Shadows and Shade Box Set

by Amanda Cashure

  “Seth, get Pax,” Killian shouts as we step in closer to the group.

  But not too close. I stop before Kitten’s bubble will let her jealousy get the better of her.

  Seth stops moaning in the shade of a nearby tree. Grumbling, “Yes, boss,” he climbs to his feet.

  “I’ll walk with you,” Aria says, moving off.

  Rose rests her hand on Killian’s arm – her power sparking heat with his. BloodSeeds and DarknessSeeds are so closely akin – the closest in this world that Killian has.

  Kitten moves, and before I’ve even got a read on what she’s doing, she flicks her curved karambit blade and embeds it into the ground right beside Rose’s boot. Rose’s hand moves off Killian, taking the hint.

  “Damn,” Kitten mutters, sounding surprised. “Looks like I do get jealous.”

  “Good thing you missed,” Rose says, smiling down at the blade and then across at Kitten.

  “She didn’t miss,” Killian rumbles, even chuckles a little.

  Rose looks at the big guy with a streak of admiration. “Really?”

  Killian nods.

  “Impressive. I want to train with her,” Rose says, offering Kitten a playful smile. “Just don’t kiss me.”

  Pulling the blade from the ground, Rose holds the hilt towards Kitten. I reach out and take it, not wanting either woman to move any closer.

  Not wanting Kitten to move out from my shadow, or not wanting Rose to have a weapon near my woman. I’m not sure which.

  Kitten smiles at the Saber as she accepts the blade from me. Does she realize she’s angled herself slightly behind me, that she’s flipped the karambit into an overhand grip and shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet? Every part of her is ready to attack even while she is feigning a desire to run. It’s a little amusing to watch.

  And maybe a little sexy. I can’t wait to see this woman strong enough to enter the arena – I shut that thought down.

  Nothing but wishful thinking.

  Pax steps across the narrow point in the stream. I hook my arm around Kitten and deposit her in Killian’s arms before moving to intercept Pax.

  “The others are looking for the Spring. What’s going on here?” he asks.

  He’s tense. Too tense.

  “Rose wants to train Shade,” I say.

  “Like fuck,” he growls, storming toward the women.

  Five Paces

  Roarke’s a little behind me, keeping my bubble at a comfortable range as Rose moves me through a single block and strike. One quick movement. I mirror her. Block – strike. Block – strike.

  The woman hovers at arm’s reach, and I can tell it’s calculated. Killian and Seth are off to the left, Killian with his arms still folded over his chest and bloody Seth with his spear stabbed into the ground and flicking it back and forth like a kid who simply can’t sit still.

  “You’ve innately got more flexibility through your midsection and more strength too, so you have to work with that,” Rose is saying. She’s got chuckin’ blood painted down her face and drying on her clothes from the deer she carried in.

  I feel badass just for training with her, and I’m listening to what she’s saying, but I’ve also spotted Pax storming towards us.

  His eyes aren’t glowing, that’s a plus, but his nostrils have this little flare thing going on, and his fist is clenched around the hilt of his sword.

  I know this whole mate business has made him a protective bastard, and that he really only sees the world in two colors – protect or destroy – but he’s definitely going to have to learn to trust my choices about who I want to talk to or be around.

  Right now Rose isn’t the enemy. I’m not sure if she ever was, and I’m not against having friends and making my own allies. My friends and my allies, because I’m more than just the Elorsins’ shadow, pet, toy, or possession.

  She seems to sense Pax approaching, taking a few quick steps to the side and suddenly looking a smidge more nervous.

  “Rose is being helpful,” I declare, pretty much announcing it into the sky before meeting Pax’s gaze.

  “Rose needs to prepare to leave,” Pax says.

  “Yes, Commander,” Rose says, tossing a look over to Killian – who doesn’t respond.

  I mirror her plea, and reluctantly the big guy starts to move, Seth behind him. It’s Killian I’m watching approach, though. Still wearing the same pants. Walking around like there isn’t a handful of mud in them. Which is really annoying. What’s the point of putting mud in a guy’s braies if he doesn’t squeal like a child and storm off?

