Page 36 of Shadow Kissed

He shakes his head and smirks at me. “You’re naive and clueless. Your crops were dying, your people beginning to starve, when we entered your realm. Kid yourself all you want, but without us, your kind would likely be extinct by now. Our co-existence serves both our realms, and you’d do well to remember that.”

“Your insufferable, you know that? Standing here preaching to me about what I should think. You know nothing about me!” I tip my chin up and stare defiantly at him, my chest heaving with the anger that burns within me for this dark beast before me.

“I am preaching to you because I think your opinions are misplaced. I know more about you than you think, my angry little ascian.”

I don’t like the smug grin on his face, and I cross my arms and glare back at him. “You know nothing. How could you? We met like a few days ago.”

He smirks again and grips my chin, forcing my head back as he leans in, so close I can feel his icy breath on my face. “I know you lost your father when you were twelve years old to the mining disaster. I know you taught yourself to hunt and fight so that if you ever needed to, you could protect your family. I know that there’s something different about you, and I think your mother has done her best to hide whatever that is from the world. I also know you are the most annoying Ascian woman I’ve ever met!”

I blink, shocked by the tirade of his angry words. He’s stunned me to silence.

He scoffs. “So, you do know how to stay silent sometimes.”

“Kiss my Ascian ass,” I hiss at him. He makes me so bloody angry! I clench my fists, fighting the urge to shove him and beat my fists on his chest. This man stands for everything I hate, and he is a constant reminder of the fact that my life is not my own.

He leans in even closer, stealing my breath and I gasp when one of his shadows wraps around my neck and lightly squeezes. “I wouldn’t kiss your ass if you paid me. I am a busy man; I don’t have time for your dramatic woe is me drama.” He’s gone in a blink, walking about ten strides ahead of me. His shadows linger against my throat and softly caress my skin, leaving a warm tingling sensation. I shudder and brush it away, and it slithers after its master and disappears back to where it came.

We don’t speak the rest of our walk towards the mansion. Anger radiates between us. We are the epitome of mutual hatred. The two imposing large doors, that stand at around eight feet tall, begin to open at our approach. Two guards in full military attire bow their heads as we pass them. Gods, being aLord Commander really means something important to them if they bow to him!

My thoughts disappear when I see the inside of the mansion. Seeing the mansion’s interior, my eyes are instantly captivated. The entrance has an arched ceiling depicting a beautiful mural of two lovers surrounded by shadows and stars. The female’s eyes are closed as her lovers kisses her neck; I blink in surprise when I realise the stars in the mural twinkle as if they are real. Large foreboding pillars support the vast ceiling, and elegant black candelabras light the entire space. The floor is stark white in stark contrast to the ceiling and when I study it beneath my feet; I realise that the floor is opalite, a crystal that provides a sense of peace and purity and I notice that the sensation washes through me the further we move through the room. Perhaps they designed it that way to deceive the Shadow Kissed into thinking they are safe.

“Ah, I was wondering when you might arrive.” A female voice pulls my attention from the glistening floor beneath my feet. A middle-aged woman, who looks to be in her late thirties, stands at the top of the grand black stone staircase that sweeps up either side of the entrance hallway. She’s wearing a long black dress that looks like silk, the sleeves long and bell shaped at the bottom, her crimson red nails peeking out. She wears her hair in a perfect twist at the nape of her neck. She fixes her pale grey eyes on me. I watch her study me, looking me over from head to toe, and I shuffle under her gaze. “You’ve brought with you one of my protegee’s,” she says referencing me, as she glides down the stairs. She moves so effortlessly that it is almost as if she floats down.

I wrongly assumed all Shadow Borne women had black hair, unless she uses herbs to colour hers. When she reaches the bottom of the staircase, she walks straight over to me and lifts my face with a single taloned finger. “She’s a beauty, and thathair is stunning, but she’s defiant and angry.” I blink at her direct words, and she smiles knowingly at me with her plump red lips. “It radiates off you. You need to learn to control your emotions, otherwise you will make rash decisions that could cost you.” She releases my face and spins on her heels to address Raegal. He smiles warmly at her, which shocks me.

