Page 8 of Bartered by the Shadow Prince (Bargain with the Shadow Prince #3)

Shadow Man

ELOISE

I toss and turn in bed, but despite my exhaustion, sleep evades me.

Have Damien and I done the right thing coming here?

Maybe Chicago and the Lamia coven would have been the better option after all.

But even as I consider it, I cast the idea aside.

There’s no going back. I can’t even light a candle using my magic, let alone imbue a symbol with enough power to carry us across worlds.

Which leaves us with only one choice. Build a life here.

After all, our decision to come here made sense. If nothing else, Damien deserved to go home after centuries of servitude. But now, everything has changed. It’s hard to see the future when the present isn’t what you thought it would be.

I shift onto my side, studying a lighted shadow box on the wall. It looks like something was once displayed there, although it’s empty now. I wonder if it was a tapestry or a vase.

I’m still contemplating it when the night appears to pour from the sky and form into a man on the terrace.

My human eyes would have missed how gracefully he forms, how the distinct edge of his shadow self emerges fully from obscurity in the equally dark room, but my vampire senses register it all.

I can see him clearly, the stars in the night sky an arresting backdrop to his silhouette.

And I can smell him. His leather and rain scent surrounds me, draws into my lungs, and goes straight to my core, igniting something wild and untamed.

I hear his deep inhale, know that he senses my desire like the fragrant blooming of a rose. “Little bird,” he rumbles. “You need me. The blood wasn’t enough?” He swaggers toward me, his white teeth flashing in the darkness.

“It’s never enough.” All my worries about this new world dissolve in a rush of need.

He doesn’t disappoint. Tendrils of darkness spread from his body and snake under the covers.

When they touch me, they feel like the night was woven into the softest silk.

Channels of lustrous darkness slip between my toes, around my ankles, wind up my thighs.

When they converge and course over the most sensitive part of me, I toss my head back on a gasp.

He’s there, forming over me, completely naked, with nothing between us but my nightgown.

I reach down and slide it up and over my head so that we’re skin to skin. He burrows his face in my neck, my hair. His lips find mine, his tongue stroking in. By the time he works his hips between my heat-slick thighs, I’m wet and ready. He reaches between us and groans.

“Oh little bird, you have been thinking of me.”

“Always.” I arch against him, wrapping my legs around his hips and trying my best to draw him closer, to force him to give me what I want. But he holds firm.

His rumbling laugh tickles my skin as he trails his kisses down my neck and across my collarbone. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were feeling impatient.”

I grind against him, the tip of him sliding against my slit. So close. Every cell in my body wakes up and yearns for more friction, more contact, more everything.

I groan. “Stop teasing me. I need you. I swear I’ll combust.” I lick along his jaw.

“We wouldn’t want that. Let’s see what we can do with a spark.

” He enters me in one violent thrust. It’s almost painful, and if I were still human, it might have ripped me apart.

But I’m not human, and the fast, rough fullness almost sends me over the edge.

It’s an invasion. A masterful taking and giving of pleasure that leaves us both breathless and trembling for a moment.

I press my forehead to his. “I swear on my life, being with you, Damien, is like discovering I have wings, every single time.”

He nuzzles the side of my face. “If you have wings, then I must have died to be graced with an Anglyre like you to carry me to the Darklands.”

I have no idea what an Anglyre is, but I sense it must be close to angel and that’s good enough for me.

I grab his back and start moving against him, driving him deep and deeper again.

We move as opposites. We move as one. This dance between us, it’s no longer new, but in many ways, time has only made things better.

I know him, how he moves, what makes his lips part with pleasure.

I flip him over onto his back and rise above him, riding him harder and faster, until the tendons in his neck strain with his pleasure.

So do his shadows. They wind around me, teasing my breasts, my ass.

Shadows thread into my hair. My god, the cool vibration is everywhere.

I crest, and it’s as if I’m thrown into the golden light of dawn. It’s blinding and powerful. I feel him under me, responding to the arch of my back, the way my inner muscles work him with every shock wave that ripples through me.

My skin glistens with sweat. My heart thunders in my chest. And his arms are around me, holding me like I’m the most precious gift of his life. Like without me, he wouldn’t exist at all.

We wake to the rising moon, and I climb from bed to watch it, grabbing the silk nightgown and pulling it over my head as I walk to the railing for a better view.

Tenebris is perpetually night, but here, the moon is so close, so bright, there is a clear differentiation between day and night.

The moonrise is as spectacular as a sunrise on Earth, shedding blue, silver, and purple light across the horizon.

Damien’s warm finger slides under one spaghetti strap of the nightgown. “Where did you find this?”

The cream silk strains across my chest and hips.

It’s a good thing the queen doesn’t want this back because it won’t be the same after I’ve worn it.

“Nevina gave it to me along with a few dresses. I appreciate the kindness, but they barely fit. We’ll need to find a place where I can buy some clothing in my size, eventually. ”

“Nevina brought it to you? Not Brahm or one of the servants?” By his tone, I sense this surprises him.

“A servant carried the dresses for her, but she came herself. Demanded I eat a translation charm, by the way. I can understand your language now.”

“You understand Aediadic?” he says in his native tongue.

“Yes, I do. Every word of it. And speak it too,” I respond in his language.

