Chapter 1
Kaia
“Hello again, Little Shadow.”
The voice curls through the space between sleep and waking—soft, familiar, wrong.
Cold ground beneath me. Firelight somewhere close, embers crackling low. My pulse slams against my ribs.
Pressure blooms sharp against my chest.
The bond.
But it feels wrong. Tainted at the edges. Right at the core but twisted somehow.
Fuck.
My eyes snap open.
A figure stands over my bedroll, backlit by moonlight filtering through trees. Tall. Still. Close enough I should’ve heard him, felt him,something.
Recognition hits like a fist to the sternum.
Darian.
My breath catches. Every instinct screamsmove—but the bond presses harder, pinning me in place like a hand over my heart. Reminding me it’s still there. Still tethered. Stillhis.
I hate it.
Bob surges between us, edges sharp as broken glass. Mouse materializes at my side, ears flat, violet eyes burning. His growl rolls low and lethal through the dark.
I force myself to look at Darian properly.
He’s a wreck. Unshaven, dirt streaked across his jaw. Hair falling loose from its usual perfect style. His uniform—if you can even call it that—is torn at the shoulder, stained dark near the hem. He looks like he’s been walking for days.
But his posture doesn’t waver. Hands hang loose at his sides. Empty.
His eyes—storm gray, shadowed—hold mine without flinching.
A memory flashes. The arena. His smile turning cruel.You weren’t teaching me. You were studying us.
Every training session replays in sickening clarity. The way he pushed me to show him every defensive pattern. Every instinct. Every vulnerable truth about my shadows.
So he could use them against me.
Bob shifts closer, bristling. Mouse’s growl deepens.
Darian’s gaze flickers to the shadows, then back to me.
He doesn’t speak.
The silence stretches. Suffocating.
“What are you doing here?” My voice comes out rough—sleep and adrenaline shredding it.
He exhales slow, like he’s been holding his breath.
Then he drops to his knees.
