Page 260 of Shadowblood Souls: The Complete Series

I meander over to where Nadia’s sitting with a couple of the younger girls. She’s grown her pixie cut out to almost shoulder length, but her love of bright colors hasn’t changed. Today she’s got on a vibrant red blouse and jeans with matching patches.

She gets up to meet me before I’ve quite reached her, her smile just the slightest bit tight. My stomach knots with automatic worry.

I give her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. As we drift over to a quieter corner, I study Nadia’s expression. “Pearl said you have news.”

The succubus had made it sound like good news, but it’s hard to know how well to trust her judgment. She’s still getting the hang of human norms.

“Yeah.” Nadia twists her hands together in front of her. “I—there’s a boy at the other school—he’s really cute, and nice and funny… He asked me to go out on a date with him!”

Her voice hitches with excitement on those last words, and my worries subside. She’s not upset, just nervous.

And I’ve got to say, it’s good to know she can make that kind of connection again, even if she doesn’t know she’s had it before.

I grin back at her. “That’s awesome! Where are you going?”

“We haven’t figured that out yet. I…” Nadia bites her lip and looks at the ground before meeting my eyes again. “Are you sure I should go?”

I cock my head. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“I just…” She sighs. “I mean, I’m not like him. I’ve got powers he’d think are crazy. How could I ever tell him about that, or this?” She swings her arm to encompass the entire school.

That is a problem we haven’t really needed to deal with yet.

After they got settled into regular life and we were sure they had control over their talents, Nadia and a few of the older teens wanted to try out a typical high school.

We arranged for them to attend the nearest one, about an hour’s drive away, for the second half of what we’re saying is their senior year.

But they’ve avoided revealing much about their life outside of school.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I think that’s something you’d have to take as it comes.

Maybe it would be okay once you get to know him better, if it seems like he wouldn’t freak out.

And if he’s the kind of person who would freak out, then you’ll figure that out and stop hanging out with him. But you can give it a shot.”

As soon as the shadowblood rampage stopped, the groups of vigilante monster hunters and the military patrols some countries had started up quickly dissolved. The official story now is that the destruction was caused by a terrorist group that must have imploded internally.

Like Rollick said once, humans have a large capacity for explaining away anything they have trouble accepting is real. But we’re still being very cautious about using our abilities anywhere someone not in the know might see them.

Nadia lowers her gaze again. “You don’t think it might be dangerous? For him ? I know I haven’t hurt anyone again, but everyone always says it’s harder if you’re feeling more emotional.”

The question hits me like a gut punch. I take a second to gather my thoughts before answering.

“The teachers here have been testing your reactions when you’re emotional, right? And that’s been fine.”

She nods.

“And your temper has evened out a lot since you took the antidote that Rollick’s people made. You haven’t noticed any side effects since then, have you?”

A few months ago, the scientifically-inclined shadowkind that the demon brought on to study Balthazar’s and Engel’s notes finally came up with a treatment for the shadowbloods Balthazar pumped up. From what we’ve seen, it’s taken the edge off their aggressive tendencies.

And after that victory, we wiped every shred of the Guardianship’s research on creating shadowbloods out of existence.

Nadia rubs her mouth. “Nothing except that my powers are a little duller than before. Actually I’m not totally sure I could hurt anyone with them. My light hasn’t gotten bright enough to burn in a while.”

That was the other consequence of our “antidote”—one the shadowbloods all accepted when they agreed to take it. All of them still have more power than they did before Balthazar’s intervention.

I watch Nadia’s expression carefully. “Does it bother you that your talent has gotten weaker?”

She pauses to really think about it. “No. I wouldn’t want to burn people. And if I needed to protect myself, temporarily blinding them works just fine.”

Her wry grin with that observation tells me she really is okay.

I grasp her shoulder again. “I think you should give it a try. See what could happen with this guy. That’s the whole reason we’re here and learning everything we can, right? To find out what our lives can be.”

The tension fades from Nadia’s stance. She leans into my comforting hand for a moment. “Yeah. You’re right. I bet it could be really good.”

“You know what else could be good?” I glance around the courtyard and lift my voice. “Who wants to go clubbing tonight?”

