Page 51 of Of Shadows and Blood

“It’s nearly dark out.” I look at the setting sun behind him. The orange hues complete a halo around his body.

“Never stopped us before. We live in the night, Liv. Please.” He extends a hand.

Am I truly about to join the king of Lux for a trip to the lake? Alone?

There are so many things he could do to me.

I shake the thought from my mind.

Hesitantly, I take his offer and Cedric pulls me in, pausing before we touch. He looks down at me, suddenly realizing how close we are and I swear he’s holding his breath.

“I have to hold onto you to get there,” he murmurs, caught in some daze.

“Wha—”

He grabs hold of me and we dash into time and space. The grass and gravel of the castle grounds blurs below us as I squeeze my hands tight around his neck.

I’m going to be sick.

All of our surroundings melt together as we dash between trees and cottages, hopping over a fence I nearly thought we would trip over. Shadows consume and bend around us, creating a torpedo of matter and magic. My palms sweat and spark as we shift.

I attempt to look down again, holding the contents of my stomach down as best as I can.

He’s running, but also not. We fly between time and space. Fast. Incredibly, unfathomably fast. I subtly tilt my head up to look at him. His jawline cuts across his face in a harsh manner but the rest of his look is softened, as if this is all done with little effort. He doesn’t notice me staring, and if he does, he doesn’t say anything.

Suddenly, we come to a stop as gently as if we were walking.

I’m panting. Cedric isn’t. He smiles over my shoulder – a joyful one, too. He’s almost completely unaware that I’m still in his embrace.

My stomach held on long enough.

I groan and push myself from his chest, turning away just in time to vomit.

His hand comes to my back, rubbing gently as I continue to dry heave because there isn’t much in me to let out. Eventually, I come to, spitting foam on the ground. I go to wipe my mouth with my sleeve but a handkerchief appears in front of me.

“Thanks,” I grumble. “Sorry you had to see that.”

“Don’t mention it,” he replies.

My eyes water but they finally make their way over to what Cedric is smiling at.

The lake.

It’s nearly night. Blue hour has crept in, casting a twilight hue on the surroundings. The lake itself isn’t that large, probably taking up half the castle’s size. A single dock extends out into the water with a rowboat tethered to it.

“Beautiful, right?” Cedric steps forward, kicking a pebble with his boots. His hands are in his pockets again, his shoulders loosened.

“It really is,” I agree. I wander onto the dock, admiring the pine trees that are backlit by the hidden sun.

“We used to come out here a lot, I take it?”

Cedric sits down on the shore, propping an elbow upon his knee. He is completely relaxed. He nods.

I stride over and join him. The sounds of the forest are both eerily quiet yet not.

We sit like this for some time, gazing at whatever light filters onto the water. We’re so close that I can hear his shallow breaths and the sound of him running his hands through the rocks. I pick one up and give it a toss across the water, thinking about any memory I could possibly have that is not the farm.

My hand brushes another as I absently reach for another stone. The touch shakes me from my mind, bringing me back to present.