Her Shadow Warrior

by McKenna Chase

Her hand stilled. “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m a shadow, but I can solidify shape when I choose to.” And at that moment he chose to.

  Her fingers moved from his jaw to his cheek. “You feel so real. So warm.”

  He liked that she had pushed past her fear of him to explore him that way. “One of the differences between a rogue guard and a shadow warrior. Once they go astray, the icy chill of evil clings to the shadow beings they’ve become.”

  “I felt the cold when he grabbed me,” she said, finally believing that what he was telling her was true. “And then warmth when you moved past me on the beach. Only at the time I had no idea there were two of you on the beach with me.”

  “It was dark,” he said. “And we were both in our shadow form.”

  “Your eyes...” she said as she studied the dark lids with her fingers. “They’re like black diamonds with a hint of fire in them.”

  “A trait of a shadow guard,” he explained.

  “Shadow guard?” she repeated as if trying to decipher everything he was telling her.

  “A special legion of warriors assigned to protect humans from rogue shadows.”

  “Like that thing out there on the beach?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “What are rogue shadows?” she asked, pulling her inquisitive hand away.

  “When a human is born, a shadow is assigned to them. That shadow becomes the human’s life force keeper until that human passes on. Rogue shadows are ones who have gone astray and seek to steal a human’s life force instead of protecting it. With eyes like black ice, they take human lives instead of letting fate determine what should be their last breath.”

  A shudder moved through her. “That thing...that shadow gone bad, he meant to murder me on the beach tonight?”

  “That would have been the end result, but it was your life force he wanted. The very essence of a human, their will, intelligence and strength. It’s what drives a human’s heart to beat, their minds to think.”

  She pushed a hand back through her wind-mussed hair, clearly struggling to digest everything he was telling her.

  “Elena?”

  She met his gaze again. “I don’t understand. Why do they need our life force?”

  “For power.”

  “How does stealing a human’s life force give them power?”

  “It’s complicated, Elena. Even for those of us born into the Shadow Realm. To put it simply, for every shadow guard vanquished,” he explained with a frown as his thoughts shifted to his brother, “for every life force stolen, the rogue shadows grow stronger. That is why I’ve been sent here. It is my sworn duty to keep Brakkar and the others from gaining any more power than they have already taken. Power he seeks to obtain through you.”

  Her face paled. “So when Brakkar attacked me on the beach tonight, he was after my life force?”

  He nodded his dark head. “Not was, Elena. Is. Tonight was just the first of many attempts. That is why you must do as I tell you.”

  “I’m not sure I can,” she admitted. “I have issues when it comes to a man controlling me.”

  “The choice is yours. Know that I cannot keep you safe if you do not. You will die.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  The choice was hers? Hardly. Because dying was not an option for her. Not after fighting so hard to survive when Ryan had tried to take her life. That meant trusting a man...a shadow she knew nothing of with her life.

  Elena backed away from the shadow guard and drew up her knees, clasping her arms protectively around them. “Why my life force? I mean there are millions of people out there. Why did he choose me to go after?”

  “Brakkar seeks your life force because it is far more valuable to him than other human beings’. It is unusually strong.”

  “What makes mine any stronger than the next person’s?” she demanded, hating the feeling of helplessness that swept over her.

  “Because you’re a survivor,” came his simple reply.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “A year ago you fought your way back from the brink of death when it would have been so much easier for you to just let go. And in doing so you were marked as one with exceptional inner strength which in turn makes your life force worth far more than most humans.”

  So she had cheated death a year before only to be stalked now by some murderous shadow? And all because she had refused to die. How fair was that?

  “But I’m not strong,” she argued, tears pooling in her eyes. “I’m stupid. I didn’t die that day because I didn’t want my husband to have to live the rest of his life with my death on his conscience. I tried to convince myself he hadn’t meant to push me down those stairs.”

  “But he did.”

  She nodded sadly, hating the reminder that the man she thought loved her had done something so unthinkable to her. “I know.”

  “Are you alright?” he asked, placing a comforting hand on her arm.

  She closed her eyes. “I’m not sure.” It was still hard to accept the fact that Ryan, a man who had pledged to love her forever, had willingly tried to murder her. Even worse, that he had gotten away with it. She looked up at Dariun again. “Ryan was abusive, but a cold-blooded murderer? I didn’t want to believe it. When I finally accepted the truth of what he’d done, I pressed charges and filed for divorce.”

