Page 56 of A Vow of Shadows
“Do not expect this to be a regular occurrence.”
“Of course not.”
I slid onto the bed, the space she’d occupied still warm beneath me. The mattress sagged in the middle, and I fought against the force that threatened to pull me to her side. With athought, the shadows expanded, blocking out the firelight from the room beyond.
My sight adjusted quickly in the dark, once again honing in on the peaks and valleys of her body. Though her eyes were closed, her breathing had not yet slowed to the easy rhythm of sleep.
She rolled toward me and winced, tension forming lines around her eyes and mouth.
For once, I didn’t stop my hand from reaching out to soothe those lines. She jerked at my touch, eyes darting open. I pulled back, but she captured my hand in hers before I could mutter an apology.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “People don’t—” She bit her lip, hesitating. “People don’t touch me. Not of their own volition andnotskin to skin. And certainly not with gentleness.” As she spoke her fingers traced the scars and calluses marking my hand.
I slipped free of her touch. The edges of her mouth turned down at the loss of contact. Again, I reached for her face, but this time, she didn’t retreat.
“It has been some time since I’ve touched anyone this way as well,” I said, gliding over her shadowed skin. “Your mark has grown since I met you.”
Katrin nodded. “I’d hoped it would disappear completely in The Between, but it seems my clever scheme is not enough to save me from Death.”
Guilt twisted in my gut. I’d promised to protect her, but I’d done nothing to help her out of this predicament, too enamored by the idea of someone to share in my misery. It wasn’t fair to her. She deserved the life she desired. A real life, free from the shadow of Death.
“Tell me about your mark.”
Her eyelids fluttered shut. The bed creaked as she rolled onto her back. She was quiet for so long, I thought she would refuse,but then her voice floated to me through the dark, detached and unfeeling.
“I had just turned thirteen when we noticed a dusky tinge to my fingertips. I thought it was dirt at first, but it didn’t wash away. The surgeon called it gangrene and threatened to cut off my hand. My father refused. When the shadows spread, he got a second opinion then a third. We saw countless doctors before he expanded the search. It wasn’t until we met an oracle in a nearby town that anyone came close to the truth. She’d called it ‘the Devil’s stain’, a mark from Death himself. Still, my father refused to believe it. I’ve been poked, prodded, cut, bled, submerged in freezing water, all in the name of fixing me.”
I heard what she’d left unsaid: the pain, the loneliness, the fear. “It just appeared?”
“Yes. One day it wasn’t there, the next day it was. There was no injury or incident, not that I can recall.”
I felt more than saw her gaze return to my face. “It doesn’t make sense with the pieces we have, but Behryn must have some reason for wanting you. Something he knew about eight years ago but decided he needed to wait to claim.”
“That’s the strangest part. If he wants me so bad, why not take me at thirteen?”
“Indeed.”
The conversation left me unsettled. I could only imagine how Katrin felt after so many years without answers, and I’d done nothing to help her.
No more.
As her breaths deepened, I vowed that I would see her returned to the world of the living. And when her body, heavy in sleep, curled into mine, I pulled her closer and offered what comfort I could, taking no small amount of satisfaction in the sigh I drew from her.
Chapter 38
Katrin
When I woke, Evander was gone. I hadn’t expected him to stay, but after an all-too-real dream where he’d held me in his arms, his absence hurt more than it should. I’d confessed so much to him last night ensconced in his shadows. I’d felt safe in a way I never had before. The cold light of morning had me reconsidering where we stood. Despite his actions yesterday, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was still a means to an end—a literal ticket to his freedom.
Sitting up in bed, I jolted as my two shadows detached from the wall, one flying through the beaded curtain to the other room. The second—Inky, I thought—turned down the linens so I might swing my legs over the side. I froze as a bolt of pain shot up my leg and reconsidered going back to sleep.
The beads parted and Evander slipped through, no doubt alerted by my shadow guard. I glared at Storm who followed in behind him. At least he had the good sense to appear chagrined. When the shadow sidled up to my side, I gave it a sidelong glance before nodding subtly. It was my fault for forgetting that they answered to Evander first. I couldn’t fault their loyalty.
Evander watched our exchange with mirth sparkling in his eyes.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. He knelt to inspect my leg, and I flinched away with a wince, suddenly self-conscious.
“Fine,” I answered quickly.