He curses under his breath.

“You sound upset. Why? Did you want to keep me in the dark?”

“No, little bird. Only, I wish it were your spell and not hers. I’ve not had time to grow to trust her yet. Perhaps I’m set in my ways, but ingesting dark elf magic still gives me pause.”

I shrug. “You weren’t here, and I had to make a decision. I thought it would be a bad idea for me to offend our hosts. Scary, though, considering I’m a vampire and don’t normally consume regular food. Anyway, it didn’t hurt me, and it worked.”

“No side effects?

“None. Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. The spell tasted good to me. Can vampires eat regular food if they want to, like shades can?”

He considers the question for a moment. “I’ve known a few to partake in wine and raw meats. Unlike with shades, I don’t believe you take any nutritional value from it. But if you enjoy it, it won’t hurt you.”

“That’s good news. I don’t want to appear rude or stand out at meals. Nevina was already curious about what I am.”

“She was? In what way?”

“She figured out that I must have been the one to open the portal between worlds. She wanted to know about my abilities, my powers. She didn’t say so directly, but I believe what she really wanted to know was if you planned to challenge them in any way.

It’s a new kingdom. I guess some of the citizens still haven’t accepted her. ”

He hums to himself. “Not surprising. The elves and the shades have been at war for as long as I’ve been alive. I admit it will take me some getting used to as well.”

I sigh. “She asked me to help with preparations for the Harvest Festival.”

“A good sign you succeeded in endearing yourself to her, then. I hope in the future I can do the same. After all, it’s wrong for me to hold ill will toward my brother’s mate, let alone the queen.”

I run a hand over my skintight nightgown. “So, about the clothing I mentioned?—”

“Can it wait a day or two?” he asks. “Brahm met me in the graveyard to tell me he’d found me a position, but I must start right away.”

“Already?” His brother must truly be glad to have Damien home to have found him something in a matter of hours.

He smirks. “Don’t sound so excited. You are looking at New Stygarde’s latest stable manager.”

“Stable manager! Is caring for horses something you even know how to do?”

He scowls. “We ride rabble beasts here, not horses. They are different from the creatures of your world. And yes, I am competent when it comes to caring for them. I think I’ll find the stables a sufficient challenge to keep me busy.

” While his words seem positive, I notice his smile doesn’t reach his eyes. This is not what he was expecting.

“You can’t have wanted this. Stable Manager seems like a poor use of the skills of someone who once was heir to the throne.”

He blows out a deep breath. “Brahm was never a generous man. During the challenge, I told you that story of how his arm was bitten off by the black lake salamander. Do you remember?”

“It’s not something you quickly forget.”

“Taunting me was a favorite pastime of his. He was often jealous of Karyl and me. He felt my father favored me.”

“So, this stable manager thing is a sort of cosmic punishment in his eyes?”

He snorts. “No… Maybe. Honestly, I think Brahm has always felt a bit threatened by me. He can’t start me somewhere with too much power. If I was given access to the lords of Stygarde’s regions, I might show him up.”

“He’s making sure you stay in your place? Is that what you’re telling me?”

Damien gives his head a hard shake. “I’m not going to lie to you.

It injures my pride to do this. But the truth is, this is the safest place for us to be right now while we are learning about the changes that have happened in the kingdom.

We’ve only been here a day. It will serve us to stay and get our bearings. ”

He’s right. We’re both free. We’re both safe. Any position in this kingdom, no matter how temporary, will help us get on our feet. “Sounds great, then. I will wedge myself into one of these dresses and pray to the gods of textiles that the zippers hold until you can get me to a seamstress.”

He kisses me soundly. “I sincerely look forward to seeing you in such a dress.”

“You degenerate.” I laugh.

“How is the magic coming?” He points his chin at my parents’ book.

“It isn’t. Even the easiest of spells remains frustratingly out of reach. I can give myself a nosebleed but can’t light a simple candle.”

His hold on me tightens. “No magic at all?”

“None.”

He kisses my temple, then slowly steps away from me, allowing his touch to linger on my back. “Give it time. There’s no rush.”

“Easy for you to say. I feel gutted, losing the connection to my ancestors.”

His face falls, and he looks at the floor. “I think I can relate more than you might think.”

His family. He just lost his as well. I mentally kick myself and vow to keep my struggles private for a while. At least until he has a chance to grieve.

He wraps his arms around my shoulders and nuzzles my neck. “I have a few minutes this morning. Join me in the bath?” He tilts his head toward the adjoining chamber.

I laugh. “I’d love to. You know, Nevina told me that this was your room growing up. What used to be there, in the shadow box?”

He brushes my hair back from my face. “That was where I kept my broadsword, a gift from the blacksmiths of Mount Damocles. It was made of Stygian steel. Quite effective against dark elves. I named it Dawnbreaker because if I was fast enough with the blade, it would block their deadly sun magic.”

“Where is it now?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. When I was taken, I left it behind on the battlefield. I haven’t seen it since.”

“Hmm. But everything else here is exactly how it was before?”

He nods. “Exactly the same.” His gaze darts around the room and then settles back on me. “At least one thing in this kingdom is the same.”

I catch the deep sadness that flits through his expression before he turns and heads for the bath.