Shade’s shoulders tensed, and he glanced at where the lamp perched atop books on the small table beside the bed. Then he closed his eyes, pain flashing across his features. When they opened again, the blankness had returned. “I have been inside for over a thousand years.”
My mouth dropped, eyes wide in what must have been a ridiculous expression.
A thousand years.
I snapped my mouth shut, swallowing thickly against the lump lodged in my throat. How terribly lonely it must have been. The longing and sadness that overcame me when I entered the cave and first held the lamp all made perfect sense.
“I won’t send you back.” The quiet words were a promise. I wouldn’t lock him away again, not if I could help it.
Even though his declaration raised even more questions, I filed them away for another time. He had been free of the lamp, walking the earth again for only a few hours. I would give him a reprieve from my curiosity.
I asked only one. “Do you sleep at least?”
No response, he had returned to comfortable silence. I didn’t resent him for it. Not now.
I grabbed a small blanket from the bed, placing it over the small armchair in the corner. If he did sleep, it would be uncomfortable, given his size. There was no other option; we couldn’t be parted and he certainly wasn’t sleeping in my bed. Not when I couldn’t trust myself not to touch him again.
Shade sat on the chair and watched me remove the robe and get into bed then tug the blankets to my chin. His gaze was different to the stares of the tavern’s patrons, not leery or lascivious. It was interest and confusion, and maybe just a little bit of desire, though that could be my own attraction playing with my head. I found myself comfortable under his watchful eyes.
I doused the final lamp, throwing the tent into darkness. The only sounds were the muffled rumblings of the camp around us and the low humming vibration coming from Shade, the constant thrum lulling me to sleep.
When I awoke, the sun hadn’t yet passed the horizon. My bleary eyes found Shade, who stood in the dim light of the tent’s opening, letting the cool morning air filter in. I shivered, pulling the blankets tighter around myself.
What was he doing?
He was still, his back to me as the sun rose slowly, basking him in light. His silhouette stark against the yellow shine. He tilted his head back, soaking in the warmth of the sunlight, and I was utterly mesmerized.
Such a simple pleasure. To think we took something so mundane for granted—the sun rising each day and being able to feel its warmth on our skin. Something Shade hadn’t felt for over a thousand years.
I didn’t dare move, for fear of interrupting his moment of peace.
The sounds of the camp stirring around us grew. Shade remained where he was, perfectly still. Beams of light broke pasthim, casting his shadow into the tent. There was a lightness in my chest I hadn’t experienced since my parents’ deaths.
Wista interrupted the moment when she hurried past Shade, flashing a disapproving frown his way. “Good morning, Adelia. King Terym has asked you to join him promptly. I have breakfast on the way.”
She flitted around the tent, pulling out a blue day dress and fresh undergarments. Shade’s back remained to me as he fixed the tent closed for my privacy.
I ducked behind the privacy screen, acutely aware of his presence while I changed. Wista helped me fasten the laces. I would normally fight with them myself, but I got the sense we were in a hurry, so I didn’t object when she began to tighten them.
Meline was waiting when we emerged from behind the screen, a small tray laden with food in hand as she stared unabashedly at Shade. Wista grabbed it and shooed her away.
I couldn’t eat much while Wista fidgeted at my side. Her obvious anxiety brought my own panic to the surface. After a few mouthfuls of oatmeal, I pushed the bowl away and grabbed the cool lamp from the nightstand. Then we were striding through camp.
Like the night before, we drew attention from everyone we passed. I did my best to ignore them, but I couldn’t help comparing it to when I walked through Toreshire, the villagers hurling insults every chance they got. After the last few days, my armor had depleted, every judgment, suspicion, and caution against my character a harsh blow.
Shade’s hand brushed against mine, so lost in my own head I hadn’t noticed him moving closer. A finger trailed the length of my hand in a reassuring touch. When I looked at him, his focus wasn’t on me but our surroundings. He studied every person who looked our way, assessing each as a threat. The action Ioften found myself doing with Eleanor, an unstoppable need to protect.
His care tugged a string loose in my heart, banging against the stone wall I’d caged it in. So much so I had to shore up my defenses. I couldn’t let him in.
Terym’s tent bustled with soldiers and lords. Maps and scrolls covered the table, men conferring around them, and they all looked up when we walked in. The scrutiny prickled at my skin, and I shuffled on my feet. Shade stepped closer.
“Adelia, my dear. Come. Come. Bring the man with you.” Terym waved me over, his voice strangely jovial. He sat at the head of the table, General Lenek at his side with a furrowed brow and lips pressed into a thin line. The general regarded first me and then Shade, who hovered as I took the offered seat.
Wista had already disappeared, and not for the first time, I wished for her presence to get me through this.
“Why ishestill out?” Lord Beatus demanded, cutting through the silence.
“Hehas a name,” I snapped, and immediately regretted the retort.
