Page 22 of Echoes From the Void
Our shadows reluctantly separate, though threads of his twilight energy still twine with my darkness. Some connections run too deep to break.
Through the window, dawn begins to break over Shadow Locke. A new day, new changes, new challenges.
At least I don’t have to face them alone.
Not anymore.
Not ever again.
Chapter 8
Leo
I’ve always beengood at juggling chaos. Growing up with five sisters kind of makes that a survival skill. But watching Lyra and Liliana map out shadow-safe zones while trying to keep everyone alive and relatively sane? That’s pushing even my legendary multitasking abilities.
“Blue tape means safe zones,” I explain for the third time, because apparently my baby sisters inherited my attention span. “Stay inside them unless you want to become shadow beast snacks. Which, by the way, is not covered by our family health insurance.”
“That joke wasn’t funny the first time,” Luna calls from behind her wall of legal documents.
“I’m hilarious and you know it.” I move to correct Lucia’s protection sigils before they accidentally summon something nasty. “Counterclockwise, sis. We want to repel shadow beasts, not invite them to dinner.”
Through our potential pack bonds, I feel Matteo’s amusement at my teaching style. He’s been extra protective since his transformation last night, those new fangs appearing every time someone moves too quickly. Not that I’m complaining—the fangs are seriously hot.
“Your aura fluctuates when you think about Matteo,” Lena observes, scribbling in her ever-present notebook. “The shadow patterns suggest a deep-rooted emotional connection possibly stemming from shared adolescent experiences?—”
“If you’re writing another paper about my love life,” I warn, “remember the Luna’s divorce incident.”
“This is different! The psychological implications of supernatural pack dynamics on familial bonds?—”
“Can we focus?” Luna interrupts, but I catch her fighting a smile. She’s been doing that more since arriving, like watching me with my potential pack helps her believe in love again after her divorce. “If Father’s claiming the girls need ‘specialized care’ for their ‘unique conditions,’ we need something stronger than the Richardson case.”
My head spins trying to keep up with five sisters, four mates, and about fifteen different crises. But hey, that’s what sunshine personalities are for, right? Keep smiling, keep joking, keep everyone else from falling apart.
“Leo.” Matteo’s voice carries a warning. Even before the pack bonds, he could always tell when my cheer was more shield than truth. Seventeen years of friendship—and several of those spent pointlessly denying we were more—gave him a PhD in reading my deflections.
Before Matteo can call me out on my I’m fine face—which stopped working on him somewhere around tenth grade—Lyra’s violin case bursts open. Notes spill into the air—literally spill, visible as shadowed light that resonates with the shadow energy saturating the room. It’s beautiful and terrifying, kind of like watching Matteo discover his fangs last night.
“That’s... new,” Lyra whispers, staring at her hands. My usually confident sister looks small and scared, reminding me of all the times I’d chase away monsters under her bed. Except now the monsters are real, and they’re part of us.
Liliana’s inhaler clatters to the floor as she gasps, “Look!”
Shadow marks spiral across both girls’ skin, identical to mine. Marks that definitely weren’t there yesterday. Fear spikes through me—not of the power, but for them. I’ve spent my entire life protecting my sisters, being the man of the house, making sure they never felt our father’s absence.
“Well, shit,” Luna says eloquently.
“Language,” I remind her automatically, falling into big brother mode even as my mind races. If the girls are showing shadow shifter traits now... Dad didn’t just abandon us. He left us completely unprepared for our inheritance—hid the fact that his shadow shifter bloodline would activate in his children. Mom was fully human, which meant our powers should have manifested gradually, with guidance. Instead, we’re all awakening at once as the shadow realm deteriorates.
“The custody case just got more complicated,” Bishop observes, already pulling out his phone. His new oath marks pulse with power, and through our bond I feel his strategic mind working overtime. “We need to?—”
The building’s shadow alarms shriek.
I move instinctively between my sisters and the door, my own shadows rising. Matteo appears at my side, his presence as natural as breathing. We’ve been protecting people together since we were kids—him with his fierce strength, me with my ability to make others smile even in darkness.
“That’s it!” Dorian bursts into the room, looking unusually disheveled. For our resident perfectionist to have his shirt untucked, this must be big. “The frequency patterns in Eredar beast calls—they’re musical. The beasts aren’t just roaring, they’re trying to restore harmony between the realms! Look—” He gestures to where Lyra’s violin notes hang visible in the air. “When your music hits the right frequency, it naturally aligns shadow essence, just like when the twins’ powers work together.The realms are meant to resonate in harmony, but they’re falling out of tune. That’s why everything is destabilizing!”
A new sound cuts him off. A car door slamming. Familiar footsteps that still feature in my nightmares, though I’d never admit that to Lena.
“No,” Liliana whimpers. “He’s here.”