  Killian chuckles at me and my feelings. I just stare back as if I didn’t just think things that he finds incredibly funny.

  “Can Rose fight?” I ask.

  Killian nods.

  “All Sabers can fight,” Roarke adds.

  Just rub it in, Roarke. Everyone here can fight, but me – which is all the more reason for me to learn.

  “Then what’s the problem? It’s not like she’s teaching me the wrong thing.”

  Pax’s lips pull into a thin line. “Training you to the level of an Elite Saber is a moot point. You will never achieve that standard, so including advice from everyone who owns a blade is a waste of time and resources.”

  “Ouch, brother,” Seth says, stepping up to frame me on the left.

  Roarke on my right, then Rose, and then Pax directly opposite me.

  I grate my teeth together, trying to behave myself in front of Rose and the other Sabers lingering in the background.

  “Rose has to leave. Her seal has expired,” Killian says.

  I take a quick glance at Rose’s hands, but neither is facing me, so I wouldn’t be able to see a seal even if there was one.

  “But not right this very second?” I press.

  “She has to prepare. Her triune is riding east first; they’re going to collect intelligence on any activity from the Seeds who escaped from Tanakan. That is more important,” Pax says.

  “Respectfully, sir, my team would like to depart under cover of darkness,” Rose says.

  “Respectfully – I have given my orders,” Pax snaps.

  Rose bows and backs up another step.

  I clench my fists, one of them gripping tighter to the blade I forgot I was holding.

  “Brother, you’re just digging a bigger hole,” Seth mutters. Pax slaps him across the back of the head.

  “There are two options here,” I begin, forcing my tone to be neutral. Stone. Still. Contained. Servant asking for permission. “Let me make a choice for myself – or you make it for me.”

  I’ve been a servant long enough to know that beatings follow a person who openly argues with their master. Any of my true opinions on this matter will have to stay caged until we are alone.

  Pax tilts his head to the side, scanning my expression from a new angle.

  Frowning – he’s doing lots of frowning.

  Suddenly, he’s right in front of me, moving quicker than I can track. One hand is in my hair, the other on my hip, slipping low under my ass. He lifts me off the ground, which I barely notice amid the spark of his power through my already-weary muscles. His forehead presses to mine, and everything in me focuses solely on the pulse of the golden ring around his irises.

  But he can’t do anything else. The sigil on his chest won’t let him.

  When he puts me on my feet again, I’m standing next to Rose. Right next to her. My arm against her arm kind of next to her. She’s frozen in place, and even Seth looks a little worried.

  “You two decide,” Pax says, a roughness to his voice that hints at growling. He lets go of me and turns towards Rose. “But if you hurt her, there is a very strong possibility I will tear you apart. You have five minutes.”

  Rose swallows hard, her hands raised in surrender.

  “I’m not going to touch her,” she says. “But in case you haven’t noticed, she’s got all the fire she needs – she just lacks the skill, sir.”

  Pax moves back – almost to
the edge of my bubble. There’s this moment of awkward eye conversation, then like something was communicated in their expressions. The other three guys turn their backs to us and scan the trees. Like they’re expecting something to be watching us.

  Rose and I turn awkwardly to face each other.

  “Thank you for kissing me before,” she says under her breath. “He hid that so well.”

  “Who hid what?”

  “Pax hid that you’re his mate. That would have kept me in my place, but Teegan will be covetous of that title.”

  “How can she? I didn’t think I had a choice?”

  “You don’t. Not for a MateBond, or a SoulBond, or a HarmonyBond in Roarke’s case, or even Seth’s kind of GeminiBond. Our Seed picks the best possible match. The strongest, fastest, smartest – that kind of thing.”

  “Then why the chuck did it pick me?”

  That gets a chuckle out of her, a light and gentle sound to contrast her deadly look. I mean, the woman has blood over her shoulders and painted on her dark face.

