My cleats hit the grass, then the concrete steps. Students scrambled out of my way as I charged up into the student section, my eyes locked on only one person. Ash’s face was a mixture of shock and joy, his shadows swirling wildly around him despite the bracers’ attempts to contain them.
I didn’t slow down. I reached him, grabbed his face between my hands, and crashed my lips against his.
The kiss was desperate, hungry, fueled by victory and something much deeper that I didn’t want to name yet. Ash made a surprised sound against my mouth before melting into me, his bracer-clad hands coming up to grip my jersey.
That’s when I felt it.
The electric current between us didn’t just spark… itexploded. Power surged through our connection, amplified by my own adrenaline and whatever emotions were coursing through Ash. His shadows erupted from him like a tidal wave, no longer contained by the obsidian bracers. They burst outward in a spectacular display of darkness and light, visible to every single person in the stadium.
Gasps and shrieks echoed around us as the shadows danced through the air, swirling in intricate patterns that looked almost choreographed. They weren’t threatening, weren’t pulling anyone into portals or punching holes in reality. They were just...beautiful. Like living artwork painted in shades of midnight and twilight.
I felt Ash try to pull away, panic flooding through our connection, but I held him tighter. “It’s okay,” I murmured against his lips. “Let them see.”
Because suddenly, I didn’t care. I didn’t care about keeping secrets, about maintaining appearances, about what my father would say when he inevitably heard about this. All I cared about was this moment, this person, this impossible connection between us.
The shadows continued their dance, reaching toward the stadium lights and making them flicker in rhythm with Ash’s heartbeat. Students were staring with jaws hanging open. By tomorrow, this would be all over campus. By next week, it would probably reach the Twilight Realm.
I should have been terrified. Instead, I felt free.
Chapter 15
Ash
“You were so amazing!” I gushed, pulling open the door to our room. “Seriously! I don’t know anything about football, but even I could tell that was something incredible that you pulled off!”
Silver followed me into the room, shutting the door behind him with his foot. His eyes were still bright with adrenaline, his white hair mussed from his helmet, and there was dirt smudged across his purple cheek. He looked absolutely perfect.
“You think so?” he asked, that devastating smile spreading across his face as he moved closer to me. “Because all I could think about during that last play was you watching me.”
My heart hammered in my chest. “Silver...”
“I saw you,” he continued, backing me toward the bed. “Standing there in my jersey, cheering for me. Do you have any idea how incredible that felt?”
“Probably not as incredible as winning the game,” I managed, though my voice came out breathless.
He shook his head, his hands finding my waist. “Wrong. Having you there, wearing my number, watching me play... that was better than any touchdown.”
I looked down at the bracers on my wrists, at the shadows that were still swirling more actively than they should be. “I lost control out there when you kissed me. In front of everyone. The bracers didn’t keep it all back.”
“I don’t care,” Silver said firmly, tilting my chin up so I had to meet his eyes. “Did you hear me? I don’t care who saw. I wanted them to see.”
“You’re not worried people will judge you for being with a shadow witch?”
“Why would I care?” Silver shrugged. “You’re what matters to me Ash, not what they think.”
I moved a little closer. “You mean that?”
“More than anything.”
I felt my breath catch at the sincerity in his voice, at the way his silver eyes held mine with such intensity. My shadows responded to the emotion thrumming through me, reaching toward him despite the bracers’ attempts to contain them.
“Then kiss me again,” I whispered.
He didn’t need to be told twice. His lips captured mine in a kiss that was somehow both gentle and desperate. My hands found their way to his shoulders, feeling the solid muscle beneath his jersey, still damp with sweat from the game. He tasted like victory and adrenaline, and I couldn’t get enough.
Silver’s hands slid under my borrowed jersey—hisjersey—his warm palms against my skin making me gasp into his mouth.
“Been wanting to get you out of this all night,” he murmured against my lips, his fingers playing with the hem. “Though I have to admit, you look damn good wearing my number.”
