Page 73 of Soul of Shadow
Elias hummed with satisfaction. “Of course you do.”
They fell quiet then, spinning and dipping to the pounding music. Charlie tried to keep her attention on her feet, but the whole time she felt Elias watching her. Studying her. Looking for what, she wasn’t sure.
At last, he broke the silence between them. “You really don’t like romance novels?” he asked. “Not even the ones where the bad boy falls head over heels for the golden girl?”
She looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. “This wouldn’t be a targeted question, would it?”
“Not at all,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the kissing. Or how you seemed to like it. A lot, if we’re being honest he—”
Charlie stepped purposely on his foot.
“Ouch,” said Elias, pouting. “That would hurt a lot if I weren’t a supernatural night-dwelling fear-eater.”
She raised her eyebrows, glancing around the room. “That’s awfully brazen of you to say right in the middle of a crowded room.”
“Oh, please.” He rolled his eyes. “This music is so loud I can barely hear myself think.”
As if in response to Elias’s complaint, the song ended, transitioning to a slower tune. Softer, acoustic. Elias slid his hand lower on her back and pulled her in until her cheek rested on his chest.
Charlie felt her pulse beating in her throat.
“We have an audience,” he whispered against her hair.
She tilted her head back and shot him a questioning look. He nodded over to the bleachers, where the vätte sat in the very last row. When he saw Charlie looking, he waved one little arm frantically back and forth. Charlie smiled and gave a small wave back.
“He’s quite attached to you,” Elias said. “You really haven’t given him a name?”
“It’s not my place,” Charlie said, settling her cheek onto Elias’s chest. She would never admit to how good it felt resting there. “For all I know, that little guy had a mother and father who gave him a name a long time ago.”
“That’s not the way of the vätte.” He turned their bodies in a slow circle, their feet rocking back and forth in time. “The vätte are abandoned by their parents shortly after birth. It is notin their nature to raise their young; they’re born with the sole purpose of finding a human companion.”
Charlie’s eyes flickered over to the little vätte, who was now waddling across the bleachers, likely in search of stray food. Thinking of him being abandoned by his parents did something funny to her chest. “But why?”
“It’s just the way of things,” Elias said. “Before there was a Seal, humans and vätte were very close. The vätte would seek out someone brave and pure of heart to protect them. In turn, they offered to assist the human however they could, using their supernatural abilities.”
“You mean the vätte have actual powers?” Charlie asked, surprised. “Besides just being unbearably cute?”
Elias laughed softly in her ear. “They do. Vätte are remarkably fast for their size. And strong and nimble. But they’re such solitary creatures that almost no one knows the full extent of their power. We do know, however, that they have a special tether to their human companion, which enables them to know whenever the human is in danger. And vice versa.”
“A tether? But I’ve never felt any sort of connection to him.”
“That’s because you haven’t named him. The bond isn’t official.”
“Hmm,” Charlie said, going quiet as Elias pulled her closer. They moved slowly to the music, any space between them seeming to disappear. Longing stirred, low and tight in her belly. She squeezed her eyes shut. She needed to stop this. The longer they were pressed together, the more she was losing her senses. Losing sight of why she was really here. What she needed to do.
They had at least half a song left. That was enough time to plant the seed.
She opened her eyes and cleared her throat. “Speaking of supernatural creatures,” she said, a half-baked attempt at a logical segue, “where are we at with the investigation?”
Elias sighed. “You are such a workhorse, Charlotte. Can’t we take the weekend off?”
“Obviously not, Elias,” she said. “Every day that we delay, those kids are stuck God only knows where. Probably even dead.”
“Exactly,” he said cheerily. “If they’re dead, it won’t matter when we find them, will it?”
“Elias,” she said, chastising.
“Mmm.” His fingers ran up and down her back, leaving behind little trails of sparks and shivers in their wake. “I love when you say my name like that.”
