“No.” I breathed in the night air, loving how his peppery scent mingled with it. “I feel… free.”
Free from the stressful direction my life had taken. Free from the worry of what would happen next. Being with Rowan took that heaviness from me, as if his shadows made me weightless too.
“Good.” The swirling shadows crept higher up his legs. One reached my dangling foot and wrapped around my boot, and though I didn’t feel it, there was something comforting about thetouch. “I never want you to be afraid of me or my magic, little treasure.”
Something occurred to me, then. Much like how Lake had been worried after I’d seen him rip out a mercenary’s throat with his bare teeth, maybe Rowan felt the same. He had used the Bone Crusher on one of them that same night—the name I’d given to his special power move. Shadows had engulfed the man before tightly compressing, turning him into a mess of bloody tatters of flesh and shattered bone.
Those same shadows now touched my boot.
“I could never be afraid of you, Ro.” I hugged him closer. “Of you or your shadows.”
Though subtle, a tremble passed through him. He didn’t say more on the matter. Not that I expected for him to. He had no trouble teasing me or being snarky, but despite how far he’d come and how much he’d grown, he struggled when it came to expressing his emotions. It was the one barrier he hadn’t fully knocked down after welcoming me into his world—and trusting me with his heart.
The tower at the far end of the castle came into view, growing larger as we neared it. Dark stone glinted under the moonlight. The gothic architecture reminded me of Dracula’s castle.
“Look.” Rowan pointed toward the ground on the other side of the roof. Glistening water sparkled in the luminous, silvery light.
“A pond,” I said in awe. Not any pond either; it was huge with glowing orbs floating beneath the surface. Purples, reds, and dashes of yellow and green. “What’s inside it?”
“Fish,” he answered. “Fluorescent scales, I reckon. I saw them last night and wanted to show you.”
“You went out last night? Alone? I should spank you.”
His body shook with a soundless laugh. He made sure I had a secure hold on him before swinging from the edge of the roof and beginning the trek downward. Going this way was almost as nerve-wracking as going up, but I couldn’t bring myself to hide my face and look away like earlier. The view was too beautiful.
“Don’t close your eyes, little treasure.”
“I won’t,” I told him, my heart light and fluttery. “I know you won’t let me fall.”
“Never.”
He climbed down the wall with ease, possessing a sure-footedness he’d mastered over his many years of going wherever the wind took him, never staying in the same city for long. Thieving to survive. The thought made me hug him tighter.
Once safely on the ground, I slid off his back and wobbled before righting my balance. He smirked at me, and I pointed at him. “Not a word about me being clumsy.”
Rowan put his hands up. “I’d never dream of teasin’ you for having the grace of a newborn boar.”
“Clever.” I playfully cut my eyes at him. “Making fun of me while vowing not to.”
That smirk became more apparent. The sexy scoundrel.
When he offered me his hand, I took it without hesitation. Only a few short months ago, he’d struggled with even this level of intimacy, but now, he slid our fingers together and moved his thumb in slow circles against mine as if second nature to him.
Trees I’d never seen before surrounded the pond on both sides. Their leaves glowed in various shades of green and blue, fluorescent just like the fish beneath the water’s surface. Everything seemed to hold a touch of magic, even the grass. The top of it held a shimmery glow, reminding me of the meadow and magical willow tree in Bremloc.
“I haven’t been outside the castle at night before,” I said, sweeping my gaze around the area. “It looks so different during the day.”
“Darkness reveals what the light hides.” Rowan stopped near the bank with a pensive expression. “A whole other world.”
“And it’s just as beautiful.” I released his hand and looped our arms together instead, resting my head on his shoulder. “I love the sun, the moon, and everything in between.”
He turned his face into my hair. “Fitting for a child of light and dark to say. A balance of both worlds.”
“Don’t remind me.” I softly groaned. “I’m still trying to come to terms with what that means. I don’t feel magical or extraordinary. Definitely not like a saint or whatever. I just feel like… me. The same old Evan who trips over flat ground and lives off caffeine and sugar.”
“And who has his own harem.”
“Stop it.”