  “There are other factors. Obviously, the magic knows something we don’t. I can respect that. Teegan will not. If someone other than an AlphaSeed can be Pax’s mate, then she’s going to be hungry to prove to him, to his Seed – fuck, to any of their Seeds – that she can be their other half. Jada too, for that matter.”

  “She’s going to try and mate with all of them?” I gasp – which is stupid, because I chuckin’ want to mate with all of them…

  Focus, Shade.

  “I don’t think they have the kind of power that can sense MateBonds, but once they know it’s possible, they’re going to be hunting for the title. They’re going to see you as a new toy and the guys as open for business.”

  Jada already knows.

  “Is it still jealousy if I’ve got a good reason?”

  “Jada is powerful, and she’s practically in bed with the Black Castle. Teegan is a Seed of Seduction,” Rose mutters almost too low to hear. “The sooner you can fight your own fights, the better. That stunt you and Seth pulled will buy you enough time with the likes of Teegan; her focus is on Roarke – but Roarke won’t wear the crown. There’s no way she’s going to believe a mate just stood there and watched you kiss another person. You don’t need battle skills. You need self-defense skills,” she says, then she lifts her voice a little louder. “Roarke, get over here.”

  Roarke obeys, but I don’t miss the quick look he gives Killian.

  Which makes me feel like I’m missing something. A big something. Like their whole lives prior to meeting them less than a month ago.

  “The rest of you give her some space. Roarke, I want you to attack her – you seem to be safe from retribution,” she says.

  Roarke nods, a little half smile on his lips.

  “But not that one-on-one, two bulls comparing balls shit,” she says.

  I lose it for a moment, laughing over the top of whatever it is she says next. My sides even start to hurt.

  Roarke grabs my arm and my attention, cutting off my laugh. I look down at his hand, confused.

  Rose sighs, utterly exasperated.

  “Try to escape him,” she orders me.

  I step back, pulling against his grip – which doesn’t get me anywhere.

  “Don’t pull in the direction he has the most strength. Pull up and roll your arm back. From there you can grab the shoulder of his shirt and go in for a groin, solar plexus, or a head-butt.” As Rose instructs, she flows through the movements, mimicking what I should be doing.

  I copy, move for move. Pull up, roll my arm back, grab his shirt, and aim for the balls. He jumps back out of my grip.

  “I like this,” I say.

  “Do we really need to encourage her to go for the groin?” Roarke groans. “She’s pretty good at that already.”

  “If you move fast enough, they won’t see it coming,” Rose ignores him, followed by, “Right, try this one…”

  The woman keeps her distance, more than an arm’s length at all times. I ignore the audience, throwing myself harder into the movements – because the narrowing perimeters of my bubble and the need for a Spring to save my life are not something that I want to focus on. Nor do I want to focus on Jada and her history with my guys, or Teegan and the future with my guys that both of them are going to fight me for. Or Lithael and the death grip he has on my short life, or the Elorsins’ dead mother and the prophecy that makes me think my end is unavoidable.

  I do begin to focus on Rose’s glances, though, past me and towards Killian. Which is the only reason I notice Rynn escorting another triune in. All men, in leather light armor. The last rider has his bow in his hand and an arrow notched, ready. Rose and Roarke don’t stop, though the scene also catches their interest. So we slow down, stealing glances between moves.

  The men arrive, dismount at the stream, Pax meets them, and they bow all the way to their knees immediately and stay there as whatever news or discussion is had. Then, looking like Lithael himself is on their asses, they mount up and thunder back out of here.

  Everything is over in a matter of minutes.

  But everything changes.

  Killian’s hand is on the hilt of the big curved blade in his belt and his gaze has moved to the treeline. Pax rejoins him looking ready to kill something right as I throw Roarke over my hip and watch him hit the ground, which is more than a little satisfying.

  “Inside,” Pax suddenly snaps.

  We turn toward the cottage, Pax in the lead, Roarke tight on my left – and I mean tight. The guy wraps an arm around my shoulders and holds me close. Killian hangs back, walking behind us. Seth is wide on the outside of us – forming a little cage.

