Shadows and Shade Box Set

by Amanda Cashure

  Killian and Seth are already there, and they haul her out and lay her on the mossy path.

  I struggle over the edge, my heavy pants making every movement clumsy.

  Her eyes are open, her breaths shallow but even, and she’s looking straight up at the firedragons on the ceiling.

  No Bubble

  I’m alive?

  I know I felt death – being compressed into a non-existence. I know I was gone.

  But now I’m not… not gone, but am I actually alive?

  Because if this is alive, it’s chuckin’ weird. There are long thin lines – glowing lines – everywhere. From Killian to Seth, Seth to Pax, all of them to me. Every-chuckin’-where.

  And the smells.

  My nose is broken, for sure. Cherries and old books and vanilla and leather. All at once. All distinct and yet on top of each other. And mixed in with so many others. Ash and cinnamon and spiced apples and honey. So many.

  I can feel my Elorsins. Like they’re alive, which is stupid because I know they’re alive. Alive and leaning over me with worried expressions.

  Pax’s hand is pressed to my chest, feeling the rise and fall of my breaths. His golden eyes are focused on his hand and blinking hard to clear tears. Overlapping him is the almost translucent outline of Thane.

  You can see me? – he asks.

  But I’m in too much of a daze to answer.

  “Is the bubble gone?” Seth asks.

  Then they all run away. Gone. I struggle, gasping even though the air hasn’t altered. Looking. Searching. Freaking-the-chuck-out.

  Where the chuck did they go!

  The answer – as far away as possible. They each touch the furthest possible surface, then race back before I’ve managed to sit up. Just gasping, just struggling. The world dims before my eyes, the threads and colors fade, Thane vanishes, and the intensity settles to normal.

  “Help her up?” Seth suggests.

  They grab at me, all at once, and I jolt with the sudden movement.

  “Beautiful,” Pax says, drawing me into his arms.

  He still has a vanilla scent, but not in the overwhelming depths that I could sense a moment ago. His breaths are long and heavy with relief, and his chest is rumbling with Thane’s presence. Like me existing is allowing them to exist. I hold on to him as firmly as my shaken body will allow.

  When he relaxes the slightest bit, Seth claims me. Turning me and at the same time stepping in to take Pax’s place. I reach for his cheeks, cupping them in both hands and meeting his intense sapphire eyes. Water is still trickling from his hair over his face and the guy could definitely do with a shave, but it’s those eyes that hold all of my attention.

  “Vexy,” he whispers, then leans in to press quick kisses over my cheeks, my forehead, and down to my lips. “Just let me kiss you.”

  His power gently teases at me, and a cherry-orange scent drapes through my awareness, then he eases me away from his grip and firmly into Killian’s.

  Killian picks me up, my legs wrapping around his waist and locking into place. The air is cold by the time it hits my lungs, icy and tasting like the man and his ever present Darkness.

  His forehead rests against mine, a deep groan on his exhale. The sound sends shivers down my spine. We both let our eyes drift closed, just leaning into each other, feeling each other. Alive. Alive.

  Until Roarke lifts me from Killian, and I naturally wrap my legs around him too. I fall into his kiss – letting the desire wash over me. Not lust, but soul-deep need, and the two of us stop breathing to keep our lips together for as long as possible.

  His power wraps around me, warming me from the inside out.

  It smells like purple.

  No, wait – it feels like purple?

  Whatever it is it makes me think of purple, roses and lilies.

  He stops suddenly, pretty much dropping me to my own two feet.

  “I don’t have my power reined in. I can’t. This water isn’t letting me,” he says with wide eyes – like he just realized it.

  Pax steps in close behind me, his fingers trailing over the exposed skin on my neck. Roarke nods, like there was a question in Pax’s eyes that I didn’t get to see.

  Power slams into me, and I drop to my knees – hard. Lightning rushes through my every muscle in breath-staggering pulses. My hands brace against the stones of the path as my mind stutters and reels.

