“Exactly,” he said, his eyes lighting up with recognition. “You get it.”
Our gazes locked, and something passed between us—a silent acknowledgment that despite our different backgrounds, we shared this fundamental struggle. The need to define ourselves on our own terms.
The beanbag shifted again as Silver turned toward me, his free hand coming up to brush a strand of hair from my forehead. My breath caught in my throat at the gentle touch, and my shadows responded, darkening and swirling lazily around us.
“Your shadows really like me,” he murmured. “Or at least they seem to.”
“They do,” I admitted, unable to deny what was happening around us. My shadows never behaved this way with anyone else. They were normally shy, reluctant to show themselves unless I deliberately called them. But around Silver, they seemed almost... eager. “I can’t control them when I’m around you. They just do whatever they want.”
Silver’s eyes followed the dancing shadows with fascination. “Is that normal?”
“Nothing about this is normal,” I said, gesturing between us. “The shadows, the electricity when we touch, me sitting in your dorm room after getting my first kiss, none of it.”
He laughed softly. “I like that it’s not normal. Normal is overrated.”
His face was so close to mine now that I could count his eyelashes, white as snow against his purple skin. My gaze dropped to his lips, remembering how they felt against mine in the café. I wanted to feel that again, to recapture that perfect moment.
As if reading my thoughts, Silver leaned forward, closing the distance between us. This time, I was ready. My eyes fluttered closed as our lips met, and that same electric current shot through me, stronger than before. My shadows responded immediately, darkening the room and wrapping around us like a cocoon.
His hand moved to cup my face, his thumb stroking my cheek as he deepened the kiss. I felt his tongue brush against my lips, requesting entry, and I opened to him, unsure but eager. The taste of him was sweet with a hint of spice, and it made my head spin.
I heard a soft thud and realized my water bottle had fallen from my hand, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. All that mattered was Silver’s mouth on mine, his hand now sliding from my face to the back of my neck, pulling me closer.
My own hands, which had been frozen at my sides, finally found the courage to move. I reached up, tentatively touching his chest, feeling the solid muscle beneath his shirt. He made a sound of approval against my lips, encouraging me to explore further.
The beanbag shifted beneath us as Silver adjusted his position, pulling me half onto his lap. I could feel something hard and throbbing pressing against my hip, and the realization that I had affected him this way sent a surge of heat through my body. My shadows pulsed in response, and somewhere in the room, something fell over with a crash.
Silver broke the kiss, both of us breathing heavily. “Your shadows,” he murmured, looking around at the now significantly darkened room. “They’re getting... enthusiastic.”
“Sorry,” I gasped, trying to rein them in. “They do that when I get... excited. At least they didn’t teleport me to the other side of campus again.”
A slow, predatory smile spread across Silver’s face. “Excited, huh?” His hand slid down my back, coming to rest at my waist. “I like knowing I have that effect on you.”
I was about to respond when I noticed something on the floor by his desk. My shadows had knocked over an ornate mirror. It was unharmed, but it looked dark. Well, it was for a moment and then a face appeared, followed by a voice.
“Young master?” the man asked. “You called?”
“Shit,” Silver gasped, pushing himself off the beanbag and to the other side of the room in a flash. He picked up the mirror, a panicked look on his face. “Hey Caldwell,” he said quickly. “Sorry. I knocked the mirror over by accident. False alarm.”
“No harm done, young master,” the man nodded. “Please let me know if I can be of service.”
“Will do, Caldwell. Thank you.”
Silver quickly drew his hand over the mirror’s surface, and it went dark. Then he placed it face down in a drawer and pushed it shut.
“Sorry about that,” he said, looking a bit flustered. “The mirror must’ve activated when it tipped over.”
“It’s fine,” I replied, trying my damnedest not to stare at the thick bulge running down his right leg. “Who was that?”
“Uh… the butler. Caldwell. He’s been around my whole life.”
There was a long pause as we just stared at one another. Silver was on edge, though I couldn’t really place why. All I knew was that he didn’t really like to talk about home.
“So,” I said, trying to ease the tension that had settled between us. “You have a magic mirror that connects you to your butler. That’s pretty fancy.”
“It’s nothing special,” Silver replied, making his way back to the beanbag. As he sat down, I slid toward him again, practically landing in his lap. Neither of us moved away. “Just a way to keep in touch with home.”
“Are you planning on going back there once you graduate?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. “You said you had a lot of expectations there, but you’re here. So I wasn’t sure if you were gonna stick around in the mortal realm or do something else?”
