Page 8 of Hitched to the Shadow Creature (Monster Matchmaking #3)

A ya

I woke to the warmth of sunlight streaming through the window, reaching across empty sheets where Varkolak had been.

My body still hummed with pleasure from our night together, little sparks of sensation dancing across my skin at the memory of his touch.

I stretched, savoring the delicious ache in my muscles.

"Varkolak?" I called out, but the silence of our home answered me.

On the wooden table by the bed lay a note written in his elegant, slanted script: Gone hunting. Rest. I'll return with food.

I smiled, pressing the note to my chest. Last night had been transcendent. The way he'd held me, like I was something precious. The way he'd whispered my name against my skin. For the first time since arriving in the East, I felt truly at home.

A home I never thought I'd find after losing my parents.

I rose, wrapping one of Varkolak's soft furs around my naked body, and padded to the kitchen.

The kettle was still warm. He hadn't been gone long.

I hummed as I prepared tea, my mind replaying flashes of last night: his hands in my hair, his mouth on my neck, the way his shadow form had curled protectively around me as we slept.

The air shifted.

The fur slipped from my shoulders as I froze, tea forgotten.

Something was wrong.

"Who's there?" I spun around, clutching the fur to my chest.

Two dark figures stood in the doorway, shadow creatures like Varkolak, but not him. Their outlines were sharper, more formal somehow. One was taller than the other, both rigid in their posture.

"Aya Fletcher," the taller one said. Not a question.

"Where's Varkolak?" I demanded, my voice stronger than I felt.

"The Council requires your presence," the shorter one replied, ignoring my question.

I backed until I hit the counter. "The Council? Why? Varkolak isn't here."

"That's precisely why we've come now." The taller shadow moved forward. "You will dress and accompany us. Immediately."

My heart hammered against my ribs. "And if I refuse?"

The temperature in the room plummeted. The shadows didn't move, but somehow they seemed to grow larger, darker.

"That would be unwise," the shorter one said.

I swallowed hard. "Let me get dressed."

They didn't leave the room, just turned their backs. I dressed quickly, hands trembling as I pulled on a simple tunic and pants. No time to brush my hair or wash my face. The night of passion with Varkolak felt suddenly distant, a dream dissolving in morning light.

"I need to leave a note," I said. "So Varkolak knows where I am."

"No," the taller shadow said flatly. "Come."

They flanked me as we left the house, moving in perfect synchronization. Outside, the village was quiet, too quiet. People peered from windows but quickly disappeared when we passed. No one would meet my eyes.

"What's happening?" I asked.

Silence.

We walked toward the sacred mountain, to a place I'd never been before. A massive stone structure with no visible entrance emerged from the rock face. The shadows approached it, and suddenly an opening appeared, not a door, but as if the stone itself had parted.

Inside was a circular chamber lit by strange blue flames. Seven tall chairs formed a semicircle, five of them already occupied by shadow creatures more substantial than any I'd seen before. Their darkness seemed to have weight, to pull at the surrounding air.

The two shadows who'd escorted me melted into the background, leaving me alone in the center of the room. Standing there in my simple clothes, hair tangled from making love, I felt exposed. Vulnerable.

But I wasn't about to show it.

I straightened my spine and lifted my chin. "I understand you wanted to see me?"

A shadow in the center seat leaned forward. "Aya Fletcher. Human. Mate-claimed by Varkolak of the Eastern Ridge."

"Yes," I said. "And he by me."

A ripple of what seemed like displeasure moved through the council members.

"Do you understand what you've done?" asked one to the right.

"I've fallen in love," I answered simply.

The central shadow made a sound like cracking ice. "Love. A human concept with no place here."

Another figure rose from behind the council, smaller, hunched, moving with a shuffling gait. A hood obscured their features, but their hands were visible as gnarled, ancient, with long fingers that constantly twisted around each other like restless snakes.

"The seer," whispered a voice behind me.

The hooded figure approached me, circling slowly. I fought the urge to step back.

"I see," the seer croaked, voice like sandpaper on stone. "Oh, I see clear now what was clouded before."

"What do you see?" the central council member demanded.

The seer's hood turned toward me, then back to the council. "The union is too powerful. Blood and shadow. Light and dark. The balance tips."

My stomach clenched. "What does that mean?"

The seer ignored me, continuing to address the council. "The joining must be prevented. The lines must not cross. The child must not be."

Child?

My hand flew to my stomach. Was it possible? We'd only been together one night, but with magic involved, who knew?

"There will be no child," the central shadow declared. "The unbinding ritual will see to that."

"Unbinding?" I stepped forward, fear giving way to anger. "You can't separate us. Varkolak chose me. I chose him."

"Your choice is irrelevant," said another council member. "The shadows have survived millennia through careful pairing. We do not allow random unions, especially not with humans."

"It wasn't random. I saw the ancient drawings in the mountain caves," I argued. "My DNA?—"

"Was interesting," the shadow cut me off. "A curiosity. An experiment. Those drawings mean nothing. A passing fancy perhaps by one who lusted for that which he couldn't have."

The seer shuffled closer to the council, voice dropping to a whisper I strained to hear.

"...ancient ritual in the purification caves... three nights under the black moon... separation of essence..."

They were planning to tear us apart. To undo whatever bond had formed between us during our night together.

