Page 10 of Pretty Little Shadow
"Fifteen." I took another swig. The cheer beer wasn'tcheeringme, but demon magic never worked that well on me. Probably because of whatever I was. Not fully a vampire. Not fully a shadow. Not fullyalive, either. "It takes a while for a vampire to starve to death. A couple months. Takes longer, when you're good with shadows. They're alive, sort of. They can keep you alive, in place of blood."
Darius whistled.
"Yeah. Dad thought I'd be dead when he came down to find me a few months later. I wasn't, so he tried to kill me. Repeatedly. The shadows kept me alive, but I was still a teenager. I didn't have the heart to kill him, and I didn't have anywhere else to go. He tortured me until Grayson killed him, and broke me out."
"How long did it take?"
"A year or so."
"Fuck."
I nodded. "Guess I'm still more shadow than vampire. If I drank blood, that would probably change, but I've never really wanted to try."
"Why not?"
I eyed him. "You're charming information out of me.”
"It's a talent."
"Sure it is. Your turn."
"If I tell you more about me, you have to answer my other question," he warned.
I waved him on.
"You know fae pay a price for our magic. The powerful ones, especially."
I nodded. "Merrily had a panic attack because it was too loud in the car. There was no music on."
"Right. The price for my magic is apathy. Turns into depression if I'm not constantly doing something or being stimulated in some way. My family follows me around constantly when they're worried I'm getting dark, but honestly?" He leaned closer to me.
I couldn't help but do the same.
"I'm always dark," he whispered.
Then he winked at me, sitting up straight and looking back out at the city around us. "Being trapped in your mind like this is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy." He paused. "Well, maybe I'd wish it on your dad."
"He'd deserve it."
Darius made a noise of agreement.
"Is that why you're looking for your mate?"
"Mmhm. They're supposed to fix me."
"I wish there was someone who could fix me," I admitted.
"I'm not confident I have a soulmate at all, so we've got the same wish." Dare held out his fist.
I stared at it for a long moment before bumping it with mine.
This was why I was so fucking obsessed with him. He was dark, but in this addictive, laid-back way that just... spoke to me.
I feltseenwith him, but not in a bad way. In a way I really, really liked.
three
RAE
