Page 123 of The Shadows Beyond
Stay here with me. Never go home. I won’t hate it here if you’re with me.
I think I’m falling in love with you.
Non,IknowI am.
Cinn raised a blue mug, examining the golden patterns that ran through it. “This is pretty.”
“It’s motetech.” Julien took it from Cinn and twirled it in his palm. “I made several of them. The embermotes in the gold veins keep your drink warm. Plus, they look really cool.”
Cinn’s warm laugh filled the kitchen. He picked up Julien’s reading glasses from the counter and stepped towards him. “You aresucha nerd.” Cinn placed the glasses on his face, then beamed at him. “But a hot nerd, at least, in these.”
A kiss on the tip of Julien’s nose, then his cheek, then his lips, Cinn’s tongue sliding in to meet his. Julien’s back hit the countertop, and they soon became an entangled mess of limbs pressing against each other.
Reluctantly, Julien pulled away, running his hands through Cinn’s hair to smooth out some of the kinks. “If we start that now, we’ll never leave the house today.”
A smirk danced on Cinn’s face. “Fine by me.”
“We really need to go check on Darcy. We just up and left her to look for that… cat.”Cat slash demon-monster slash Béatrice-reincarnated.“You’re more than welcome to come back here tonight though,” Julien added in a rush, the thud of his nervous heart beating against his ribcage.And tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.
“Okay,” Cinn said slowly, and the light dancing in his eyes had Julien’s soul singing.
Julien pressed a kiss to Cinn’s forehead. “I’ll take a quick shower.”
The telephone was ringing.
He heard it from the bathroom as soon as he’d switched off the water.
The telephone was ringing, and Julien’s heart was about to be impaled.
Of course, itcouldhave been his father. Elliot. Darcy. Any number of other people.
However, Julien knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that it was him. Tyler.
And now, it was too late. He’d fucked it up.
He’d had ample time to tell Cinn by now, to present his side of the tale before Tyler did, but he’d pushed London to the furthest depths of his mind, to the point he’d tricked himself into believing it didn’t happen.
Cinn’s voice was audible now, getting increasingly louder, but not to the point Julien could make out the words.Good.
Julien faced himself in the mirror. Wet strands of hair pasted themselves to his cheek.You’re going to fix this, he told himself.It’s going to be okay.
Because if he didn’t fix it—
Julien’s throat tightened to the point he could barely breathe.
He dried himself, then changed into fresh clothes. There was only silence coming from the living room now. Had Cinn left? Surely he wouldn’t…
Like a coward, Julien hovered in the corridor, playing his own game of Schrödinger’s cat. Because until he went in there, everything was fine. Maybe itwasElliot that called, or—
“I can see your shadow,” Cinn’s voice snapped, his tone ice-cold.
Julien closed his eyes. Pressed two fingers to his temple.
“Get the fuck in here.”
With confidence he didn’t truly feel, Julien took the final few steps into the room. Cinn, seated on the sofa, had his eyes glued on the telephone on the side table rather than Julien. His expression was a picture of thunder—black storm clouds circled his head.
“That was Bradley. He rang Darcy’s number, then she gave him yours.”