"No," I said, loud enough to echo off the stone walls. "I won't let you."

The central shadow rose, towering over me. "You have no say in this matter. You will be confined until preparations are complete."

Two shadows materialized beside me, gripping my arms with surprising strength.

"Take her to the holding chambers," the central council member ordered. "And find Varkolak. He must be prepared."

"He'll never agree to this!" I shouted as they dragged me toward a side passage.

The last thing I heard was the seer's raspy laugh. "Agreement is unnecessary. The ritual requires only bodies, not consent."

They locked me in a small, windowless room with nothing but a narrow pallet and a water jug. Hours passed, maybe. Without light, time stretched and compressed like taffy.

I paced, thinking of what I'd overheard. The unbinding ritual. The purification caves. Three nights under the black moon.

I needed to know more. Needed to stop them.

Pressing my ear to the door, I listened for guards. Nothing. Either they were extremely quiet, or they believed the door was enough to hold me.

They were wrong.

Growing up in the human colony, I'd learned to pick locks by the time I was ten. Food storage hid behind locked doors, but hungry kids are resourceful. I pulled a thin metal pin from my tangled hair, always prepared, my one vanity, and set to work on the ancient lock.

It took longer than I'd hoped, but eventually, the mechanism clicked. I eased the door open, peering into a dim hallway. Empty.

I slipped out, keeping close to the wall. Where would they keep information about rituals? About matches and pairings?

Following the curve of the hallway, I found myself in a vast chamber filled with scrolls and books. The tribal archives. Perfect.

I hastened through the shelves, scanning titles, pulling out anything that looked relevant. Most were in a language I couldn't read, but some had illustrations that told their own stories.

One scroll showed shadow figures with lines connecting them as family trees. Another depicted a ritual with two figures being pulled apart by what looked like moonlight.

Then I found it, a ledger with lists of names. Some were shadow language, but others were human names with dates beside them. Matches. Pairings arranged by the council.

I flipped through, finding entries going back decades. Each pairing had notes beside it: Strength enhanced, Stealth improved, Shadow density increased.

A noise from the hallway sent me scrambling to replace the scrolls. I kept one small document tucked in my tunic, something about the purification caves and ritual practices. I needed to know what we were facing.

I slipped from the archives just as voices approached, ducking into an alcove as two shadow figures passed.

"The feast is prepared. All will attend," one said.

"And the human?" asked the other.

"The drink is prepared. She won't resist."

They were going to drug me. Tonight.

I needed to find Varkolak, to warn him. But how could I escape this labyrinth of stone?

Following the shadows at a distance, I emerged into the main chamber again, now empty of council members. From there, I found my way out of the building, blinking in the sudden sunlight.

It was late afternoon. How long had I been inside? Varkolak would be back from hunting, would look for me.

I started running toward our home, but hadn't made it halfway when a group of shadow creatures surrounded me.

"The human attends the feast," one announced. "By council order."

I considered fighting, but there were too many. Better to play along, find Varkolak at the feast, warn him.

"Fine," I said. "Take me there."

The villagers held the feast in the village center, with long tables laden with food and drink. Shadow creatures mingled. Everyone seemed tense, conversations hushed.

I searched for Varkolak, but couldn't find him.

"Looking for your mate?" The central council member appeared beside me, offering a goblet. "Drink. It's traditional."

I took the cup but didn't drink. "Where is he?"

"Preparing. There are customs he must observe." The shadow nodded to my untouched goblet. "Drink. To refuse is to insult our hospitality."

I raised the cup to my lips, pretending to sip while watching the council member over the rim. Their posture relaxed slightly.

"What customs?" I asked.

"Ancient ways. Shadow ways." They gestured to a group of elders. "Ask them. They love to speak of the old times."

It was a dismissal. As soon as the council member moved away, I emptied my goblet into a nearby plant and approached the elders, hoping for information.

But the council was more observant than I'd given them credit for. Another cup appeared in my hand, delivered by a silent server.

"You must be thirsty after your adventures today," said a voice behind me.

The seer.

"I'm fine," I said.

The hooded figure moved closer. "Drink, child. Before the others notice your... reluctance."

All around us, eyes watched. If I refused again, they'd know I suspected.

I raised the cup, taking the smallest possible sip. The liquid was sweet, cloying, with a bitter aftertaste.

The seer's hood nodded in satisfaction and moved away.

I had to find Varkolak now. Had to warn him.

But the room had begun to tilt. Sounds stretched and blurred. My lips felt numb.

Too late, I realized my mistake. Even that tiny sip had been enough.

I tried to stand, to call out, but my legs wouldn't support me. The cup fell from my fingers, shattering on the stone floor.

As darkness crept into the edges of my vision, I saw the council members approaching, faces impassive.

"Take her," one ordered. "To the purification caves."

Hands lifted me. The ceiling swirled above me. Then nothing but darkness and the sensation of movement.

When consciousness returned, I was being carried through a narrow tunnel. My body felt impossibly heavy, my thoughts thick as honey.

Glowing crystals in the rock walls cast eerie blue light on the procession. Ahead, I glimpsed a chamber with a pool of black water in its center.

The purification caves.

I tried to struggle, but my limbs wouldn't respond. Could only watch as they carried me toward whatever ritual would tear Varkolak from my heart.

The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me again was the black water rippling, as if something beneath its surface was waking up.