Page 25 of Vayn

“They haven’t.”

“Maybe they didn’t keep me out because I’m your charge.”

“I haven’t added you to the list of beings who can enter my home. Therefore, my wards should’ve alerted me to your presence. And Beastie should be growling at you, not cuddling with you.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “What can I say? I’m loveable.”

He swallowed. My gaze dropped to his neck. Damn. Even his throat was sexy. Why the hell was I finding his throat sexy? I don’t know. But my pervy ass couldn’t tear my gaze away from his neck and the vein there. My mouth watered, and my gums tingled. What the hell was wrong with me? Ignoring this strange feeling, I returned my gaze to his eyes.

“Seriously, I don’t know why I keep ending up here,” I said before swallowing, throat suddenly dry.

“Are you thinking about me when you go to sleep?” he questioned.

Everything in me screamed for me to deny it. Yet, I found myself wanting to be honest. Maybe it was because I desperately wanted to know what was going on with me. Or maybe it was because I wanted this Fallen to know that I thought about him and his shadows far more than I should. No, I didn’t want him to know that. So, I avoided his question altogether.

“I spent the day reading up on dream walking,” I told him. “I was trying to figure out how this new ability works. Last night, after leaving your home, I tried to travel to other people’s dreams and...”

“Whose dreams?” he interrupted.

“A friend and my professor’s.”

“Listen to me.” He stepped forward, followed by his shadows.

I shrank against the wall, unable to step away from him. Beastie raised his head and growled at his master.

“I’ll deal with you later, traitor,” Vayn growled at Beastie before addressing me again. “Until we better understand this new ability of yours, no more traveling to other people’s dreams. Got it?”

I’d already promised Tia that I’d travel to her dreams. And I really wanted to test myself to see if I could. Plus, I kind of wanted to show off a little because I had a feeling she didn’t think I could do it. Yeah, I still had a little petty left in me. I was definitely going to try dreamwalking to prove myself to Tia. What my guard didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

I nodded. Wait. “You said, until we better understand this? You mean we, as in, you and me?”

“Yes.”

“You’re willing to help me figure this out?”

“I’m your guardian, aren’t I?”

“Technically, yeah. But you haven’t done much to help me.”

“You’re alive, right?”

“I haven’t been in any real danger, so, yeah, I’m alive. You’re not to thank for that.”

Before Vayn could reply, Dread interrupted him. “She’s right,” Dread backed me up.

I beamed up at him, thankful that he’d stood up for me. The rest of the shadows agreed with him. All four of Vayn’s shadows stared down at me like I was the most important person in the room. Scratch that, the world. Their gazes held me captive for a moment and sent a shiver racing down my spine. Damn, I liked the way they looked at me.

It was official. I was crushing on shadows. Crushing on four shadows who stared at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world and who’d stood up to their Fallen for me. I returned my gaze to Vayn. There was that weird look of confusion on his face again.

“I’ll deal with my shadows later,” he told me. “Just know, I’ll be working with you to help you figure out your new ability. But only if you promise to do everything I tell you to do when I tell you to do it. Do you agree?”

He and his shadows watched me, waiting for me to respond. I took a deep breath and released it slowly.

“I’ll do what you say. As long as you don’t ask me to do anything illegal or immoral.”

Charm smiled. “We’re Fallen. Immoral is our middle name.”

I chuckled. Though all of the Fallen share the same last name, I was pretty sure they didn’t have middle names. They were not like descendants, who were given family names either by the council or their families if they had families. Lots of descendants were like me, orphans. Luckily, my first and last name was stitched into a blanket my mother left for me.