Page 35 of Shadow

He shrugged, clearly unfazed by whatever had been written across my face. I’d never been good at hiding my emotions. “I didn’t think there was a better word for it,” he continued. “We were superior fighters. That’s who survives in this world.”

He wasn’t wrong, but he was forgetting something important.

“Without us, you didn’t stand a chance even if your Shadow Warrior numbers were triple what we estimated. You needed us as much as we needed you.” I laid the truth on the table, unapologetic.

My government didn’t need to spell that out for me. Everyone knew it.

King knew it too.

He studied me, his piercing gaze unnerving but not enough to make me flinch. I lowered my eyes out of habit, but some part of me resisted the gesture.

It feltwrong.

Like I wasn’t the same woman I had been just days ago.

The old me would have shrunk back, but now? Now, I wanted to hold his gaze.

I didn’t know if it was the adrenaline, the tension, or the ridiculous confidence I had gained from balancing on that ball, but for the first time, Ifeltlike I belonged here, facing him head-on.

King didn’t respond to my statement, which I took as a small victory. If he was ignoring it, I must have scored a few brownie points.Yay me.

“How did your training go?” he asked casually, steering the conversation in an entirely different direction.

I could press the point, but hunger won this battle.

“Ha,” I said, aiming for humor as I cut, then speared a piece of pork chop and shoved it into my mouth. “Standing on a half-ball all day made my feet, legs, and basically every part of my body scream in agony. I’m sure tomorrow will be worse when the torture starts all over again,” I added after swallowing.

Funny that I didn’t beg for the torture to stop or,even better,demand it.

King shook his head slightly, and there was a faint curve to his lips.

Did healmostsmile?

“You stood on a half-ball all day?”

“Well,” I admitted, letting my own smile slip through, “maybe I exaggerated. The floor and I became fast friends. I spent way more time with it than I should have.”

His laugh was rough, but it transformed his face. The harsh lines relaxed, not quite soft, but close enough. It was startling, really, how different he looked when he laughed.

His weathered features had a rugged appeal, a stark contrast to my pale, sun-deprived complexion. Though my cheeks were still tinged pink from the training I endured before arriving here, it didn’t quite compare.

King lookedgoodwhen he laughed.

Toogood.

And just like that, I had unexpected tingles in unexpected places.

“Did it help improve your balance?” he asked once his laughter faded.

“That’s debatable,” I said, popping a green bean into my mouth.

If I ever went back home, the only thing I would miss was the food.

“Boot figured out that if I talked and distracted myself, I could stay upright longer. Not sure how useful that’d be if I ever had to save myself from a hellhound.”

“You never know,” King said with a wry smile. “I’ve known a few women who could talk the suckers to death.”

“Women?” I raised an eyebrow, refusing to let that comment slide.

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