“Moryen. It is good to see you.” He leans in and kisses her forehead. This must be the Shadow Borne way of greeting each other. How strange!

“Jasiel not with you?” she asks, looking behind us.

Raegal shakes his head, still smiling at her. “Sadly, no. He’s stayed behind to collect our new recruits.”

Her eyes trail back over to me. “This one is a little early, and you brought her by shadow weave.”

I avert my eyes, feeling uncomfortable having them both looking at me. “I will fill you in on everything shortly. Can someone escort Eretreya to her room? She’s been travelling all day and will likely be ready for her bed.”

Moryen nods her head and calls out. “Orna!” Two seconds later a young Asen girl appears at the top of the stairs, her eyes widen when she sees Raegal. It’s understandable, he is a sight for sore eyes in his full military uniform. Orna hurries down the stairs and she bobs her head to Raegal before giving her mistress her full attention. “Orna will be your hand maid during your time with us. She will show you to your rooms now.” She turns away from me and wraps her hand around Raegal’s arm. “Come, fill me in on everything,” she says, guiding him off into a room to our right. Raegal turns briefly to look at me before he disappears inside the room. He looks at me as if he wants to say something to me. I watch them leave and stare after the closed door.

“Ah-hem.”

Orna stands waiting for me. She’s petite, possibly only around five foot two, and has a tiny waist. Her brown hairis worn in a bun on top of her head, and she wears a mid-length dress of navy blue, resembling the colour of the military uniforms worn by their soldiers. To complete her outfit, she wears practical black sturdy boots.

“Sorry. I’m Eretreya Lockwood.” I offer her my hand and she looks at it then back up at me, but she doesn’t take it.

“Pleased to meet you, miss. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to your room.” She turns away and makes for the stairs, and I follow her. My eyes study the various framed paintings as we climb the ornate staircase to the upper levels. All of them—Shadow Borne—regally dressed and incredibly beautiful. When we get to the next floor, we continue our climb up another grand staircase and by the time we reach the fourth floor, I’m out of breath. Which is saying something because I do think I am quite fit. Orna veers off to her left and down a long corridor until we reach a grand, black door. She pushes it gently, and the door opens to reveal a large sitting room, with a cosy roaring fire over by the right side of the room. The left wall is adorned with bookshelves filled with books and inviting sofas and armchairs are scattered about the place.

“This is the west wing. This is where you’ll live during your time here,” Orna explains as she moves through the room and I hurry to catch up with her, still attempting to take in as much of the place as I can. We pass into another hallway at the end of the room and three doors grace either side of the space. She moves to the end one and pushes the door open.

“This is your suite. You may add your own touches to it. Your bathroom is over there. Your closet, there.” She gestures to the two doors over to my right. “Breakfast is at seven sun dials, so make sure you are down in time.”

I walk into the room and turn in a circle as I take it all in. The room is gorgeous, with high ceilings and a tiled white stone floor. The large black wooden bed dominates the room and looks bigenough to fit a party of four in there. A beautiful black wooden dressing table sits below long pale purple curtains, and a large ornate black mirror stands by its side. The room is enormous! You could fit most of our house into this one space. Over by the right corner, there is a purple velvet sofa and armchair, and a small but cosy fire is burning inside the black Gothic-looking fireplace.

“Is it too your liking?” Orna asks me, watching me as I study my new room.

I nod my head and smile at her. “It’s stunning and so big. Is all this room just for me? I mean, I won’t be sharing with anyone?”

Orna giggles and shakes her head. “No, miss. All chosen ones have their own suites. There are five wings within the mansion, one each for each district of Asen. You are in the west wing and the other chosen ones from the west district will eventually join you.” I nod my head, taking it all in. Asen is divided into five states named, north, east, south, west and central. Each district provided five shadow kissed females, making us twenty-five in total.

“Am I the only one here in the west wing?” I ask. It is strange to have this vast space all to myself.

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