Page 115 of Pretty Little Shadow
Me
I'm in the hallway, can you talk?
Grayson
Just a sec
I was leaning against the wall outside his door when he stepped out, wearing his usual shorts and baseball cap, along with a t-shirt.
His eyebrows shot upward when he saw me. "Holy fuck, Rae. You look..."
"Alive?" I offered, a little weakly.
"I was going to say different, but yeah. Alive." His forehead creased, his gaze lingering on my face."You kind of look like…"
I knew he was putting the resemblance together. He hadn't known my mom well, but she and my dad had both been close to Grayson's family before the coup.They'd kept me out of the friendship, because of what they were planning.
"Kristen Levine?" I asked quietly.
The expression on his face shifted slightly as he put the resemblance together.
I waited to see betrayal, or hurt, but his eyes just widened. "Holy fuck. Yourdadwas the bastard who put you in that cellar?"
My eyes burned, but I nodded. "She tried to get me out. He?—"
Grayson engulfed me in a massive hug, cutting me off before I finished speaking. I froze for a minute, but when I'd processed what was happening, my arms wrapped around him, and I hugged him back fiercely.
"Thank you," I whispered. "I don't know if I would've survived without you. I barely survived as it was." A humorless laugh escaped me. "I should've told you sooner, I was just... hiding."
"Is Dare the reason you look like this?" Grayson asked, squeezing me tightly before he released me and took a small step back.
I nodded. "My shadows were keeping me alive before. I can't transport with them now. They're notmeanymore. I'm just a vampire."
"Just a vampire who still has more shadow magic than any other demon in the city," Grayson said with a small smile.
My lips curved just a tiny bit.
"I didn't know they had a daughter," he admitted.
"They were quiet about me. She was worried something would happen to me in the coup. I think he was worried that I'd end up the queen."
"You could be, if you wanted to. You're even stronger than Dante."
I shook my head. "I don't. And I don't think the Shadow District would accept another demon royal who's mated to a fae."
He grimaced. "We could figure it out."
"We're not going to. I need to figure out what I want and who I want to be."
"Good. You should." A small smile curved his lips. "You look happy."
"I'm getting there."
"I'm making dinner. Stay."
"Kat's waiting for me in the car." I gestured over my shoulder.
"We've got enough for her. Come on, Rae. It'll kill Callum a little to know that I had his werewolf over for dinner, and he deserves to be tortured a little." Grayson winked at me.
