Page 2 of Shadow Kissed
“Of course I do,” I say, my voice raising. I look around to check no one can hear us and lower my voice to a whisper. “If anyone hates them, it’s me. It’s their fault that I am what I am. The rebels are fools, though, if they believe we can ever rid ourselves of them.”
Arkynn shakes his head and looks hopeful. “The rebel numbers are growing and with you as part of the rebel cause, we could make inroads. You could be our spy on the inside.”
I scoff and pull my hand from his, placing them on my hips. “A spy? We both know that at the reaping, they transport the Shadow Kissed through the gateway to the Shadow Realm, and they are never seen here on Asen again. I can hardly be a spy if I’m in another realm, can I?”
He grips both my shoulders with his hands and holds my gaze. “Don’t talk like that.”
“It’s the truth. The Shadow Kissed are never seen on Asen again once they are reaped. Goddess, for all we know, they don’t wed us like we’re led to believe, and instead they sacrifice us to their god, Arawn,” I say with a deep sigh. “No one knows thetruth. I won’t make a very good spy if my throat is slit as an offering to their shadow god, will I?”
Arkynn swears under his breath, and pulls me into his warm embrace. “I won’t let that happen.”
I smile against his chest at the absurdity of his comment. “You and I both know there’s nothing you can do to stop whatever fate awaits me when I’m reaped.” I pull away from him and plaster a smile on my face. “Now, enough talk about the Shadow Borne. I don’t want to waste another breath on their kind.”
He sighs, as if ready to protest, and I silence him by placing my hand over his mouth. Rolling his eyes at me, he leaves the matter there. Arkynn opens his supper and loads a large piece of warm pie on to his fork. “Let’s talk about your birthday tomorrow, then.”
I roll my eyes heavenward and groan. “Do we have to? It’s just another reminder that I don’t have long left here.”
“It’s not every day you turn twenty,” he insists. “I got you a present. I think you’ll love it.”
My violet eyes spark with interest, and I dance on the balls of my feet. “Oh, you can’t dangle a carrot like that and not give me a clue.”
Arkynn laughs at me, his blue eyes glimmering with humour. “It’s a surprise. Let’s just say it’s not the kind of gift any other girl would get excited about.”
I clap my hands together, grinning. “We both know I’m not like other girls. Freaky eyes and all remember,” I say, gesturing to my violet eyes.
Shadow Kissed females are all born with violet-coloured eyes. My eye colour distinguishes me from everyone else. Different. A freak. Chosen.
“Your eyes aren’t freaky. They’re like dark amethysts. They sparkle like rainbows in the sunlight,” he says, clearing his throat and looking back out into the night.
“Well, that doesn’t happen often, given the lack of sunlight we get in Terleigh. Now let’s return to the subject of my gift. Is it a viewing lens?”
He smirks at me and shakes his head. “Not telling. You only have a few hours to wait.”
I groan at him and tip my head back. “You say that, but you’ll be in bed until the sun lies in the west. It’s rather selfish of you to offer to do a night shift the eve before my birthday,” I tell him, pointing a finger his way.
“Selfish, huh?”
I squeal when he lunges for me and gets me in a headlock, where he proceeds to ruffle my hair, messing it up.
“Arkynn, you brute. Let me go,” I protest, grinning as I try to wrestle from his hold.
“Show me what you got, sunshine,” he says, holding me in his grip.
Okay, he asked for it. I lift my other elbow and jab it hard into his side at the same time as I stomp my heeled boot down hard on his foot.
“Argh, Reya,” he yells as he releases me and bends down, winded. “Worst part is, I taught you those moves.”
I laugh, stepping away from him, and waggle my brows. “My bed is calling me. I’ll wake you on the morrow at dawn,” I say, walking backwards and creating some distance between us.
“You wake me up at dawn and I’ll make you pay, sunshine,” he vows, grinning back at me teasingly.
“Promises, promises, Arkynn. See you at dawn,” I say as I turn on my heel and wave to him over my shoulder.
“See you at midday,” he insists, and my response is to laugh to myself as I take the steps back down into the street. Iwind my way through the silent town. Terleigh sits in a deep valley between the crystal mountains. There are six hundred inhabitants in the village. Its quaint houses all built from the rocks of the mountains that contain precious crystals. The houses sparkle a little in the sunlight because of the small shards of amethyst embedded within the bricks. Terleigh is known for its abundance of amethyst; it’s the bedrock of our economy.
I open our front door as quietly as I can and head inside. I come to a stop and smile when I see my mother fast asleep in her rocking chair by the fire. I take a moment to watch the woman who birthed and raised me. My father died in a mining accident when I was twelve. He left my poor mother a widow with three young children to feed and clothe. Luckily for us, my mum is a crystal weaver, and her skills are in high demand. She can weave crystals to combine their powers and strength—this rare skill meant that she could demand a fair sum of dreck for her services. Not that she did so. My mother was too kind-hearted. She only charged people what she knew they could afford and had, on occasion, offered her services for free for those who are in desperate need.
I reach for the woollen blanket in the basket by the fire and place it gently over her. She sighs in her sleep and a smile crosses her features. I wonder what she’s dreaming about. No one in our realm has nightmares anymore, only dreams. Nightmares no longer visit our kind since the crack in our realm appeared all those years ago. Many stories exist about the Nightmare Realm, now commonly known as the void. The Night Borne were allies to the Shadow Borne, and they’d both been at war with the Flame Borne realm. Their joint forces meant they had stood a good chance of defeating the Flame King. The Night King, however, angered the Shadow Realm when he took the Flame King’s niece as his wife. The stories say the Shadow Borne attacked the Night Realm and killed the Night King. Upon hisdeath, the realm sealed itself. No one knows the fate of the Night Borne. Some say they are lying in slumber, waiting for their new queen to return. Others say the realm no longer exists, and all the Night Borne perished when their king died. They believe the realm has become a vast expanse of nothingness; hence it being referred to as the void.