Page 6 of Hitched to the Shadow Creature (Monster Matchmaking #3)

V arkolak

I watched Aya as she stood in the center of my quarters, her slim figure illuminated by the single dim lamp.

Her curious eyes took in everything, the sparse furnishings, the charcoal sketches on the wall, the heavy curtains that blocked out all light.

She belonged to brightness, not to shadows. Yet here she was.

"So, when do we start?" Her voice had that eager edge to it. The one that made something uncoil inside me.

"Now." I moved behind her, close enough that I could smell the sea salt in her hair. "Close your eyes."

She hesitated, then obeyed. I didn't touch her, though every instinct in my body urged me to. Instead, I lowered my voice. "The shadows are always there, Aya. Even in the brightest light."

"How am I supposed to feel them?"

"First, you need to understand they're alive." I circled her slowly. "They breathe. They listen. They move."

Her lips twitched. "You're trying to scare me."

"I'm trying to teach you." I dimmed the lamp further, watching her tense. "Fear is useful. It sharpens your senses."

The room darkened, shadows lengthening across the floor. I called to them silently, and they responded, curling around my ankles like smoke.

"There are shadows all around you now. Tell me where they are."

She frowned, eyes still closed. "I don't know. How could I possibly?—"

"Don't think." I moved closer, my chest nearly touching her back. "Feel."

Her breathing quickened. I could feel the heat radiating from her skin. "They're... cold places. Like pockets of cool air."

Something tightened in my chest. Most humans never sensed anything. "Good. Where?"

She turned slightly, hand outstretched. "Here." Her fingers brushed a shadow I'd gathered nearby. "And... here." She turned again, reaching toward another.

I couldn't hide my surprise. "You can feel them?"

"Not exactly." Her eyes opened, meeting mine in the dim light. "It's more like knowing where a sound is coming from without hearing it."

This wasn't normal. No human should have even minimal shadow sense. It took everything in me not to step back, to reexamine her completely.

"Try to touch one." I kept my voice steady despite my shock.

She reached out, fingers extended toward a shadow pool. Nothing happened, as expected, but she frowned as if disappointed.

"They move away from me."

"They respond to intent." I stood beside her now, called a shadow to my hand. "Watch."

I shaped it between my palms, a small dark sphere that pulsed gently. Her eyes widened, childlike wonder spreading across her face.

"That's beautiful."

Something warmed inside me at her words. No one had ever called our abilities beautiful before.

"Try." I let the shadow dissolve, then positioned myself behind her again. "Hold out your hands."

I placed my hands beneath hers, not quite touching. "Imagine the darkness pooling in your palms. Feel the cool weight of it."

Aya concentrated, brow furrowed. For a moment, nothing happened, then a whisper of shadow drifted across her fingertips before dissipating.

I sucked in a breath. Impossible.

"Did I do something?" She turned her face toward mine, so close I could count her eyelashes.

"No," I lied. "But you're sensing them. That's more than most humans ever achieve."

My hands had moved to her wrists now, ostensibly to position her correctly. Her pulse hammered against my fingertips.

"Again," I murmured, my mouth closer to her ear than necessary. "Focus."

We practiced for an hour, my hands occasionally guiding her arms, her shoulders, her waist. Each touch lingered longer than it should have. The shadows responded to my growing desire, darkening the room further, curling around both our ankles now.

"You're distracting me," she finally said, her voice hushed in the darkness.

"Am I?" I didn't move away.

"You know you are."

I stepped back, needing distance. "We're done for today."

Her disappointment was palpable. "That's it? I was just starting to feel something."

Oh, I was feeling plenty. Too much. "Tomorrow," I promised, moving toward the door. "Same time."

A sharp knock interrupted us. The door swung open without waiting for my response, and my cousin Nyx stood there, his tall frame blocking the light from the hallway.

His eyes narrowed when he saw Aya. "So it's true. You're training the human."

"The Elder assigned me to her." I kept my voice neutral, though the shadows around me darkened in response to my irritation.

"A waste of time." Nyx stepped into the room, circling Aya like prey. "Humans can't manipulate shadows. Their blood is too thin, their spirits too weak."

I felt Aya stiffen beside me but admired how she kept her expression calm.

"The Elder seems to think differently," she said, meeting his gaze without flinching.

Nyx's lip curled. "The Elder is getting old. His judgment falters."

"That's enough." I moved subtly between them. "State your business, Nyx."

"I came to issue the challenge." His dark eyes flickered to me. "Her presence here dishonors our bloodline. The elders must see she doesn't belong."