  “You gained your freedom, but the bastard managed to keep his as well,” her shadow guard answered knowingly.

  “He had a good lawyer,” she replied. “Tell me something, how is it you know so much about me?”

  “It is my duty to know everything about you.”

  She studied his outline which appeared even darker against the backdrop of the beige wall. Standing well over six feet tall, his dark, muscular form held her gaze captive, made her think about things she shouldn’t be thinking.

  What was wrong with her? She should be afraid, terrified of this specter that had invaded her life, saying things she didn’t understand. But she felt no fear. Not of him. If anything, she felt a sense of security she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

  More secure wasn’t all she felt. This mysterious, dark entity evoked responses from her body that shocked her. A deep, sensual hunger she’d never known before.

  “Tell me something, Dariun,” she said, her voice surprisingly seductive. “Was kissing me part of your sworn ‘duty’ to protect me?”

  “No,” he ground out as he paced the floor. “It was not. That kiss should never have happened.”

  But it had and she’d liked it. Far too much. She’d allowed herself to be seduced by a shadow and then felt oddly hurt by his apparent indifference to their heated kiss. How irrational was that?

  Very. Yet that didn’t stop her from needing him to want her. Needing to feel like she was desirable to a man contrary to her ex’s opinion. Even if the man she wanted at that moment came to her in the form of a shadowy apparition.

  “Against shadow guard rules?” she pushed, sensing his warring emotions.

  “And mine,” he answered. “I can’t keep you safe if I’m distracted by my desire for you.”

  His response gave her a much needed boost in sexual confidence. He desired her. “Do you feel desire like a human would?”

  “More so,” he admitted. “Shadows are highly sensual beings.”

  She pushed off the bed and moved toward him.

  “Elena,” he warned, clearly sensing her intentions.

  “I just want to touch you.”

  “Not a good idea,” he said, yet remained perfectly still as she reached out to him.

  She closed her eyes and ran her fingers along his face, taking in the strong cheekbones and firm, proud chin. Then her fingers trailed to his lips, surprised by their softness. She tried to envision his face with flesh like hers, knowing just by touch that he’d be incredibly handsome.

  He caught her off guard by taking her finger into his mouth and sucking on it gently.

  She gasped, her eyes flying
open to meet his dark, intense gaze. Desire oozed from her body as he suckled once more, drawing her finger into his mouth even deeper. Her legs threatened to buckle beneath her.

  He curled his fingers around her wrist and slid her dampened digit free, ending the sensual assault. “You should sleep,” he said, his voice husky with desire.

  “Why?” She wasn’t tired, not after the sensual kiss he’d place on her finger.

  “Because the next several days will undoubtedly be quite stressful for you.”

  “Several?”

  “Once the Blue Moon phase is over you will be safe,” he answered with a nod.

  “What is the Blue Moon phase?” More precisely – how long did the Blue Moon phase last?

  “We can discuss this more on the morrow. But for now you need to rest.”

  As if she’d be able to sleep knowing that thing was still out there waiting to pounce on her. What she needed was a distraction, something to keep her from being swallowed up by the fear. Her gaze moved over her shadow guard again.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked, his dark eyes studying her closely.

  Apparently shadow guards were not capable of reading other peoples’ minds. Fortunately, for her. “I was thinking that I can’t sleep in this.” She waved a hand down along her body, drawing his attention to the bikini that covered it.

  “Then put on whatever it is you sleep in, but do so quickly.” He turned to give her privacy.

  “But−”

  “No argument, Elena. I’m not leaving you alone while you change. Now get ready for bed.”

  “What happens tomorrow?”

  “The moon cycle begins.”

  As if that meant anything to her.

  “It means that Brakkar will come at us,” he explained as if reading her thoughts, “full force to get what he wants – your life.”

  Her body tensed as the stark reality of his words sank in. This wasn’t a game. It was real.

  “What is a moon cycle,” she asked nervously as she hurried to get ready for bed. “And don’t tell me we have to wait until tomorrow to discuss it. I have a right to know what I’m up against.”

  His deep sigh echoed through the room. “Fine, but then you will sleep,” he said, his back still to her. “The moon cycle is the time during which a rogue shadow attempts to seize his victim’s life force. It occurs once every two to three years during what human’s refer to as a Blue Moon. The moon cycle begins at dawn the morning after the Blue Moon and ends at dusk two days later.”

  “Why during a Blue Moon?” she asked as she slipped beneath the covers. “Why not next week or the week after? Or during a regular full moon.”

