His large figure loomed closer, head tilted and wings spread out, drenching us in his shadow. How the fuck was this thing casting a shadow? I couldn’t explain it, but it didn’t feel like he was truly here at all.
I tried to move or call on my power, but all I got from that effort was another rush of heat and stimulation. My spine curled and need grew in my belly. The pulse between my thighs came to life, greedy for something I didn’t even understand. Under its spell, I crawled out of Kate’s arms and found myself kneeling in front of the strange beast like an offering.
His shape shuddered and grew another foot, putting my face right at his crotch. I couldn’t see anything but blackness, and it made absolutely no sense, but my mouth ached for him to take that shadow, that darkness, and shove it down my throat.
My breath caught again. Another wave of sweltering heat lapped at every bit of my skin. Flames licked my neck, searing patterns into my flesh. I touched the spot, but it wasn’t on the side where Cash’s rune was.
It was on the other. Without seeing it, I sensed a new mark forming, etching itself into my skin and branding me in this mysterious creature’s name.
The beast’s red eyes trailed down to my neck. “How curious.”
The shadow monster with its wings spread and spanning the full length of the room reached for me, but his smoky hand never made contact. Cash and Jo rushed into the room, and the figure was gone.
Kate mumbled and searched for me with a hand as light poured into the room. Groggy with her pink hair in a mess around her face, she looked around after sitting up. “What happened? Why does everyone look like we were attacked? What’d I miss?”
Cash ghosted over in nothing but a pair of expensive boxer-briefs and a floral silk robe, while Jo was already in the spot where the figure had been. “What did he do, love?”
“Who?”
“Aram,” Cash growled. “Did he hurt you?”
Jo inspected the spot by the bed, her sparkly magic dancing around her hand and in the air. “He was definitely here. I sense his magic. But how could he find it without access? He’s never been able to do that before. Even Marius can’t help him get to this place, right?”
“Not to my knowledge, but it’s been some years since I’ve crossed his path. Maybe that blasted barbarian has learned a few new tricks, though it doesn’t make sense why he’d do nothing after gaining access to us.”
“He was…made of smoke or fog or…maybe like, dark clouds? I’m not really sure. It didn’t feel like he was truly in the room. More like an illusion of him,” I said, still a little out of it. “He’s not a shadow beast or something, is he?”
Jo hummed and stared at the spot where the figure had once been. “A shadow beast? Not truly in the room? An illusion? So, this was his shadow presence? He’s never been able to do that with anyone he’s not connected to. Unlike me, his control of shadows is fairly limited and difficult to use.”
Cash dashed a hand through his hair with his brows pinched together. “That form is rather unstable, yes. He can’t use it without significant connection to the person it’s meant for, and even then, to be able to project it into a void space he’s never been…”
“Would require substantial power and effort. So why would he bother if he knew how to find us?” Jo seemed most confused by that part, and I caught her line of thought.
“You’re saying that he can’t do anything in that form?” I surmised.
Cash wasn’t looking at me. He was lost inside his head, his gaze dropped in thought. “Nothing worthwhile, no. Not against someone he considered an enemy. From what I know of that form, it’s a tool for delivering messages to Dagon and Rayis and connecting their power across spaces. Their connection only works within a certain range, but his shadow presence can pass some of his magic through it in moments of great need. Or so I’ve heard.”
I touched my neck. “Well, he didn’t talk much, just called me little hybrid and mate.”
Cash’s eyes were wide with shock before shooting down to where I touched my throat. Then his pupils were so thin they barely existed in all the purple. “It’s not bloody possible.”
Jo came over, curious stare dropping to where I felt the mark. “Another bond rune? That’s Aram’s rune. The bastard likes to wear it on everything.”
My throat was tight as Kate wrapped an arm around my shoulders and looked closer at the mark on my neck. “Is that not something you guys can have more than one of?”
Cash laughed without amusement. “There’s never been a case of it. I’ve never seen more than one bond rune even after a bonded partner has died.”
Jo crossed her arms, her expression dark and lacking the usual cool. “But she’s a hybrid, and she’s connected with both of us for the Season. It’d explain how he could find her in a place like this with his shadow presence.”
I was having trouble keeping up. Even for me, it was a lot. Everything was complicated already. If I was now somehow connected with one of the super bad guys, then what the fuck did that mean for our plan? He’d already found us. If it was like it was with Cash, he’d be drawn to me and me to him. He’d be able to kill me before I could carry out our plan.
“Are you saying I’m now bonded to a fucking master villain?” I demanded.
Jo didn’t miss a beat. “Well, two.”
“How dare you!” Cash crowed.
I groaned and dropped my head into my hands. “That means he has access to me, right? Like he can feel what I feel. What else can bonded do? Please don’t tell me it’s tracking. It’s tracking, isn’t it? He’s already found me. Shit, shit, shit.”