  Then it’s gone.

  Slowly, weakly, I begin to pull myself to my feet.

  “Wait,” Killian barks, and no one moves to help me. “Let her do it.”

  “What was that for?” I demand, my voice thin and strained.

  Getting up is step one. Facing them is step two. Slapping each of them one after the other is step three. I like this plan.

  Pax grabs me by my ripped-up shirt. I try to turn, and when that fails, I try a combination of leaning back and twisting to look up, but before I can work out what the bralls is going on, his lips are on mine. Needing is an understatement. Devouring isn’t even close. One arm braces me, the other trails down over my chest. Searching for the hem of my shirt then sliding under it to find skin. I’m wrapped up in his arms. Pinned with my back to his chest. Unable to move, his hands searching for a connection with as much skin as possible.

  “Again,” Killian orders.

  Pax’s power smashes into me – only this time the world goes black.

  * * *

  The second I’m aware of my body, I throw out a fist and hit something. Something that’s the exact right amount of hard and soft to be a person.

  My person.

  Pax, by the sound of the growl. My eyes snap open as he lets go of my legs and my feet hit the ground. Looks like he was trying to carry me, but now he has one arm around my back and the other rubbing his jaw.

  “She’s already awake?” Seth asks.

  “No,” I mutter, testing my strength to make sure I can stand before pushing myself away from Pax.

  We’ve just left the glass tunnel to the Spring, and behind my four guys the walls shatter and reform – solid and smooth and impenetrable once more.

  “Guys,” Roarke says, his tone blanched. We all turn, my state of awake and Pax’s state of having-been-punched-in-the-jaw forgotten. “The defenses are down. Wisdom gate and all the domain wards are gone. We’re sitting ducks.”

  “This was in the plan,” Seth says, rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck, ready for a fight.

  “Not yet,” Pax says. “Did we do this, or someone else?”

  They close in around me, Pax at the back with his arm draped over my chest and Killian at the front.

  “I don’t know. We could have disrupted the magic when we went into the Spring, or someone powerful could have countered it. They’re not here yet though. Domain is empty,” Roarke says.

  “Agreed,” Killian rumbles, marching towards the cottage. “Let them come.”

  “Them who?” I demand.

  “The Sabers hunting you since we left the White Castle,” Roarke answers.

  “Someone’s been hunting me?”

  Seth chuckles. “You didn’t notice?”

  “No,” I snap. “We were all being chased – not just me – and you killed them.”

  Silence.

  “You did kill them?”

  “Not all of them,” Pax deadpans.

  “We need to leave,” Roarke says.

  “We dig in,” Killian counters.

  “We don’t know what Kitten can handle right now.”

  “Pax just hit her with everything he has,” Killian argues, the two of them continuing to toss their points back and forth.

  “And it knocked her out!”

  “For two seconds.”

  “Guys,” I shout. “I’m wet, cold, hungry, and busting for the toilet. Let’s do those things first?”

  “Seth and Roarke, saddle the horses and bring them to the door. Killian, ward the house – we’ll be safe inside.”

  Killian pauses to tilt his head
toward the sky and inhale deeply.

  “It’ll be here soon,” he says, then Seth and Roarke break off, running towards the horseyard.

  Inside the cottage it’s clear exactly how relaxed we’ve become. The boots are scattered, bags everywhere, a cloak over the back of one couch, a bow leaning against the window. Pax grabs my hand and rushes up the stairs, marching for the bathroom. He practically pushes me toward the toilet, lets go of my hand, then hovers beside me.

  I turn slowly, arms folded over my chest. “I don’t pee on command.”

  A slow smile crosses his features, reaching up to his eyes and easing the tense set to his shoulders.

  “And you can’t make me,” I add.

  I tilt my head a little to the side, searching for that shadowy-double of Thane that I saw by the Spring, but it’s not there.

  “I won’t watch,” he says, turning his back.

