Tentatively, she nodded. “I think I can do that.”
He dropped his hand but kept holding her wrist with the other. “Youcando it, baby.”
A faint wisp of shadow curled at the center of the mark, wavering like smoke.
“There,” I encouraged her, feeling her excitement through the bond. “See? You’re doing great.”
“It’s...not as scary here,” she admitted, glancing at me, then Dex. “With you two here, and the shadow magic coming from me—from Dex. It’s different. I feel like I’m the one in control.”
“Youarein control here, completely,” I assured her.
She had as much control as I did in my dreamscape, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“And you’re in control of the shadow in your palm. It may stem from my magic, but it’s yours. Just like I am yours,” Dex declared with a smirk.
Slowly, she began to shape the shadow, twisting it into harmless patterns—a star that looked like my mark on her forehead, then a spiral that looked just like Dex’s mark on her hand. The first few attempts were shaky, but as she tried more, the shadows moved with increasing fluidity.
The dreamscape amplified her efforts, letting her push boundaries she couldn’t in our waking world.
This exercise helped get her comfortable with using the shadow itself.
Pride funneled through our matebond from me to her. “Look at that! Fates, Pandora, you’re amazing. This isn’t something to fear—it’s a part of you. An extension of your power. Of your matebond with Dex.”
“He’s right,” Dex muttered with heavy emotion. “A gift from our bond.”
A small smile tugged at her lips as she let the shadow become a long tendril, like the shape she had been afraid of, letting it stretch as far as it could into the galaxy above. “Maybe it’s not all bad,” she murmured.
Dex moved beside her, letting her wrist go, his eyes gleaming with the same admiration I was sure mine had. “Exactly. You’re in control. You always were.” He swallowed a lump in his throat, and his shadows curled around his shoulders as if begging to be let loose. “Can I use mine? To touch you, I mean?”
Pandora froze for a moment before shaking her head. “Not yet,” she rasped. “But you can touch me…with your hands.”
“Got it.” Dex’s shadows backed off, but his hands moved to her hips. “No rush. This is amazing.”
Progress.
“It’s an undeniable step in the direction of full control,” I told her. “You’ve got this, Pandora. We’ll keep practicing until you feel in control of the shadow; no matter how long it takes.”
Her gaze softened as she looked at me. “Thank you.” Her red gaze turned to Dex. “Both of you. I really needed this.”
“We will always support you,” I murmured.
“Always,” Dex chimed in.
She shifted her focus back to her shadow, this time with more confidence than she had before.
15
HUNTER
“I’ve fallen in love with Jenni,” Joel blurted, hanging his head in his hands. His fingers curled into his brown hair tightly as he rested his elbows on his knees.
My mouth fell open as I gaped at him from across my desk, blinking slowly. “Well, that’s unfortunate. Considering Jenni is Death’s fucking mate! Dude, he’d rip your soul out if he heard you say that.”
“I’m not going to try anything,” he groaned. “I respect both of them too much to do that, but I can’t stop the way I feel either. Idolove her. Desperately.”
“Shhh!” I put a finger to my lips in exasperation. “I wouldn’t say that out loud!”
“You’re my best friend.” He stared up at me, scowling. “Who else am I supposed to tell?”
