Page 60 of Vervain

“Right,” I breathe with a defeated exhale. It was situational. Just the heat of the moment, like all the other times we kissed or nearly kissed.

“But I could have pulled you out without kissing you. Without touching you,” he admits, his voice silky, running over me like a tranquil river. When I look up, he is glaring at the door, his hand on his chest, scratching at his shirt. “Do you have anything else to divulge to me, kamai?”

I bite my lip. All the quivering tension in my abdomen sinks at what I have to say next. But I saw it. Still, the last time I told someone something like this, I was made to seem foolish. Like the creature in the vent that Jax tried to convince me was a figment of my imagination.

Serun’s ear flicks. “Does it have something to do with you passing out in the office?”

“Yeah…” I choke out, rubbing my palms up and down my thighs. “When I was in the kitchen, my shadow moved without me.”

Saying it aloud, I sound unhinged.

“Penumbra?”

I slow blink. “Pardon?”

Serun’s eyes crinkle when his smile broadens. Lowering his hand, his fingers inch towards mine. “Do you trust me?”

No, I want to say. Instead, lulled by desire, I take his hand, and he guides me to my feet. My head spins, a hazy mess since using my powers. Still, I hold on tight and allow his weight to carry mine.

I want to ask where he is taking me as he leads me out of the room. His shirt is rolled up over his elbow, and as I grab onto his exposed arm, electricity sparks between us.

Instead of being wholly consumed by this moment, my thoughts slip to Cole, who is never far from my mind. My fingers burrow into Serun’s flesh as we make our way down the corridor. “Have you heard anything?”

“Reyes has reached the Woods of Mire,” Serun answers.

“Close?”

“Yes. Close.”

A wave of tension releases from my heart. “I wish I was doing more.”

“Once Reyes finds him, you will. Think of it this way. If you were to travel with them, his scent would become clouded. Same blood.”

“Cole and I? Is that how it works?”

“Somewhat. The scent Reyes follows creates a thread. If you were there, it might tangle since you and Cole are siblings.”

Such strange magik.

Serun takes me down the stairs, and as we reach the dining room, my heart speeds up rapidly. We stop, and the shadows across Serun’s shoulders drip away from him, snuffing out some of the light and dimming the main hall until we’re burning in shadows. My breath sharpens like a shard of glass in my throat. I take in my shadow drawn up the wall beside the door.

I take a shaky breath in and step back, but Serun’s hand tightens on mine. “Saya, this is Penumbra. Is this who you saw?”

He says it so casually, like an introduction among peers.

“What is it?” My throat dries up as I struggle to speak.

“A guardian. They protect my manor when I’m not here.”

“They?”

Serun nods. “They don’t know what they are, but they are not an object, nor do they have a gender. They prefer to be called Penumbra, they/them.” He looks back towards the wall. “Did you frighten my consort, Penumbra?”

The shadow nods, hanging their head low like a puppy scolded for being naughty. Then, the shadow looks at me and raises their hand. Shadows break away and form letters. “Forgive me, Saya Claymore. I did not mean to scare you.”

“They can’t talk?”

Serun breathes a laugh. “They are a shadow.”