Page 72 of The Wolf and Her Shadows

Gasping for breath, I shake off her hands, lifting one of my own in front of my face. Squinting through the darkness, I’m only just able to make out the faint glow from the rune on my palm. Concentrating on that glow, I tentatively try to nudge the shadows away from me with my mind. To my absolute shock, they slowly begin retreating until the room is illuminated once more.

“Congratulations, my child. You’re now one step closer to claiming the vengeance you seek.” I look over to see a bright smile on Old Greyva’s face. “Now, how about you use those shadows of yours to go retrieve Mariane and let’s see what we can do about that pesky barrier around her magic.”

I frown slightly, tilting my head in confusion. “I’m only able to shadow a short distance and I have to see where I’m going. I can’t–”

“Nonsense.” She waves her hand dismissively. “That rule may have applied to most Nightshadow Elves. As well as your mental companions. But you, Vannaria, have no such limitations. Not only can you travel far greater distances, but you need not see where you are traveling. You only need to know the exact location, or person, you wish to travel to.”

My frown deepens, but she ignores it to continue telling me what my particular magic is supposedly able to do. “More so than that, you can blend your own shadows with that of another creature’s, temporarily lending them a bit of your magic and bringing them with you.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, my pulse quickening at the implications.

“Close your eyes.” Hesitating a brief moment, I do as she requests. “Good. Now picture the woman you love, as vividly as you can. Imagine the ever-present shadow she casts. Then, simply step into it.”

Chapter Thirty

Mariane

Glancing around, I let out a sigh upon realizing Vannaria is nowhere to be seen. I’d finally managed to escape from friends and was hoping the two of us could find a quiet place to talk for a moment. A strangled gasp rips its way out of my throat before I’ve even taken a single step back towards my mother’s home, courtesy of the elf suddenly appearing before me in a burst of shadow.

“Holy shit, Vannaria!” I exclaim, slapping her on the shoulder. “Where have you been?”

“Oh, here and there.” She holds her hand out to me with a mischievous grin. “May I try something?”

Grasping her outstretched hand, my lips curl into a small smile of their own accord. “As long as you don’t intend to scare me again.”

“I make no promises,” she says, pulling me into her arms.

And then, I’m suddenly surrounded by the same shadows she’d just stepped out of. Feeling the ground beneath my feet vanish, I let out an embarrassingly high-pitched yelp. Squeezing my eyes shut, I swallow down bile as a feeling of weightlessness washes over me followed by an intense sense of vertigo.

Just as I’m about to scream, my boots land back on solid ground.

Shoving Vannaria away, I double over, dry-heaving as I attempt to steady myself. “What in the actual fuck was that!”

“Open your eyes and see for yourself.”

Doing as she requested, I slowly open my opens, only for them to immediately widen as I gasp in surprise for a second time in as many minutes. The two of us are no longer inside the village and instead are now standing in the edges of the surrounding forest, far enough away that the sounds of the celebration are barely audible.

“How?” I breathe, meeting the other woman’s gaze.

She shrugs, taking my hands into hers again. “Turns out that old woman you seem so fond of had a few things she wanted to tell me. Including how woefully ignorant I’ve been of my own magical abilities.”

Huffing in annoyance, I rest my head on her chest. “Of course she did. Old Greyva knows practically everything.”

“So it seems. Including a few ways that she might be able to unlock your magic as well.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Ah, I’d hoped she would. That’s part of the reason I’d insisted on coming back here before we went after my father.”

“Permission to shadow us both back to her home?”

Pulling my hands free from hers, I wrap my arms tightly around her waist before tentatively nodding. “Permission granted, although I’m blaming you if I throw up afterwards.”

“That’s entirely fair.” Wrapping her arms tightly around me as well, she uses her shadow magic to bring us both to the front of Old Greyva’s familiar home.

Since I’d been better prepared for the sensation this time, I’m able to refrain from making good on my threat of vomiting on her and instead an excited giggle bubbles up in my throat. The vast amount of alcohol I’ve consumed in the last hour is quite possibly at least partly responsible for both the giggling and the earlier nausea. Stephan is still a bit of a bad influence on me it seems.

“So, guess it worked then?” Old Greyva asks, a knowing grin on her face.

Pulling away from me, Vannaria nods. “Indeed, it did. I’m extremely grateful to you for insisting I attempt it. It will surely come in handy, should Mariane and I need to make any more quick escapes on our journeys together.”