  I press my palms to his shoulder blades and push him out of the bathroom’s alcove. No time like the present to create boundaries.

  “Or you could wait out here,” I say.

  But he follows me back into the room, right behind me, his exhales dancing across my neck. “I can’t be that far away from you,” he says softly.

  I find my insides relaxing a little – because honestly, I don’t want him to be that far away from me. But no amount of being stuck with these guys has made going to the toilet in their presence any easier.

  His fingers trace down my arm, skimming over the rough bandage made from Seth’s shirt. They sting each time I move my arms, and I definitely am not savoring the sensation as much as when I was affected by the Power Blocker.

  “I’m sorry,” he says.

  “Just don’t expect me to have the same reaction next time,” I tell him.

  His lips press to the back of my head, so gentle, so controlled, so faking it. His hands settle on my hips, the weight of them comforting. Our layers of wet clothes stick to each other, but I don’t care.

  “I’m going to fix it, Beautiful – Shade. We’re getting out of here, then we’re going somewhere safe. Whatever it takes.”

  “You can’t make that kind of promise to yourself. There are a million more dangers in this world, and we still have a job to do.”

  “Fine,” he says, sliding his hands a little higher and gripping a little tighter. “If I can fix it, though, I will.”

  Then he moves away, and I really don’t have an argument to that, so I don’t stop him. Which leaves staring at the toilet – which I really need to use.

  “I’ll pack, you do you,” he says, followed by the sounds of bags being picked up and dumped onto the bed.

  Zippers and clothes being stuffed and buckles knocking against each other.

  I pee while he’s busy, not bothering to put my wet pants back on when I’m only going to be taking them off on the other side of the room.

  He reads my mind, tossing dry clothes over his shoulder. He yanks his own shirt over his head, slipping into a dry one.

  “Take only what you need from Eydis’ stuff,” he says, changing his pants and kicking a bag across the floor.

  The guy gives new definition to multi-tasking in a rush. The canvas bag settles by my foot. Eydis’ rack of clothes was in perfectly neat order when we arrived. White robes at the front, a handful of more common clothes in my size at the back. I’ve worn several items already, most of them stuffed in the bag beside my foot. My bag – because Seth went shopping in Lackshir. All of them did.

  Now Eydis’ things are a mess. The drawers half-opened, items spilling out, and all of the clothes rearranged when the guys scented them. I open the zip and empty the woman’s breastbands and braies in on top of the other stuff. The only things left in the drawer are rectangles of monthly cloth – that look brand new. Did the woman never have a period?

  I tumble the math through my mind – because this kind of thing is going to be a pain in the ass on the road.

  Almost two weeks at the White Castle, but we weren’t on the road for a full week, and we haven’t been here for a full week either. Not exactly an accurate guess, but that makes almost four weeks in Silva. I close my eyes, trying to replay my last cycle – well, not replay it, just pin down what moon phase at the time. The moon was dark, so my rough guess is any day now.

  My stomach sours at the idea – though at least there’s no bubble. I would have died of embarrassment if the guys had to share those moments with me.

  I shove all of Eydis’ monthly supplies into the pack. Followed by the last outfit hanging on the rack.

  “Where’s your cloak?” Pax asks.

  “Downstairs.”

  He grabs the bags and heads for the door.

  “Keep close,” he says, but I’m already in his wake with my own bag in my hands.

  Everything is lined neatly beside the door. The feel of magic is heavy across the perimeter of the cottage – something I’d never noticed before.

  Seth and Roarke tie the horses to the veranda railing and hurry inside.

  “How is she doing?” Roarke asks, seeking me out as soon as he’s inside.

  “She is doing fine,” I say.

  ”Fine,” Killian chuffs.

  “Why?” I demand, feeling a little left out of the conversation.

  “Can I try?” Roarke asks, looking directly at Pax and just waiting.

  “Now’s as good a time as any to find out what she can handle,” Seth says, dragging one of the seats around to face the window.