Heads whip around, and a cheer goes up from the older teens. Way back when we first took them under our wing, I told them we’d try for at least a home dance party, and since they’ve gotten more stable, we’ve headed to Santa Fe for a proper night out on a few past visits.

It isn’t only the shadowbloods who enjoy the dance club.

When we arrive in Santa Fe late that evening after dinner and a long drive, several of the shadowkind spill out of the darkness in the cars to join us—as well as Toni, by Pearl’s side.

One being with a talent for illusions makes sure the bouncers see us all as being of age, though we monitor the teens carefully to make sure they aren’t ingesting anything risky.

The music sweeps around me, and I give myself over to the beat. These days, I don’t need a drink to gather the courage to dance among company.

My guys form a circle around me, acting as a shield from unwanted interest from other parties. Jacob shoots a glare at one man with a leering glint in his eyes who tries to push his way over to me, but the dude gets the hint fast enough to avoid broken bones.

I whirl between them, swaying with Griffin, dipping with Andreas, letting Zian spin me around. Sweat forms beneath my shirt, and my breath gets short with the exertion, but I couldn’t feel more alive.

When we pause to take a quick break and grab some water, I survey the younger shadowbloods and our ‘monstrous’ allies enjoying themselves throughout the crowd. Smiles flash, and laughter peals through the air. Hair swishes while feet tap with the rhythm.

This is our family. Our blood. And we’re finally truly free. What we’re doing here doesn’t just have the feeling of a party—it’s outright rejoicing.

We’ve built something together in the past year. Something that’s by us and for us, exactly the way it should be.

At the end of the week, the six of us Firsts clamber back onto the jet. As soon as it’s in the air, I pull out the book on sound engineering that one of the shadowkind found for me.

Maybe it’d be interesting to get in on the behind-the-scenes part of musical experiences. Or maybe not. Either way, I’m going to find out.

As the whir of the engine carries softly through the cabin, Andreas, Griffin, and Zian launch into a series of card games. Jacob brings up a TV episode on his phone. And Dominic is gazing intently at his tablet, with the periodic flick of the screen that tells me he’s reading.

Abruptly, he bursts into laughter.

All our heads jerk around. It’s pretty rare for Dom to have such a strong reaction.

I reach across the aisle to prod his arm. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, this book.” He chuckles a little more and then grins at me. “I think the heroine is going to end up like you, with more men than she knows what to do with.”

I mock-glower at him. “Hey, I am perfectly capable of handling all five of you.”

“Yes, you are, Tink!” Andreas contributes in a playful tone.

My curiosity is piqued all the same. “You’re really reading a story where a woman ends up with more than one guy?”

Dominic glances back at his tablet. “Well, it hasn’t gotten there yet.

But she definitely wants more than one, and I feel like it’s heading in that direction rather than a love triangle.

Or… quadrangle, or whatever it’d be with four men.

Of course, there’s also the problem of her having a ghost stuck in her head being sassy and trying to boss her around, and the fact that she can’t let any of the men know about her magic skills because she’d be executed… ”

It’s my turn to laugh. “Sounds almost as complicated as our lives.”

“Maybe that’s why I like it so much.” He catches my hand to give it a quick squeeze. “I’ll let you know how it turns out.”

Jacob sets aside his phone. “You know, you can read about imaginary people maybe getting a relationship like ours. I think I’d like to enjoy the one we actually have.”

He leans close and nips my jaw before murmuring just loud enough for the other guys to hear, “Do you think it’s time we joined the mile-high club, Wildcat?”

A flush spreads over my entire body at his touch and his suggestion. “Um… I think I could be convinced.”

Zian gets up from his seat, his gaze heated. “Better find a spot where there’s room for all of us, then.”

He scoops me up and carries me to the sofa area behind the regular plane-style seats. As the rest of my guys gather around us, I reach out to each of them, drinking in every bit of adoration and passion they’re offering.

As I lose myself in the bliss of their kisses and caresses, a headier joy sparks in my chest.

There are a lot of ways our story could have turned out. A lot of horrible outcomes we only narrowly escaped.

But I know without a doubt that this is exactly the happy ending we were fighting so hard to reach. And now it’s ours to keep.

* * *

Thank you so much for sticking with Riva and her men through all their struggles to their happily ever after! I hope it was as sweet for you as it was for them.