Page 6

Dove

Fire and ash rained down on a shadowy silhouette. It felt familiar, but I recognized none of it. He turned, eyes gripping mine as though we were meant to stare at each other.

Something grabbed my arm, bright red fingers with long black claws, great black eyes—

I shot awoke, pain spreading through my back.

Radioactive green eyes glowed from the corner of the room, and my fear and paranoia erupted like a volcano. I was paralyzed, unable to move as the demon watched me. My heart thundered against my chest from my nightmare.

Shadow being, Tier I.

But, goddess, it felt as scary as a Tier V. I nudged my arm against Seven roughly and his eyes shot open. He frowned as though he were about to chastise me until he saw my fear. His gaze followed mine and he sprung to his feet buck naked and raced across the room with his super-speed.

The demon disappeared as it ran from Seven, its radiant eyes blinking into the darkness of the Shadow. Seven followed it in the Shadow Vale, leaving me alone with the sleeping Kairos and Enko. Complete silence except their slow steady breathing. Kairos had taken Seven’s bed, and the short distance felt like miles in my fear and I scooted closer to Enko on the makeshift bed.

I watched the corner of the room, unable to move as I continued to relive the fear of the creeper watching me, unable to fully catch my breath.

Seven reappeared and I nearly jumped out of my own skin, letting out a small gasp as he raced over the bed, holding a dagger with black demon blood dripping across the floor.

“I got him, Fated,”

he said. “It was a Shadow being.”

I nodded, eyes still wide, peering around him at the place where it had stood.

Seven crawled into my bed, wrapping his arms around me. “I’d never let anything hurt you, Dove.”

His use of my name stirred something in me and I finally met his ruby eyes.

“Why?”

was the only word that I could get out. Somehow, he understood.

“Were you having a nightmare? It was attracted by your fear. They can only be killed in the Shadow Vale. They’re not like corporeal demons. They can’t hurt you, not physically, at least.”

I nodded, gulping at the lump in my throat as he soothed me. “You’re okay, Fated.”

His voice caused Enko and Kairos to stir, but Seven didn’t notice.

“They feed off your fear, the more they’ve fed, the brighter their eyes glow and the longer they can stay out of the Shadow Vale.”

Seven smirked for a second. “You gave him a lot of power.”

“What’s going on?”

Kairos asked sleepily as he stretched from the lone bed across the dorm.

Seven ignored the question. “You won’t find many descriptions of them in your books. Shadow beings are rarely seen; they don’t like to be. I’m surprised he didn’t scuttle back to the Shadow Vale the moment you opened your eyes, Fated. He was probably just curious or hungry.”

He paused. “Or your fear was greater than normal.”

The fear must have chased my nightmare away because I couldn’t remember it now. Seven seemed so comfortable with the demon, and he held me tighter.

“You’re not afraid of them?”

I finally mumbled.

Seven laughed. “No, they’re mostly harmless. There’s a lot of them in the Shadow Vale. And fear only gives them power.”

Enko moved closer, and Kairos stood up from Seven’s bed, still sleepy and confused. “Can I have my bed back now, Seven?”

“A Shadow being?”

Enko yawned. “What kind of stupid demon would come into a room with powerful kitsune sleeping?”

Their fearlessness gave me strength and I took a deep breath, relaxing into Seven. It was still the witching hour, just after three. Enko relaxed back into bed after making sure everything was okay.

But when Seven began to move back toward his own bed, I gripped him tighter. “Will you sleep with me?”

He raised his eyebrows dubiously and smirked. “The demon is dead. And I’m much scarier than that demon, Fated.”

I think he got a kick out of how scary he thought he was, but he wasn’t scary to me. He gave me comfort. Seven nudged against me and lifted the blankets as he snuggled in close to me, one arm squirming under my pillow under my neck, and the other a dead weight over my chest as his breathing slowed and he returned to sleep instantly.

I checked the corner once more as I nuzzled close to him. It took a long time for my racing heart to calm and sleep took me.