The ripples grew stronger by the second. She swam forward as they turned to waves and pushed her toward the shore. A wave crashed over her head, dragging her under the water. She swam upward and coughed up the murky water.
The purple light illuminated the pond. The water's silky darkness glowed with it, the trees too. Clasped by dread, she still managed to find beauty in it.
If this is the last thing I seeâNo!
She paddled faster, ever thankful for the waves that gave her a little more speed. Still, her mind wandered toward the possibility of death.
Coughing sounded behind her. Too close. Her pulse beat like a drum
Her toes curled up in fear as she neared the shore. It was that last distance that was the hardest. Her limbs yearned to be on solid ground, to take her to safety and know that there was something solid below them and not a dark abyss. What else crawled underneath her? The hair on the back of her neck rose. The inside of her nose stung and her throat felt raw.
Her heart drummed in her chest. Her feet touched the rocky bottom. A wave knocked her forward. She lost her balance and toppled over, floating forward with the water. The rocky ground scraped her knees. Aurelie put her hands on the ground and began to climb out of the water on her hands and knees, ready to break into a full sprint when she reached the grass.
She turned briefly and saw someone with dark hair struggle in the water. Aurelie ignored him and ran ahead as fast as could. She headed for the trees away from the inn.
"Hey," called a man's voice behind her.
"Wait, stop!" he called again.
She slowed her pace and looked behind her. He was on the shore now, watching her. She took a deep breath and stopped. Bad idea, she thought.
"Don't come any closer," she warned him, her eyes shining as bright as the sun. It made it a little harder to see him.
He stuck his hand out and then bent over to put his hands on his knees, panting.
The water still rippled behind him but the light was fading, glowing in a purple ball at the bottom of the pond.
He turned his head and straightened. "Hi," he said and stepped toward her. "You alright?"
"Who are you?" she asked.
Her heart raced, but not out of anger or fear. Out of frustration! She was tired of being caught off guard.
The man stood still and studied her face. He had a faint smile on his face.
"You're a shadow walker," she said, her eyes glowing like a torch. "I know that much."
Shadow walkers were only permitted to travel under the King's direct instruction. So . . . they found her.
Energy flowed through her, and into her hand, caressing her. She held her posture and hardened her expression. In case he couldn't sense her power, she didn't want to give away her weakness with a look of surprise.
"You're a dragon," he smiled, his teeth looked gray in the darkness, and was the clearest feature she had yet seen of his face.
The other men must have been right behind him, or at least on their way. She watched the water suspiciously, waiting for another purple swirl to erupt from below.
Fire burst out of her hand.
"Whoa!" he shouted out, and took a step backward, stretching his hands out in front of him. "I am Kirin Donahue," he answered, keeping his upright pose.
"Kirin?" she said, taking an intimidating step forward. Her cheeks flushed.
"They told you about me?" He took a careful step toward her, his hand still outstretched.
"Daerious did."
He started to walk toward her, easy confidence in his steps. "Oh God," he sighed, "don't listen to anything he says."
He smiled at her, lifting one corner of his lips just a smidge. That smile was as potent as a sneeze. Before she knew it, she was smirking back and couldn't take her eyes off the shape of his lips. She felt a jolt in her chest and wiped the silly grin off her face. Oh dear . . .
Her fire had gone from her eyes as suddenly as it came. Even her magic seemed to fancy him.
God, she couldn't take her eyes off him.
"Nice to meet you, Your Highness." He bowed his head, though it was more a nod if anything. When he looked up, the moonlight caught his face, darkening the hollows of his eyes and foregrounded his broad cheekbones. "Have you been here long?"
He was right in front of her now. Aurelie sucked in her breath, staring at him like a fool, having completely forgotten what he said. His eyes were a light gray, like ash if it had been sprinkled with a light shade of blue. The shadow below him was not like that of other people. It did not expose his shape, but instead flowed through him and traveled between each of his fingers, swirling around him like an aura.
"Aurelie?"
"Uhm . . ." she laughed, and thanked God, the stars, and whichever of her ancestors watched over her that she had met him under the cover of darkness. Half the blood in her body must have been in her cheeks, they were burning. "What did you say?"
"I asked if you've been here long."
"Oh, no. A couple of days."
"Do they know you're out here?"
"Yes."
He raised an eyebrow, then frowned. "And they let you go alone?"
Aurelie let out a nervous laugh. "I didn't leave them much choice. I ran out of there as soon as I got out of the stampede."
His head jerked back.
"They jumped me like a herd of hungry lions." She wrapped her arms around herself. The evening air was chilly and her soaking clothes grew colder by the second, making her shiver.
