Page 78 of Shaped By Darkness

“You sure?” I feel his eyes as he damn near stares a hole in the side of my head looking for any hint that I’m lying. But I’m not. Harlow had power over me for way too long. Because of her, Blair hid the fact that he had a second affinity for damn near his whole life in an attempt to appease me.

The truth is, anyone could hurt me with any element, not just fire, and not just me. All elements can be weaponized.

Mine more than the rest…

“I promise,” I tell him, holding out my pinky from my hand that isn’t interlocked with his.

He hesitates a moment before he links his pinky with mine. Pulling back, he once again lights up the area around us with a tiny flame in his hand, and I can’t help but feel my chest swell with pride seeing how much he’s grown.

We all have.

“What was that?” Theo asks from behind us, making us both jump and whip around to face her.

What the hell! How did she…when did she?

I turn back around looking at where she just was not even a minute ago, skipping as she leads the way to… I’m not even sure where we’re going, only that she insisted we go with her.

Theo is something like I’ve never seen before; she exists outside the realm of normal, which is saying something in a realm where everything is new and amazing.

“A pinky promise,” Pike answers, a huge smile turning up his lips, but that only makes her face scrunch up in confusion.

“It’s like an oath. We promise, and our pinkies seal the deal. If either of us were to be caught lying, we would lose our pinkies.”

Theo’s eyes go wide before a smile pulls at her lips, and she claps in excitement, dancing around in the middle of the dark woods, clearly unbothered by whatever could be out there.

To be fair, I have no idea what it is myself. Ryker could have just been trying to scare me that night he found me out here, but something makes me think he isn’t the type.

Either way, I’d much rather not just stand here and put a target on our backs.

“That’s wonderful! Make a promise with me, Serena!” she demands, holding her pinkie up in my face so close I end up going cross-eyed.

“Uhh…” I try to think of something, but my mind blanks. With the way she’s reacting, I’d rather make it something I know I can keep. I’m rather fond of my pinkies.

“Oh, I got it.” Reaching out, I hook my pinkie to hers, and I can’t stop myself from smiling at her with the way she looks at me. “I promise to be your friend, no matter what.”

Her smile slowly melts off her face, and I worry I might have made a mistake as she lets our hands fall, dropping my pinkie.

I feel Pike shift beside me, and I open my mouth to say something, though I have no idea what. Maybe we can make another promise; this time she can be in charge of picking what we promise.

Theo launches herself at me, and she’s shockingly heavy despite her small size. I stumble back a step and would have fallen on my ass if not for Pike catching us.

“Thank you, Serena,” Theo says, her words muffled, her face buried in my shoulder as she attempts to squeeze the air from my lungs.

My heart melts for her, this girl, this god who only ever wanted a friend, and while it might have been something simple to appease her, I intend to stay true to that promise.

“Of course, Theo, you're stuck with me now.” I wrap my arms around her, returning her hug before we break apart and once again follow after her as she hums a happy tune that doesn’tmatch our surroundings at all but does help me to feel better as things howl and cry in the depth of the darkness.

Iheard them long before they arrived. The only sound in these woods are the creatures, and after years with only them, I grew accustomed to hearing them. Which is why two shifters and a god stick out so much. Well, that and because I had nothing to do but listen. Recently, when I wasn’t with Serena teaching her about her powers, I was thinking of Serena and things to teach her as I waited for time to tick by so that I could see her.

What is it Serena and her men say in this kind of situation…ah right, fuck.

It’s not as if I can do anything about anything now, and I’m not going to leave. I’m just grateful Father isn’t here. He’s been missing since the night he turned the bear shifter that Serena’s so set on saving, and I can’t say he’s missed. But I also know that just because he’s gone for now doesn’t mean anything. He could be back any time, even years later, the same way he was when Serena finally showed up.

I let my head fall against the doorframe with a thud, feeling the pain as it vibrates through my skull.

I should have realized who she was. I’m not sure how I was so blinded, so stupid.

The rap at the door startles me, despite me knowing how close they were. I’d been busy thinking about… Serena, again.

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