Page 20

Yien

M y little human needed space.

As soon as I saw the smile slide off her face, I knew that I had gone too far.

It didn't matter if I already knew what she felt. Or that I could feel the way she relaxed against my shadows. I hadn't lied when I told her that no one had ever been accepted by them or allowed to see the souls’ memories.

Maybe it was too soon. Or maybe it was too hard to hear.

But I could wait. For her, I would wait an eternity. I would give her as much space as she needed, no matter how much it pained me.

In the meantime, I had things to do.

I had been agonizing over Allura. Desperately trying to think of ways she might still be alive.

But with each passing day, I found myself more and more angry.

Angry that I hadn’t noticed. Angry that I hadn’t been able to stop it. Angry that I hadn’t been more motivated to find out what happened.

I let myself materialize from the shadows into a room that felt like it should have been the dining hall. But where a long table with hundreds of chairs should have stood, there was a large bed placed snugly against the wall instead.

A fireplace was off to the left and floor-to-ceiling windows to the right.

Everything looked expensive. From realms other than this one. Everywhere I looked, the entire room was drenched in wealth. Like every other royal, the twins were no exception—they loved to show off the absurd amount of money they had in every facet of their lives.

I had never tried to sneak into the twins’ bedrooms before, but there was a first for everything and I needed answers.

I wasn't just going to banish myself to a corner of my realm while I let my human figure out what we were. There was a nagging, heavy feeling haunting me day and night. The need to do something.

“I just knew you were a fucking pervert,” Eros said, amusement in her tone. The human between them made a noise and hid herself beneath the covers, but Oros just stared at me.

They were all naked, though I did have the kindness to let them finish whatever it was they were doing before I barged in.

“I heard a rumor. I came to see if it was true,” I said, shifting on my feet. My anger was barely contained in the shadows around me, all moving closer and closer to them.

“Speak,” Oros commanded, her tone not as light as her twin’s.

“Allura was known to frolic at the edges of this realm. She hasn't been seen in weeks.”

Eros looked at Oros, silent for the first time. A red flag if I’d ever seen one.

“I saw her around,” Oros said. “But I made sure to send her on her way.”

I gritted my fangs. How stupid do they think I am?

“And did she actually go on her way?” I asked, my voice low.

Eros didn’t meet my eyes, and I felt it boiling under my skin. The rage. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold it in.

“The first time,” Oros replied.

“And the second?”

“I tried to stop it,” Eros said, finally speaking up. Her gaze met mine, making it impossible for me to ignore what I really didn’t want to believe. Pain rushed through me, cracking something in my chest.

Xira had been right.

But she didn't return to me.

My shadows extended around us, winding violently throughout the room. Lights from above shattered. The human in the bed cursed.

My shadows darted toward her, wrapping around her. The twins might not be able to see the tendrils, but they sure as hell could feel them and notice how the room darkened.

“A life for a life,” I growled.

I didn’t recognize my own voice. Didn’t have time to think about my actions. All I could think about was Allura’s poor face as they murdered her.

“Please, Yien, let’s talk?—”

“Talk?” I asked. “Don’t you think you should have talked to me the first time she was caught?”

Windows broke. The human shifted in my shadows, her breathing heavy and panicked.

Both Eros and Oros looked more scared than I had ever seen them in my life.

“One royal favor,” Oros said quickly. Eros already had her arms around the human, attempting to pull her away from my grasp. “It’s not the same as her life, but we'll grant you a favor—anything within our power.”

I swallowed thickly, a bittersweet feeling overcoming me.

I wanted to kill them. Make them pay for what they had done.

I wanted to use my shadows and take what they had taken from me… but I couldn’t.

The feeling of my own helplessness only exacerbated my anger.

Allura’s smile flashed across my mind. She wouldn’t want this. She wouldn’t want me to endanger myself.

The royal guards had probably already been alerted of something going on in the twin’s bedroom. Soon, this room would be filled with people who wanted to kill me. And if that happened… What about Iris? She wouldn’t be safe in my realm, all alone.

It was that thought alone that calmed me.

“I would have sent for you,” Eros said, noticing the room was getting lighter as my shadows retreated. “But I assumed you knew.”

“Well, I didn’t,” I hissed. I let the shadows consume me. Home. Get home. “I will hold you to that fucking favor.”

I used my shadows to travel back to my realm and into the kitchen where I'd left my human.

I needed to feel her against me. Tell her everything will be alright. To tell her she’s safe in this realm. With me.

But when I got there, there was only a half-eaten plate.

My little pet was nowhere to be found.