  He turned and walked over to stand beside the bed. “Because the soul acts like a beacon during the moon cycle and rogue shadows are drawn to that light, craving it.”

  She tried her best to process everything he was telling her, as crazy as it all was. “What happens after the moon cycle is over?”

  “You will be safe until the next Blue Moon and I will move on to my next assignment.”

  He would leave her?

  As if sensing her distress, he said, “You needn’t worry about your safety. Another permanent shadow will be given to you.”

  “Another?”

  “Your birth shadow was vanquished earlier today.”

  “Vanquished?”

  He hesitated.

  “Dariun?”

  “He was sent unwillingly to the Abyss, a realm where rogue shadows take refuse and attempt to reprogram the shadow guards held prisoner there.”

  “He was a friend of yours?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I haven’t given up on finding him or my brother.”

  “They’ve taken your brother?”

  For moment she thought he might not answer then his deep voice drifted over to her. “He’s gone missing as well.”

  He tried to sound unaffected, but there was a hint of sadness in his voice and her heart went out to him. “You shouldn’t have to be here. You should be out there searching for your brother and your friend.”

  “No,” he replied. “Here is where I belong. My duty is to keep you safe.”

  “Dariun...”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m glad they sent you to watch over me.”

  “They almost didn’t send me in time,” he admitted. “Brakkar nearly had you.”

  She looked up at him as his words settled in. “I thought you said Brakkar could only take my life force in the first few days after the Blue Moon. And that begins tomorrow.”

  “True, but that doesn’t stop him from attempting to get into your head. He wants you to be afraid. Wants to paralyze you with fear.”

  “He succeeded there.”

  “Tonight was nothing. And never forget that rogue guards don’t play by the rules. They seek out inner weakness in their intended victims and use it to their advantage. Just as Brakkar attempted to do to you on the beach. And if you had locked gazes with him...” He didn’t have to finish for her to know it would have been bad. Very bad.

  With or without the moon cycle, Dariun had saved her life that night. Of that, she had no doubt. She sat there in silence, trying to sort everything out in her head.

  “What is troubling you?” Dariun asked.

  “I’m trying to figure out why they would send you here to be my shadow guard and then take you away once the moon cycle has run its course.” Had he requested it be done that way so he could search for his brother and friend? It was a possibility. And while s he couldn’t blame him if he had, she hated the thought of her protector leaving so soon.

  “I was chosen to come here by the Shadow Warrior force. We’re specially trained guards that are called in to shadow humans under extreme circumstances.”

  “Such as my birth shadow having been sent to the Abyss?”

  He nodded.

  “What if I refuse to take another shadow?” She wanted Dariun.

  “It is not your decision to make.”

  She already knew that, but it didn’t stop her from wanting it that way. “On the beach tonight,” she said, “you warned me not to look in Brakkar’s eyes. Why?”

  “Because that is how the rogue shadows gain your trust, by putting you in a cooperative trance. They will use that trust to gain full access to your life force. So you must never give them that advantage over you.” He reached out to cup her chin, tipping her face upward. “Tell me you understand what I’m saying to you.”

  “How can I when I don’t understand any of this?” she groaned, shaking her head.

  He let his hand fall away. “I know it’s hard, Elena, but you have to try.”

  “I’ll do as you ask,” she said with a sigh.

  “I promise it will all be over soon.”

  She arched a thin brow. “I’m not sure that sounds very promising. Are we talking over in a good way or bad way?”

  “In a good way. Trust me.”

  “I do.” Crazy as it was, she really did. With her life.

  He nodded, clearly pleased by her reply. “Now try and get some sleep. Morning will come for you far too quickly.”

  She reached for the switch on the lamp by her bed and froze.

  “Elena?”

  She pulled her hand away. “I was just thinking maybe I should leave it on.”

  “Brakkar won’t come again tonight,” he assured her as he reached out to push several wayward strands of auburn hair from her face. “Shadows reach their peak strength during the light of day. That is when Brakkar will seek to carry out his intentions.”

  She nodded sleepily. “Okay.”

  He stepped away from the bed to settle into the white wicker chair by the window. There he sat watching her in silence.

  Trusting in him to know what to expect of the rogue guard, and knowing that she would never be able to sleep with him watching her so intently beneath the lamplight, she gave in and turned off the lamp by her bed. The
n she settled back onto her pillow and closed her eyes.