"Which brings me to why you're really here." Nia turned to Aya. "You want to know why you matched with him. Why your blood called to his."
"The Council said it was impossible," I added.
Nia's laugh was sharp. "The Council says many things. Most of them lies." She held out her hand to Aya. "May I?"
Hesitantly, Aya extended her arm. Nia's fingers hovered above her skin, her shadow essence extending in thin tendrils.
"There's an ancient technique, one the elders have forbidden, that allows us to read bloodlines through shadow resonance."
The tendrils of shadow sank gently into Aya's skin. She gasped, but didn't pull away.
"It won't hurt," Nia assured her. "Just feel strange."
I watched, fascinated and terrified, as Nia's shadow mixed with Aya's blood beneath her skin, creating shifting patterns like dark rivers.
"Fascinating," Nia murmured. "Varkolak, come. See for yourself."
I didn't understand, but instinct guided me. My shadow form extended, joining with Nia's tendrils. The moment I connected with Aya's blood, I felt a familiar resonance, an echo of home.
"What am I feeling?" I whispered.
Nia's eyes gleamed. "Her blood carries shadow essence. Diluted, dormant, but unmistakable. Your Aya has shadow creature ancestry."
Aya's eyes widened. "That's impossible. My parents were from the northern colonies."
"Before that," Nia explained. "Perhaps five, six generations back. When humans first settled these lands, some formed alliances, and relationships, with our kind. Children were born. Most showed no signs of their mixed heritage, but the shadow essence remained, buried in their bloodline."
"The matching system..." I began.
"Recognized what was already there." Nia withdrew her shadow, releasing Aya's arm. "You weren't matched by mistake. You were matched because, in some small way, she is already one of us."
Aya stared at her hands as if seeing them for the first time. "Is that why I've always felt different? Out of place?"
"Perhaps." Nia stood. "You should rest now. You're safe here until morning."
After Nia left us alone in a small room lined with soft blankets, I held Aya close, feeling her tremble against me.
"Does it change how you feel?" she asked, voice small. "Knowing I'm not fully human?"
I tilted her face to mine. "It explains why I felt drawn to you from the first moment. But it changes nothing." I kissed her gently. "You're still Aya. My Aya."
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "And you're still processing about your father."
"I am." I couldn't lie to her. "But knowing he fought for this, for the possibility of us, makes me proud to be his son."
She nestled against my chest, her warmth seeping into me. "We should sleep."
But sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. The knowledge that Aya carried shadow essence in her blood awakened something primal in me. The shadow within me stirred, reaching for its kin buried deep within her.
Her breathing changed. I knew she felt it too.
"Varkolak," she whispered, her voice thick with desire. "I feel strange. Like shadows are moving under my skin."
"It's the awakening," I murmured, running my fingers along her arm, watching as her skin responded, darkening slightly under my touch. "Your shadow essence recognizing mine."
Her lips found mine, hungry and demanding. This wasn't like our first time, hesitant, careful. This was a necessity, two parts of a whole seeking completion.
My shadow form spread, enveloping us both in darkness. Aya gasped as it touched her bare skin, her back arching.
