My shadows twined around both my arms up to my shoulders, thrumming to the beat of my heart. I grinned as they thickened with every passing breath, tiny wisps breaking off from the larger mass as if they were poking their heads out to wave at me.
I carefully stood and moved my arms, turning them and lifting them up and down. The shadows stayed. They tightened their grip on me, and when I nudged them with my mind, a small section extended to wind around my torso too.
When I flexed a hand, another piece floated off and formed a ball in my palm. It pulsed and writhed, but stayed in its compact shape, waiting for my command.
No, notcommand. Thecae was right. I kept thinking about them as something to control, when really, they were extensionsof me. It was like they knew what I wanted before I had to think it. They werepart of me.
“I think the girl’s starting to get it!” Calyra called from her position inside. I craned my neck to look at her.
Thecae, however, merely grunted. “We’ll see.”
As I turned back to him, a thin shard of shadow came flying at me.
“Hey!” I shouted, raising my hands to block my face. My shadows instantly disappeared. Thecae’s shard shattered into fog against my bare skin. I could tell if he’d really wanted it to, it could have been sharp as steel.
“What was that for?” I snapped.
“Defense. Your shadows will be your best guard against an attack, if you can learn how to train them.”
“You could’ve given me a warning,” I mumbled, which earned me a soft chuckle. Straightening my shoulders, I held out a hand and called to my shadows again. To my surprise, they actually answered this time. Delicate and tentative at first, and then in a billowing mass like before, excitedly swirling around my body.
“Let’s work together this time, alright, kids?” I muttered to them. A couple tendrils lashed out and swiped playfully at my neck in answer. I couldn’t help but smile, until three huge balls of shadow came bursting from Thecae’s hands.
I lifted my arms and imagined my shadows forming a wall in front of my face.
A second before his hit, mine faded into smoke.
“Seriously?” I shouted, right as his shadows slammed into me. I staggered backward with an exasperated sigh.
To my far right, Arowyn cackled. Narrowing my eyes, I shot her a crude gesture, and a sharp piece of shadow flew from my fingertip. It smacked Arowyn square in the forehead.
I raised my hands in mock innocence when she glared at me. “That wasnotme.”
“Again,” Thecae commanded. “Concentrate. Your shadows arereacting because they sense your fear. Show them that you can standtogether, and they have nothing to be afraid of.”
“Great. Sounds easy. Are you going to tell them that weeks from now when they’re facing an eight-foot-tall Shifter trying to eat me alive?” I grumbled.
Arowyn snorted. “Scarven’s not eight feet tall.”
“Well, I’ve never met the man,” I said.
“Hewouldeat you, though.”
I scowled. “Not helping.”
“Focus, Devora,” Thecae said. “You can do this.”
I nodded, and he struck.
23
Nox
Everett’s illusion bent the sunlight around us as we moved through the narrow alleys of east Tenebra. The eyes of citizens strolling the cobbled streets slid right past us. I trusted Everett’s magic, but my hand still hovered near the dagger sheathed at my waist the entire walk.
Every step closer to the cottage, the tighter my chest drew. I could face Scarven’s guards without blinking, but this? This had me sweating through my clothes.
I glanced down at my hand, double-checking the instructions scribbled on parchment. Kieran had found her long ago, in case I ever needed to reach her. But it had always been too risky, what with Scarven’s men keeping such close tabs.
