Page 74 of Shadow Kissed
“Go! Order them to stop,” he commands as he wipes away a tear that drips down my cheek. “Hold on, Terror. It’ll be over soon, I promise you.”
I whimper, wanting to believe him.
“I’m here. I’ve got you.” Somehow, his soft words soothe me, and my eyes latch onto his. “That’s it, eyes on me, deep breaths. You are a warrior; you can get through this.” I nod my head and take in a ragged breath, trying to breathe in and out slowly.
Raegal breathes with me, and I mirror his breaths. “That’s it, my brave girl. Just like that.”
The pain lessens, slowly but surely, just as Jasiel reappears in a mist of shadows. “They’ve stopped.”
Raegal nods his head, not taking his eyes off me. “It’s over now, Reya. Close your eyes and I’ll heal you.”
I release a tired breath and close my eyes. I’ll do anything to make this go away. My eyes jerk open when he places his lips over mine.
“It’s the quickest and easiest way for my shadows to access your body and heal you,” he tells me, his words barely a whisper against my lips. I mumble an agreement and his lips close over mine. I feel surprising warmth as his shadows enter my mouth and move down my throat. I reach out to clutch at his shirt and bunch it between my fingers. A warm, tingling sensation whispers through my body, easing the pain. His shadows are a sinister thing when you see them in person, but all I feel from them is warmth and healing bliss. When he eventually pulls away from me, I chase his lips, wanting this blissful feeling to stay with me and never leave.
He gently pushes me back down. “Sleep. Everything will be okay now.”
“Stay with me,” I mumble, fighting the sheer exhaustion.
“I’ve got you.” I hear him say before darkness comes for me.
It’s been two days since that horrendous night. Two days of lots of sleeping and rest at everyone’s insistence, but today I’ve had enough of resting. I am up and dressed before Orna comes in and scolds me for overdoing it, which I insist I haven’t. Her eyes scan up and down my plain black dress.
“Interesting outfit choice for today,” she says, and I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly.
I wasn’t out to make a good impression. I am who I am and if the new girls arriving today have a problem with that, then that’s their problem.
Honestly, I haven’t been thinking much about the girls’ arrival. The events of two nights ago and feeling like my flesh was on fire, and why that might be, has been all that’s consumedmy thoughts. I know there’s something amiss—I’ve known since I saw the exchange of looks between Jasiel and Raegal when they informed Moryen that they’d been attacking the mass gathering of mutts outside of the valley walls. Could the two events be connected? I’d heard them discussing the matter at my bedside when they all thought I was out of it. They speculated about a mutt potentially biting or scratching me when I was left outside Terleigh’s walls. That maybe one of them had bonded with me and that caused the others to follow suit. All we do know is that when they attacked the mutts with shadow dust that burned their flesh, I had felt their pain. I shudder at the memory of that night as I make my way down to breakfast. The pain I experienced was unlike any other, and I never desire to experience it again.
When I arrive in the dining room, Moryen and Saveya are already there. They both stop talking as I enter, and I feel their eyes on me, scanning me and assessing me. Both with unspoken questions to which I can’t provide answers to.
“Good morning,” I greet them with a fixed smile, taking my seat.
“Should you be up yet?” Saveya asks me, her brows crinkling in concern. Her purple eyes continue to study me, like I might shatter into pieces at any given moment.
“I’m fine,” I insist. “If I have to spend another day staring at the four walls of my room, I’ll go crazy.”
“It is good to see you up and about, Reya,” Moryen says. She smiles at me, but I don’t miss how she regards me with uncertainty.
“What time do the girls arrive?” I ask, hoping to change the subject. In truth, I have no interest in what time they are arriving, but I will use any excuse to take the focus off myself.
“They should be here within the next hour. The Lord Commander has had them all individually collected, and they will travel by shadow weave as a safety precaution.”
Much to the rebellion’s disappointment, they aren’t making the journey here by road. The Shadow Borne didn’t want to risk anymore girls being taken. Twenty-one girls would arrive at the mansion soon. A feeling of dread settles in my tummy at the thought. I’ve been in a little protective bubble, with just Saveya and me here. All of that will change today. Saveya will probably realise that the other girls are more fun and girly, and I’ll be cast aside. It’s fine. I don’t need friends, never have, never will. It’s better this way. I’m better off on my own. No one to let me down and no one relying on me.
It was wonderful to talk to my brothers yesterday. To see their faces and have some reassurance that they are okay. And they truly are okay. Ark’s mum and dad are looking after them and showering them with love and care. Of course, they missed mum and me, but they’re doing fine. The whole time I was speaking with them, Raegal had been in the room, and I could feel his eyes on me as he pretended to read a book when really he was just listening in on my conversation with the twins. I haven’t missed the way everyone looks at me since the incident with the mutts, like I am a mystery they can’t solve. Moryen’s assessing eyes have been the most unnerving. She watches me like she is unpicking my every move. I know that they all know or suspect more than they are telling me.
After breakfast, Saveya and I set ourselves up on one of the balconies that overlooks the front of the mansion so we can watch the girls arrive. One by one they are shadow weaved in, clutched in the arms of one of the high-ranking Shadow Borne militia. Saveya gushes excitedly about which girls will be in our wing with us. She says she hopes the kind-looking girl with the red ringlets will be one of them. I feign disinterest, burying mynose in a book. I’d much rather hide in the library than watch their arrival. But then, Saveya announces that number twenty-one has arrived in the arms of the Lord Commander, and this gets my attention.
“Ooh, she is beautiful. She’s got one of those perfect button noses,” Saveya informs me, as she leans eagerly over the stone balcony. She pushes up her own nose to emphasise her point.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect nose.” I huff, trying and failing to resist edging closer to take a look. Saveya is right, number twenty-one is beautiful. Her hair, black as night, shines in the sunlight. She also has rosy cheeks and a perfectly cute little nose. Beauty is only skin deep, though, as I know only too well. Mayla was beautiful, but inside she was as ugly as sin. The last arrival smiles up and laughs at something Raegal says to her.
“Pathetic,” I hiss, with a roll of my eyes.
Saveya gives me a pointed look. “You just don’t like that she’s in the arms of your commander.”
I pull my eyes from the scene before us and frown at my friend. “He isn’t my commander, and it just annoys me how every female turns into a giggling fool around him.”