What else did he lie about?
"I’ve luxuriated in being your silent sentinel. When those bullies tormented you, I instilled in them a terror they'll never forget. It was... " a twisted smile flickers, breaking through his amorphous features, "intoxicating, the power to inflict fear on your behalf."
I can’t forget the intense relief I felt when the harassment stopped so suddenly.
"And the night I broke the covenant. The night I ripped your abuser limb from limb, will be a night I forever treasure." Shadow’s voice deepens with wicked satisfaction. "I relished every moment of his pain. Even as I endured endless torture in the Pit for years on end, I clung to his screams, his fear, playing the symphony over in my mind."
I may not trust him, but he did kill for me. It changes things. It binds us.
Just as my killing for him has.
"For you," Shadow confirms, his eyes burning with a fierce intensity, "I became obsessed, addicted to your very essence. Every time I resolved to stay away, the more I found myself drawn to you, unable to resist the pull of your suffering, your resilience."
His form shifts under the net, a restless energy emanating from him. "And when I broke free, when I came back to you, you were the same, yet so... different." His eyes scan me up and down. "You’ve become the most forbidden of fruits, bloomedfrom darkness and violence. Born of the blackest, most fertile dirt of the graves where so much hope and love has perished, you’ve become a woman who will draw blood for blood. You could easily tear down worlds, yet bright hot sparks still ignite in your heart." The words come out like gravel being crushed and I recognize the arousal in his voice. "You must believe I tried to resist, but the urge to be near you, to protect you, is overwhelming. I-I want…" My monster actually stutters. "I want to be more for you. I sparked in here for you." He shifts to touch his chest. "I’ll do anything to keep it. To keep you."
His gaze softens, but there's a smoldering undercurrent to his words. "The Guard, they don't understand. They don't see what you need. But I do, Evie. I've always known."
The implication of his words hangs in the air, a tantalizing promise laced with danger. "What I need?" I ask, my heart racing with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity.
Shadow's voice drops to a whisper, a husky tone that sends waves of heat through me. "You need someone who sees you, who understands the darkness within you. Someone who keeps that spark alive even in the blackest, most dead of nights."
His eyes roam over me, a predator assessing its prey. "I've felt your desires, Evie. Your hunger for something more, something... primal. I can be that for you. I can give you what you've always craved."
The landscape around us fades into the background, his words painting a picture of a connection that goes beyond the physical, a bond forged in darkness and desire.
"You lied," I whisper, but it's hard to keep hold of my anger with every word he speaks.
"I did," he agrees. "And I'll do it again. I’d do anything to protect you just as I’d break the rules, endure any torment, just to be near you." His claws flex. "But what Iwon’tdo is watch youdie. You may live in the worse of our two worlds, but I would rather you live in hell than die here in the Nightmare Realm."
"You’re just trying to control me again." I break our gaze, reminding myself I have to take care of myself now. "I’ll leave before anything bad happens."
"This world will kill you, Evie." Shadow's words come out a tormented snarl. "You don't belong here. Imustreturn you before it's too late."
His desperation only hardens my resolve. "No, Shadow. I'm staying. I'll speak to whoever you answer to. I'll plead your case. You’ve saved me many times, it’s time I return the favor."
Yes. That’s what this is. That’s all this is, I try to convince myself.
"Evie, you don't understand the danger, the power these beings wield. You can't just?—"
"I can, and I will," I interject firmly. "For once, I will save you."
Shadow may have shattered my heart and my trust, but that doesn’t mean I don’t owe him a debt.
We pass through a clearing where the sky seems to press down on us, the colors more vivid and menacing.
The Guard continue their steady pace, their eyes fixed on the path ahead. I follow the natural progression of their trek up a steep winding trail that terminates at an unexpected sight.
Thin spires and turrets rise from a structure that appears to be made from some black tar substance. A castle. There is no sheen of glass, but it looks like there are plenty of window holes.
"You’ve helped feed me the hearts of man, Evie. Youhavesaved me." Shadow’s words come faster now, urgent. "You ignited humanity and passion in me. Believe me, Evangeline." I try not to shudder at his use of my full name. "You have saved me enough."
I roll my shoulders back, trying to catch my breath, which has been difficult with the walking and talking. "You wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for me. You killed Mark for me." My voice softens. "And I won’t leave you to pay for it."
I don't know who or what I’ll find up at that nightmarish castle. I don’t know the rules of this world, but I know one thing for certain: I won't abandon Shadow to his fate.
Pleading With Monsters
The castle in the Nightmare Realm looms before us, a colossal structure that seems to defy the laws of reality. Its spires twist and contort, reaching toward the swirling crimson sky like grasping fingers. The closer I get, the tar-like walls appear to be made of a living, breathing substance, pulsating with an unsettling rhythm.