Something cold and dangerous coiled in my chest. "What kind of challenge?"

His smile was all teeth. "Tomorrow at dusk. The Shadow Arena. Let her prove her worth—or let her leave."

"She's under my protection." The words came out before I could consider them.

Nyx raised an eyebrow. "Is she? How interesting." He leaned closer to me, voice lowered. "She has you bewitched already? Or is it just that you haven't bedded a human in decades?"

The surrounding shadows lashed out without conscious thought, striking the wall beside Nyx's head. He didn't flinch, but his smile widened.

"The challenge stands. Tomorrow at dusk." He looked at Aya again. "Unless you're afraid, human."

"I'll be there," she said quietly.

After he left, she turned to me, face pale but determined. "What exactly did I just agree to?"

"A mistake." I paced the room, shadows swirling in my wake. "He means to humiliate you. Or worse."

"Then teach me to defend myself." She stepped into my path, stopping me. "You said I have some sensitivity to shadows. That's something, right?"

I looked down at her, at the stubborn set of her jaw, the fire in her eyes. Something about her called to me, like shadows to darkness.

"It's not enough."

"Then what happens in this challenge?"

I hesitated. "Traditionally, it's combat. But since you're human, he'll likely choose a shadow endurance test."

"Which means?"

"He'll surround you with his shadows. They'll press in, make it hard to breathe, to think. Most humans panic within seconds."

Fear flickered across her face, but she squared her shoulders. "Then I won't panic."

"It's not that simple?—"

"Teach me." Her hand touched my arm, warm against my cool skin. "Please."

I looked down at her fingers on my forearm, then back to her determined face. "We have until tomorrow."

We trained through the night. I pushed her harder than I should have, summoning shadows to envelop her, teaching her to control her breathing, to find the pockets of air even in darkness.

She surprised me again and again. Where most humans would break, she endured. When she should have fled, she faced the darkness. And every time our bodies came into contact, my hands positioning her arms, steadying her waist, catching her when she stumbled.

By dawn, she was exhausted, dark circles under her eyes. She'd collapsed onto my bed, too tired to return to her own quarters.

"Rest," I told her. "You'll need your strength tonight."

She looked up at me, hair splayed across my pillow. "Stay with me? Just until I fall asleep."

I should have refused. Instead, I sat beside her on the edge of the bed. "Sleep. I'll be here."

When she reached for my hand, I gave it. When her eyes drifted closed, I studied the curve of her cheek, the sweep of her lashes. The longer I watched her, the more the shadows in the room responded, gathering closer, as if drawn to my forbidden thoughts.

I had not planned to care about Aya Fletcher. Now I feared I might not stop.

Dusk came too quickly. The Shadow Arena stood at the center of our settlement, a circular pit with high walls that trapped the darkness inside. Our people gathered around the edges, murmuring when they saw me enter with Aya.

Nyx waited at the center, shadows already dancing around him. His smile was predatory as we approached.

"The human accepts my challenge," he announced to the gathered crowd. "Let us see if she deserves a place among us."

The Elder stepped forward from the crowd. "The terms?"

"Shadow endurance," Nyx said, as I'd predicted. "If she can withstand my shadows for one full minute, she may stay and continue her training. If not, she leaves tonight."

The Elder looked to Aya. "Do you accept these terms?"

She nodded, her face composed despite the fear I could sense rolling off her. "I do."

"Then begin."

I wanted to protest, to step between them, but this was her choice. All I could do was watch as Nyx's shadows gathered, thick and menacing, and surged toward Aya.

They engulfed her completely. Through their darkness, I could see her silhouette standing rigid, fighting the instinct to struggle. Seconds passed like hours. I counted them silently, my own shadows restless around my feet.

Thirty seconds. Her outline remained steady.

Forty-five seconds. I saw her hands clench into fists.

Fifty seconds. Her knees began to buckle.

"Enough!" I stepped forward, breaking protocol.

Nyx turned to me, his concentration broken. "The time isn't?—"

"I said enough." I sent my own shadows forward, pushing his back. "She's proven herself."

"She's proven nothing," he snarled. "Except that you've grown soft."

His shadows struck out at me, unexpectedly vicious. I deflected them, but one caught me across the chest, burning cold where it tore through my shirt.

The crowd gasped. Drawing blood was forbidden in a formal challenge.

I didn't hesitate. My shadows surged forward, wrapping around Nyx's throat. "You forget yourself, cousin."