Page 51 of Spears and Shadows (Defenders of the Light)
As they rounded a curve, Nora caught sight of Odelle’s distinctive red jumpsuit and avoided looking at her in favor of watching her footing. She didn’t want to think of her sister’s disapproval at the moment.
Once Nora was confident that she wasn’t going to trip Adam with her incompetence, she looked up from their feet to meet his twinkling eyes. This close to him, she was able to make out a thin white scar across his forehead, as well as faint lines around his eyes, showing that he spent far more time smiling than not. While his gaze was playful now, there was also an intensity behind it that made Nora want to fidget.
Distracting herself from her own awkwardness, she picked up the threads of their former conversation.
“You really can perform a solid waltz.”
She wished she could come up with something more engaging to say, but at that moment, she got distracted by Adam navigating her through a pivoting turn around the floor.
“I’d like to think so,” Adam responded lightly, as if carrying on a stimulating conversation while making sure neither he nor she collided with any of their fellow dancers was as easy as breathing. “I really do love to dance. Although I don’t get the chance to do it very often anymore.”
“Antony mentioned that the other day.”
Adam’s brows raised as he hummed in amusement. “Did he now?”
Nora nodded, continuing to split her focus between the dancing and the conversation while simultaneously trying not to focus on Adam’s wiry arm wrapped firmly around her waist. The warmth from the contact was spreading down her body, making Nora very aware that she was still at a work function.
Thankfully, Adam didn’t require a verbal response and continued to carry the conversation for her. “He’s right. I do wish I had more opportunities to dance. I usually try to avoid saying things like this because it makes me feel like a walking cliché, but people really don’t dance like they used to.”
Nora chuckled. “I take it the dancing at night clubs isn’t dignified enough for your mature tastes?”
“On the contrary,” Adam scoffed. “I can make a fool of myself with the best of them. But I miss the days when you could ask a beautiful lady to dance with you and then spend the next few minutes getting to know her while impressing her with your coordination.” He sighed dramatically. “Take that away from me, and I really don’t have any good moves.”
“What are you talking about? I thought carrying a woman to the hospital for blood loss was your big move,” Nora teased.
“Exactly. You understand my plight now.”
Nora giggled and Adam took the opportunity to guide her through a small twirl under his arm. She surprised herself by not tripping and thanked Ezra for her newfound sense of balance.
“In all seriousness, though, thank you for inviting me tonight,” Adam said as he settled his arm back around her. “The life of an English teacher by day and Defender by night doesn’t really lend itself to attending many galas. With everything that’s been going on, a little champagne and dancing with a pretty woman is good for me.”
Nora tried to keep from preening internally at being called pretty as she processed the rest of his statement. “Everything that’s been going on recently?”
Adam nodded. “With the attacks by the Shadow. We haven’t seen a series of hits in such close proximity to each other since, well, since before the Defeat, really. It’s all hands on deck at the Sanctuary, and with all the research I’ve been doing to try and figure this out on top of working, well… I can’t remember the last time I had a good night’s sleep.”
Absorbing his words, Nora felt childish for complaining about Adam’s recent absence. He, too, had been fighting with everything she had been battling for the past weeks, working himself to the bone. And yet, when she had asked him to come to a party with her, he had immediately made himself available.
“I’m so sorry. If you want to turn in early tonight and try to catch up on some sleep, I totally understand. I can take a rain check on dancing and champagne when the fate of the city is at stake.”
“Nonsense,” Adam said with a forceful shake of his head. “This is way better than sleeping. Besides, parties are full of hope and fun.” Adam leaned in to whisper conspiratorially in her ear. “Both things the Shadow hates.”
Nora’s chest heated, but the warmth could not manage to fully diffuse the knot of concern buried below her sternum.
“What kind of research have you been doing?” she asked, hoping to help in some way. If there was one thing she was good at, it was research.
“I’ve just been trying to come up with anything we could use to get an edge over the Shadow. We know it has to have an agent in the city for the attacks to be so concentrated. And I have a hunch that the Eteria’s increased activity here has drawn its attention. So many of us have been coming and going, and the weapons themselves are great wells of power that the Shadow can sense. Hell, with your blood now being a beacon for the Shadow, its only because we’ve had a guard keeping an eye on you that you haven’t been attacked at work yet.”
Nora flinched involuntarily in Adam’s arms, and he looked down at her apologetically before continuing. “The problem is that they are so damn slippery. The attacks are so random, and the Shadows and their agent are always gone or retreating by the time we can get there, leaving a disaster for us to clean up. I’ve been trying to come up with a way to track them, but…” Adam ended his rant with a long-suffering sigh that perfectly encapsulated the struggle of every researcher stuck on a troublesome project.
Nora, however, was still milling over his earlier statements, feeling a pang of guilt that she had brought the weapons here, contributing to all the activity that was drawing the Shadow’s eye. She pushed her guilt aside, though, feeling like there was something else she should be seeing here, turning Adam’s statements around in her head to look at them from all angles.
“There is a way to know where the Shadow will strike next,” she blurted out, stopping in their dance so suddenly that a nearby couple bumped into them.
Adam’s eyes were wary as Nora, ignoring the now grumbling couple, pulled Adam to the side so they could stand still as they talked.
“They are going to attack me at work, like you said.”
“Nora,” his voice was low with concern. “I assure you that we are keeping you safe. We’ve been extra cautious since the plane fiasco, and Ezra says you are progressing—”
