Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters #1) - Jaymin Eve Page 0,110
my flames is beyond all others. None are immune, and even though their energy is keyed to my own, I would have not been able to resist their pull.”
Interesting.
“Didn’t know you had any weaknesses when it came to magic,” I said, sounding like I was joking, but it was the truth.
Shadow shook his head. “Everyone and everything in this world has weaknesses. Some have more than others.” I got a pointed look, like he thought I was the most fragile flower in the world. What he had to remember, though, was like this garden, sometimes the most delicate flower had the strongest bite.
“Do you have a lot of weaknesses?”
He laughed, a throaty sound that genuinely seemed amused. “You’re refreshing in your directness.”
I’d never been called “refreshing” before, and he didn’t say it like a compliment, but coming from Shadow, I was taking it as one.
“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
A spark of fire flamed in his eyes. “Not a chance, Sunshine. Two beings in this world know my weakness, and I’m not adding a third.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Fair enough.”
If all five of his best friends didn’t know, then I sure as fuck wasn’t getting on that Christmas card list.
My stomach chose that moment to grumble, reminding me I was hungry.
“Len went for food,” I said defensively when Shadow eyed my midsection, like it was about to grow legs and start walking around.
“I know. I relieved him of guard duty, so now it’s up to me to keep you alive.”
My smile faded as I stared him down. “I mean, are you really qualified for that job? You’ve basically tried to murder me daily since we first met. And that’s not even counting the days you locked me in my room without food.”
Shadow draped his arm around me, a sudden movement, and then I was surrounded by his warmth. It should have been too much, but it was weirdly perfect.
“You’re only alive because of me, Mera,” he said, no jest in those words. “I could have killed you at any moment, and despite my judgment insisting that it is you who might be a facet in my downfall, you’re still breathing.”
It was only as he all but swept me off the table that I realized something kind of huge. I’d hugged him before. Me making the first move, and there had been no pain. This wasn’t the first time recently that had happened—I’d dismissed the others, thinking he’d seen me coming and stopped the pain. But this time, I’d taken him completely by surprise, and still no fire raged across my nerve endings.
What did that mean?
Before I could ask, he set me on my feet. “Come on. Let’s get some food. We have a day or two before we can leave Faerie, so we’re going to have to make ourselves at home.”
That was my sole focus then. “Can I survive here outside of this garden?”
Shadow was back to wearing his mask of mystery, nothing on his face except a resigned acceptance of being stuck with me.
“I’ll keep you alive, Sunshine.”
For some reason, that felt like a promise.
A promise, for once, I actually believed in.
49
Unlike Len, Shadow didn’t seem to stress about us leaving the magically hidden garden.
When we stepped out to find Inky on the other side of the sentinels, I understood why. Between Shadow and Inky, nothing was going to take us on. Even the surrounding flowers appeared to be leaning back from us, creating a nice, clear path.
“What is Inky?” I asked Shadow as we stepped onto a garden path that appeared to have a massive house right at the end of it. Well, actually, house wasn’t right… it was a mega mansion. And it was floating. The fae knew how to do this living thing right… if ultimate luxury and magic was your thing, of course.
Shadow side-eyed me. “You can’t possibly think I’m going to tell you that. It’s tied to me, and I won’t give you any weapons against me.”
Hmm. So Inky might hold information about his weaknesses, somehow…
It was clear from Shadow’s expression that I wouldn’t be finding out one more thing about either of them today, so I gave up worrying and focused on seeing every part of Faerie that I could. Ever since I’d opened the doorway and heard that music, a need to come here had taken root inside me. Like that music had seeped into my soul when I hadn’t been looking.