.
He continued kissing me until the vines and shadows pulled back into our bodies.
“You're awake.” I smiled at him as he reluctantly ended the kiss.
“I am. Because of you.” His eyes flickered with something, a mixture of honey and emerald, and then they returned to that cool green I was used to.
“Well, that was really intense, wasn’t it?” Likosa sounded like she was ready to cheer.
Raymond’s eyes flashed over to her, like he had only just realized where we were. “What happened?”
“Battle happened. You got injured, others are hurt. She brought you here and saved you,” Likosa reported shortly. “Boy, she really put on a show here. I wish you could have seen it.”
“Who got hurt?”
“Cufio,” I answered him. “He’s poisoned, but he’s in between the shadows, I think. Olian said you’re the only one who can help him.”
“We need to get back there. Now,” Raymond grunted.
“You’ll need this.” Likosa pulled a small vial from her cleavage. She dangled it in front of us. “It’s the antidote for thatnasty poison.”
“Shit.” Raymond got to his feet and reached for the vial. “What do I owe you for it?”
“Oh, you’ve already paid this debt.” She looked around at him and shot a strange look my way. “More than you know.”
“Damnit.” Raymond looked at me then held his hand out. “Let’s go.”
29
You ain’t stronger than my girl.
Likosa’s strange comment weighed on my mind as I followed Raymond through the shadows. How had I already paid her? Despite the unsettling feeling it left me with, I knew I had to put it out of my mind. I couldn’t be distracted when we got back there.
Raymond stopped moving and turned to look at me. When our eyes met, that eerie wailing, sounds from the creatures in the dark stretches, quieted. “We have to split up.”
“What do you mean, split up?”
“I need to go to Cufio. You get Metice.” He paused. “I can sense it. They’re in trouble.”