He looked in the direction of the inn for a moment. "Guessing you don't want to go back just yet."
"No." She back too and then at him. "Not until, at least, half of them are asleep."
He sat down exactly where he stood and pointed at the ground beside him. "Then we wait."
She sat down and pressed her knees up against her chest, hugging them. "Kirin," she said softly, hoping her voice wouldn't give away the fact that she was about to cry.
"Yes?" his voice was gentle, perhaps there was no hiding that from him.
"Did you come from the castle?"
"I did."
"Are myâ"
"No, they're safe. The Jilpod didn't wear off."
She lowered her head to her knees and felt a hot tear roll down her cheek. A Jilpod seed was a witch's safety net, a very dangerous one. If the seed worked, it provided a magical shield for a couple of weeksâno one knew exactly for how long, some effects have been said to last longer than a month. If it didn't work it killed the witch. Her aunt and uncle certainly didn't want a magical shield.
"Where is he keeping them?"
"I don't know. I've checked the cells and they're all empty."
"It's all so much bigger than I thought it would be," she said. "I had it all planned out very simply in my head. I would find the witch and she would help me save them. And things would be back to normal."
She felt his hand on her back, it moved lightly up and down, warming her back.
"I'm sorry I can't help you."
They sat in silence for a moment and then his hand fell from her back, leaving it colder than it had been before he touched it.
"It doesn't feel real," she said softly into her knees. Her breath warmed them for a second and she started to exhale to keep the warmth as soon as it began to fade.
"Killing Marianne didn't feel real?"
"You've heard?"
"You stepped into a village full of people, stabbed her in the neck, destroyed her house, and left behind an unstoppable fire. No . . . it's all a big secret." He winked, giving her another one of his crooked smiles.
She hid a smile and lay down on her back. "And no, that part feels least real of them all." Something else happened that day but she didn't want to bring that up now.
"You have to toughen yourself or it'll keep eating away at you until there's nothing left of you but guilt." He flinched slightly in memory.
"Who was he?"
He almost looked surprised that she realized he spoke from experience. "A guard at the castle. They still talk about him there. Call him a hero." His eyes drifted. "Jo, the oldest of his six sons, just joined the guard last week. They have nothing; barely enough to survive, and . . . I did that. When he came in he didn't even have shoes."
"What happened?"
"He caught me in the King's private quarter, searching through documents. I restrained him with my shadow. Sixteen years old, moving a man twice my size to my bedroom, through a crowded castle, that by some unimaginable luck, had almost frozen in time for that moment. I took him to an area I knew had been controlled by rebels and let my shadow strangle him while I looked away like a coward."
Aurelie sat up and put her hand on his. A fire broke out within her, stronger than any magic could create, and rested precisely in the gap between their hands. "We do what we must," she said, wanting terribly to comfort him.
He turned to her suddenly and tilted his head. The warmth of his breath brushed her cheek. "Do you really believe that?" The gray in his eyes glinted silver.
"No, but I'm in the process of toughening myself up."
His lips curled to the side. "Good."
"It's funny, though," she looked away from him, feeling self-conscious about how close she was to him, "I thought death was the worst possible thing, never imagined there'd be anything worse."
"Oh yeah," they seemed to be even closer now than before, "and what's worse?"
He had a way of making everything she said sound amusing, perhaps it was because she heard a hint of a smile always present in his voice.
"Being alone." She twisted her fingers and closed her eyes. Tears were coming again. She dropped her head back. A layer of water covered her lids and escaped to dampen her lashes. "They're gone," she whispered.
She felt his fingers clench, lightly brushing her hips as they tightened. "If it's company you want. I'll be your guardian, Princess. I promise I won't die. It's not the company you're looking for, but it's all that I can offer with certainty."
Aurelie looked down at him, the tears that welled dripped down her cheek. Words weren't forming in her mind, she searched for something to say, and gave up. She wasn't going to admit it, but what he said left her with far more comfort than she thought she'd ever get without aunt and uncle by her side.
He watched her with a soundless candor.
The night was deadly quiet and illuminated solely by the soft light of the moon. Aurelie curled her toes; they were ice cold and beginning to ache. It felt colder now than it was when they climbed out of the pond. Cupping her arms over her mouth, she exhaled.
"Do you want to go inside?" He moved closer, pressing his shoulder against hers.
"Can we stay a little longer?"
They felt like old friends who had just met again after being apart for years. Perhaps, it was just Aurelie's imagination tricking her into thinking that she had finally met someone who understood her, even if just a little, but after they sized each other up, being with him felt natural. As if she had spoken to him before, known him before.