But beneath these questions, I could no longer deny a deeper truth: I felt drawn to Varkolak in ways that defied explanation. And here, in this ancient place of memory, surrounded by evidence that such feelings weren't unprecedented, I allowed myself to imagine possibilities I never would have dreamed of in Tankor.
CHAPTER 6
Varkolak
I watched Aya as she stood in the center of my quarters, her slim figure illuminated by the single dim lamp. Her curious eyes took in everything, the sparse furnishings, the charcoal sketches on the wall, the heavy curtains that blocked out all light. She belonged to brightness, not to shadows. Yet here she was.
"So, when do we start?" Her voice had that eager edge to it. The one that made something uncoil inside me.
"Now." I moved behind her, close enough that I could smell the sea salt in her hair. "Close your eyes."
She hesitated, then obeyed. I didn't touch her, though every instinct in my body urged me to. Instead, I lowered my voice. "The shadows are always there, Aya. Even in the brightest light."
"How am I supposed to feel them?"
"First, you need to understand they're alive." I circled her slowly. "They breathe. They listen. They move."
Her lips twitched. "You're trying to scare me."
"I'm trying to teach you." I dimmed the lamp further, watching her tense. "Fear is useful. It sharpens your senses."
The room darkened, shadows lengthening across the floor. I called to them silently, and they responded, curling around my ankles like smoke.
"There are shadows all around you now. Tell me where they are."
She frowned, eyes still closed. "I don't know. How could I possibly?—"
"Don't think." I moved closer, my chest nearly touching her back. "Feel."
Her breathing quickened. I could feel the heat radiating from her skin. "They're... cold places. Like pockets of cool air."
Something tightened in my chest. Most humans never sensed anything. "Good. Where?"
She turned slightly, hand outstretched. "Here." Her fingers brushed a shadow I'd gathered nearby. "And... here." She turned again, reaching toward another.
I couldn't hide my surprise. "You can feel them?"
"Not exactly." Her eyes opened, meeting mine in the dim light. "It's more like knowing where a sound is coming from without hearing it."
This wasn't normal. No human should have even minimal shadow sense. It took everything in me not to step back, to reexamine her completely.
"Try to touch one." I kept my voice steady despite my shock.
She reached out, fingers extended toward a shadow pool. Nothing happened, as expected, but she frowned as if disappointed.
"They move away from me."
"They respond to intent." I stood beside her now, called a shadow to my hand. "Watch."
I shaped it between my palms, a small dark sphere that pulsed gently. Her eyes widened, childlike wonder spreading across her face.
"That's beautiful."
Something warmed inside me at her words. No one had ever called our abilities beautiful before.
"Try." I let the shadow dissolve, then positioned myself behind her again. "Hold out your hands."
I placed my hands beneath hers, not quite touching. "Imagine the darkness pooling in your palms. Feel the cool weight of it."
