Page 82 of The Shadows Between Us
When I am finished with my meal, a maid comes to help me undress.
“I brought your correspondences with me, my lady, in case you wish to respond to any tonight. I’ll have the staff move the rest of your belongings up here first thing tomorrow.”
She sets two neat piles of letters on the nightstand beside my bed. At the top, I note Orrin’s love letter and cringe at it distastefully.
She lays one of my simpler nightgowns on the bed for me to change into, but I send her away, not needing her help anymore.
I ensure the door is securely locked behind her. I check the windows, making sure each one is latched. I look into every nook in the room large enough for an intruder to hide. I turn on every light in the entirety of my rooms before drawing myself a bath and washing away everything that happened today.
I dry myself methodically, pull on the simple white nightgown, blow out the candles and turn off the lights, and climb into the bed.
As soon as I do, my heart races. Every shadow in the room feels as though it’s concealing an intruder. I try drawing the curtains about the bed, blocking out the rest of the room.
Somehow, that only makes it worse. Not being able to see what may or may not be out there.
After such an encounter, some find it difficult to sleep.
Damn the old crone!
Logically, I know there’s nothing in the room. I know I’m alone. I know no one can get in without breaking down the door or shattering the glass of a window.
But I can’t seem to get my body to relax enough for sleep.
Tonight, at least, I know I won’t rest if I’m alone in the room.
I wonder if I could persuade Rhoda or Hestia to join me tonight, but that hardly seems fair to rouse them now. The hour is so very late. I couldn’t possibly bother them.
A faint sound barely reaches me, and I startle at it, despite its gentility. It was only a soft yip. Demodocus and Kallias must have finally returned for the night. Nothing to be worried about.
I sit up in bed, pull the curtains away, and stare at the door adjoining our rooms. Before I can think twice about it, I’m up and running for that door like it’s the key to my salvation.
I knock gently. Perhaps too timidly. Could Kallias have even heard it? Perhaps I don’twanthim to hear it. I’m being so ridiculous. Perhaps I should just attempt a few laps about the room to rid myself of the nervous energy and—
The door creaks open, suggesting it hasn’t been opened in a very long time.
“Alessandra,” Kallias says. As if it would be anyone else on the other side of the door, knocking for him.
His hair is mussed, as though he’s been running his hands through it for hours. His shirt is untucked from his pants, all the buttons undone, exposing his smooth chest. I caught him in the middle of undressing. Though that didn’t seem to matter to him if he still opened the door.
“I—I can’t sleep,” I say.
Before he can say or do anything, a furry body pushes its way past Kallias’s legs and helps himself into my room. Demodocus sticks his nose along the wall, sniffing the new room’s interior.
“Just a moment,” Kallias says. He leaves the door open while he turns back into his room. Though the room is dark, I see the faint outline of a massive bed, big enough for five to fit comfortably, I should think. I wonder if it’s the same bed his father used or if Kallias had it made specifically for himself. What is Kallias like when he sleeps? Is he still and quiet with nothing but the movement of his chest up and down to signal he’s alive? Or does he toss and turn, let out little snores? Is he encased in shadow in his dreams or is he solid?
His form returns, blocking my view of the bed. He’s clad in a long scarlet robe, his gloves returned to his hands. Perfectly covered from head to toe.
And not a shadow in sight, I notice with some relish.
I step aside, allowing him into the room. His eyes find Demodocus sticking his wet nostrils into the wardrobe to inspect the smells found there, the beast having risen on his back legs.
“Demodocus, down.”
The dog listens and goes in search of other things to sniff.
“What troubles you?” Kallias asks.
I return to the bed, sitting on its edge, and he joins me.