  “Um,” I say, walking backwards and putting the larger couch between me and them all. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “His power is harder on the body than Pax’s,” Seth offers, lining arrows neatly along the wall. He notches one, then puts his feet up on the windowsill and almost lazily scans over the edge of the forest.

  My mind flashes with the sights, sounds, and feelings of the last time Roarke hit me with his power. It involved me falling flat on my back on the floor and moaning in ecstasy. I don’t need an audience for that.

  “Not happening,” I growl. “Don’t we have to leave?”

  “If we have to fight, Kitten, we’d like to know what we can do with our power. The last time I Allured near you, you almost died.”

  Roarke moves to the left, so I move to the right. Him trying to get around the couch to me, and me trying to keep the furniture between us.

  “Then don’t fight near me. You guys fight out there, and I’ll stay in here,” I argue.

  “Do it,” Pax says.

  Thane adding, “Sorry, Beautiful.”

  I stop running and stare at them, my gaze hitting his and stopping my heartbeat. Thane’s outline is there then gone as the world falls out from beneath me, and heat rushes through every part of my existence.

  I drop to my knees, but instead of hitting hard wood, it feels like fresh-cut roses cushion my fall, sweet and delicate and intoxicating as my eyes roll back and desire fills me. I can feel the way Roarke has opened the door, but the heat inside me is all mine. Want and need instantly entangle, then get buried under the urge to have my hands all over him, and his hands all over me. My body responds.

  My muscles move on their own accord, launching me to my feet. I’m across the room and slamming into Roarke with the fire still raging through me. My legs wrap around him in mid air, putting us hip-to-hip as we hit the ground. My hands pull at his wet shirt, tearing it off him. Each button pops in quick succession, and only the leather manages to hold fast. Doesn’t matter, my hands slide down his bare chest as his fingers thread through my hair. I kiss him hard, without fear or worry or even a second thought to the three other brothers also in the room…

  Until someone yanks me back.

  I kick and struggle, pushing at the big arm around my middle. “Let me go.”

  Roarke climbs to his feet, his breath heavy. He staggers across to the empty single seater and falls backwards into it.

  That’s when I realize Seth is laughing, and Pax is smiling far too wide, give
n his mate just tried to have sex with his brother right in front of him. And if I’m being honest with myself here – I wasn’t going to stop.

  “Sit,” Killian says, dropping me onto the couch.

  Pax runs his fingers over my forehead, snagging into my hair and tilting my head backwards to look up at him.

  “It’s okay, Beautiful,” he says, then lets me go.

  Okay? By whose standard? What if I think it’s not? I actually didn’t want to get my clothes off just then, I said no, and Roarke’s power still took complete advantage of me? Why don’t I get a say in this?

  I stand, straightening my clothes, and march toward the door.

  “Where are you going?” they all demand.

  “For some space – I can do that now. No bubble, remember,” I say, gripping the handle.

  “She can’t get out,” Roarke says, right as I yank it open – and walk out.

  “Get her,” Pax snaps.

  “Shadow, stop,” Killian booms.

  Four men chase after me, catching up as I get to the bottom of the stairs and stop among the tethered horses.

  I turn on them, teeth unclenching. “Go on, I dare you. Just one more of you come near me with your power, and I will tear your chuckin’ balls clean off.”

  They all stop, Killian smirking, and Seth with his hands up and out in surrender, a bow in one and three arrows in the other.

  “Can’t I be happy to be alive – just for a few hours?”

  “You can be happy inside,” Pax orders.

  “Not when you’re throwing your powers at me!”

  I could keep walking right now, and the idea feels so alien. I don’t need their permission, and they can’t stop me. I could turn and just walk off, or get on one of these horses and ride hard and fast in any direction I want. Just go.

  Not forever. Nope – just for a few minutes. A few hours. The time it takes to breathe and teach them a lesson.

  “Kitten, get inside. I won’t go near you again,” I plead.