Page 98 of Radiant Shadows

I suddenly realized there were all different kinds of love, and Niko was right. And, once again, I was being a selfish, ignorant dumbass. Well, no more.

I straightened away from my headboard with sudden determination, slipping off my bed and patting Niko on the shoulder. “Thanks, man.”

“You’re going to talk to her?” Ashlyn asked excitedly. “What’s your plan?”

“I didn’t get the chance before to tell her the whole story or how I really feel about her,” I said. “So I’m going to tell her, and I’m going to make her listen this time. I’m going to prove to her that I’m never going to abandon her, whether she wants me or not.”

Ashlyn clapped her hands and squealed. “Yay! Do you need a wing woman?”

I chuckled under my breath and shook my head. “Nah, I gotta do this on my own.”

“There’s the old Tobias,” Niko said with a wink. “Just don’t be an asshole.”

My eager expression wrinkled into a deep frown. But I couldn’t really argue with that because, well, he had a point. “Noted. Wish me luck. I’m going to need it.”

“Good luck,” they called to me as I charged out of my room.

My heart soared with joyous anticipation at the thought of seeing her face, even if it would contort in rage at my approach. She needed to hear everything from the beginning. And I needed to stop being selfish. That was all I’d ever done since I met her, doing everything to protect my feelings with little regard for hers.

It was time to step up and be the man she deserved, even if that meant supporting her from the sidelines. Even if that meant being her warrior and not her lover.

I knew exactly where she was without even having to think about it, my imprint bond tugging me right to her. I didn’t have to go very far.

Two guards in military uniform were stationed outside her room on either side of her door, and they watched me warily as I walked up the hall. I stopped before them and reached for the doorknob, but they stepped together, closing the gap between them and blocking my entrance.

From the pins on their lapels, I could see that both were ursas—made sense considering who they were guarding—but their bears couldn’t possibly compete with my dragon if it came to it.

“Let me in,” I demanded with all the authority of my last name.

“General Dracul expressly ordered that no one disturb the siren,” said the bearded one on the right.

I puffed up my chest, giving my best impression of my father. “I am Tobias Dracul, and if you don’t let me pass, I will gladly report to my father your insolence toward his son and heir.”

The two exchanged curious glances between closely examining my face for the unmistakable resemblance. The guard on the left lifted his wrist in front of his mouth and tapped the smartwatch there.

“General, a man claiming to be your son wants entrance into the siren’s bedroom,” he spoke to the watch.

Great, looks like I’m going to have to fight these guys after all.

There was a pause, and I prepared myself to shift, already feeling sorry for whatever staff would have to clean up the mess afterward.

“Let him in.”

What the—

“Affirmative,” the guard said, then the two separated with a nod.

I tried to keep the surprise from showing in my face as the guard on the left swiped the keycard through the slit to allow me inside. What was my father’s angle here? Could he have possibly grown a conscience, developed some compassion, or was he simply using my presence here to his own ends?

It didn’t matter. As long as I got to see her, speak with her, nothing else mattered.

The guard opened the door, then quickly closed it after I went inside. Arya was sitting at the head of her bed, her knees curled up against her chest with her arms wrapped around them. A stony scowl was fixed on her face, and it only intensified when her gaze flicked to me.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she seethed in a low voice, and even as threatening as it was intended, the blissfully familiar timber warmed my heart.

The musk that I’d smelled on her days ago was so much more potent in this confined space, and I now recognized it as distinctly ursa. How had I not realized it before? Oh, probably because I was so wrapped up in myself to pay attention. A mistake I would never make again.

I took a step further into the room. “I need to tell you the whole story. There are things you don’t know that—”

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