  What the hell happened to set them off?

  “So,” I say in a moment when Killian has dropped back. “You and Killian?”

  Rose’s eyes go a little wide. Her delicate lips twist a little to the side – a move which changes her whole expression. I’m almost envious of her blonde hair. Actually, I am envious. It’s so short that it sits in little tufts that would be tight ringlets if she grew it out. But hair like that needs no maintenance. No brushing. No worrying about trying to tie hair bands with a broken arm – a problem all too raw in my memory, even though my arm feels fine now. And no need to wrestle bands from Roarke.

  “You don’t want to do this now, Kitten.” Roarke shakes his head. “You need to focus on not getting anyone killed.”

  “I can multitask,” I say, before pointing at Rose to emphasize where this conversation is going. “Lovers?”

  “What is she doing?” Rose asks Roarke.

  “Don’t Silvari discuss their love lives?” I press.

  “No,” Rose grunts – so very like Killian.

  At the same time as Roarke says, “Kitten, not the time for this.”

  I stare up at Roarke, all but putting my hands on my hips like an indignant child. The guy rubs the back of his neck, and I realize I’ve picked the one person who would find this embarrassing.

  The Allure guy doesn’t kiss and tell.

  I should have asked Seth.

  “Should I answer her?” Rose asks.

  “Yes, please do,” Roarke says.

  “Killian and I find each other… challenging. In all ways,” Rose says.

  For a long heartbeat, I see red. Actual red clouds my vision. That was a stupid question to ask. Now all I can see is the image of Killian laying on a bed and Rose straddling him, burned into my brain. The trees turn a mottled black, the grass a deep brown, the sky a violent purple, all through a red lens… Her skin is crimson.

  Not the reaction I thought I would have.

  “Right,” Roarke says, tossing me over his shoulder. “No more talking for you.”

  I would complain that that’s a bit extreme, but the red in the world has begun to fade, and Rose actually looks relieved as she breaks off from our huddle and moves toward the deer carcass. She picks it up with ease, drapes it over her shoulders, and starts off to the back of the
cottage. Probably to clean it, but it’s equally as likely she’s going to bathe in its blood.

  “Rose, leave it. Find Rynn for a debrief,” Pax orders.

  Rose hangs the deer over the fence, then runs up the hill. She seems pretty certain about where she needs to go and what she needs to do even if I’m lost.

  We hop the stream and stop by the collection of logs.

  “What?” Killian demands, moving into the group.

  It’s just the five of us, all the other Sabers have gone. And I mean gone-gone. I have no idea where to, but no one is in sight, and only Rose’s horses are over with ours.

  “Eliijah and his team were ambushed on the trade route. Definitely Tanakan, but they gave up very little information before Eliijah eliminated them –” Pax begins, but Roarke cuts in.

  “That’s too close for comfort. Was it –”

  Pax’s eyes pulse, Thane cutting back in to answer, “No.”

  “We can’t stay here much longer,” Seth says, motioning to the domain around us. “We’re sitting ducks.”

  Everyone turns angry eyes on him because stating the obvious is one of his worst qualities. Aside from the cabin itself, the domain is open, without cover, and in a bowl. Even I can see there are vantage points all around us.

  “We can’t leave,” Roarke states. “And the wards are strong. Call the Sabers back in and retrieve the keys – we’re safer with –”

  This time Pax cuts in, pulling two necklaces with small diamond like pendants on them. “I already took the keys. Jada is the only Saber with one in her possession, so the others have a safe way in.”

  All of the guys look relieved. I wish I felt it – but I’m currently half-over Roarke’s shoulder. And my stomach’s growling, it still feels like morning, maybe closer to morning tea than breakfast, but either way I’m starving.

  Pax sticks the keys back in his pocket. “The ambush was two men, easily overpowered. Focus on the bubble and the Spring. Seth, help me with a Location Potion.”

  “It won’t work. I thought about that, but it’s a basic level Potion and Eydis has much stronger magic.”

  “Everything’s worth a try,” Seth says.