A Walk Amongst Shadows (Book 2)
Chapter 1

I was awoken early in the morning by the sunlight streaming in through my bedroom window. I sat up slowly, stretching my arms out over my head as I did so. My hair fell around my shoulders, knotted from a restful night’s sleep, I sighed, it would take forever to brush them all out. I glanced at the empty spot on the bed beside me, he must’ve already gotten up. I wrestled the tangles out of my hair and headed downstairs not bothering to change out of my nightdress. I found him sitting at the table sipping tea, an empty cup sat in the space beside him, presumably for me. Hearing my footsteps on the stairs he looked up at me and smiled.

“Morning,” he said warmly, his black eyes sparkling.

“Morning,” I replied.

I walked over and kissed him on the cheek before grabbing the empty cup he had out for me and filled it with tea.

“I trust you slept well last night.”

I nodded. “Did you stay here all night?”

While life mages don’t necessarily need to sleep every single night, we still can if we choose to. Shadow walkers on the other hand, do not. Our first few weeks together, Aris had stayed patiently by my side. I was terrified of being alone. But as I’ve adjusted more to my new life, he will often travel to the shadow realm and return in the morning when I wake.

“Actually, yes,” he answered. “I thought about leaving, but I figured pretending to be asleep beside you would be just as fun,” he winked at me as he finished his tea.

Aris and I had never explicitly planned on living together. We had grown undeniably close during our voyage down the mountain last year that it just never felt right for us to part ways. In my early days in the royal city, I needed him to help me navigate and learn the ways of a completely new world. He stayed by my side through many sleepless nights. Frequently, I would awaken violently from night terrors, screaming in fear for my life. Aris would hold me close and reassure me that I was safe. It was hard then. The nightmares still come, though not as frequently now. Fortunately, I still have Aris to help me when the nights get bad. I used to ask him how long he planned on staying with me. I thought surely, he would have to go back to the shadow realm for good at some point. But each time I’d ask he’d say the same thing. “Until you get tired of me.”

“I had another dream last night,” I mentioned, as I sipped slowly on my tea.

Aris looked up from his cup, concerned, “Oh?”

“It wasn’t anything too bad this time, I was just running.”

“Were you being chased again?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, I was trying to get back to my parent’s house before they got home from the apothecary.” I fidgeted for a moment. I missed my family greatly. I haven’t spoken much of them since leaving. It was too painful.

“Are you alright?”

I nodded again, pushing memories out of my mind as I did so. “I’m fine. I almost wish they would’ve caught me,” I said wistfully. “It would’ve been nice to see them again.” I sat down and looked into my cup.

There was a knocking at the door that took us both aback. Confused, I looked at Aris who looked equally taken off guard. No one had ever visited us here before. It was my understanding that no one knew this place even existed. The knock came a second time. Aris stood up and walked to the door. I saw his expression change from confusion to recognition the moment he opened it.

“Stellan?” I heard him say, surprised.

“Aris! Brother! Long time, long time,” I heard our guest say in an accent I was not familiar with.

I watched as he embraced Aris, releasing him after a few thumps on his back. As the man entered, I instantly recognized him as a shadow walker. He was shorter than Aris and a bit stockier in build with long messy hair. But his eyes were the same black color as Aris’ and they had the same pallor of skin as well. I wondered briefly if I would’ve been as afraid of this man as I had been of Aris the first time we had met.

“I must confess, it is good to see you out of the shadow realm,” he said, eyes scanning the room.

“It’s nice to get out,” Aris agreed. “And what exactly is it you’ve been up to all these years?” he inquired.

“Oh, you know, travelling,” he answered cryptically with a subtle raise of an eyebrow. “That is until I caught wind of this prophecy father has been on about.”

“Ah,” was all Aris said.

“So, it’s true then?” Stellan asked, lowering his voice in interest. “You found it?”

“Not it,” Aris corrected. “Her,” he gestured past the door towards me.

Stellan’s eyes widened as he looked at me for the first time since his arrival. He swore under his breath as he approached me.

“No! You’ve got to be joking. A mortal?” He looked me over up and down like I was on display. I couldn’t tell if he was intentionally trying to be rude or not.

“Not a mortal, a mage. A life mage,” Aris clarified.

“Rose Rivyn,” I introduced myself. Stellan appeared taken aback, as though he hadn’t expected me to speak. “Nice to meet you.” I stood up and stuck out my hand. Stellan smiled wryly glancing at Aris before taking my hand and kissing the back of it lightly.

“Of course, dear girl. Forgive my manners.” He tutted lightly, “my, my, the fun my brother must have with you.” He looked hungrily into my eyes. I pulled my hand away from him, feeling mildly disgusted.

“Stellan,” Aris interrupted in a warning tone. Stellan gave me a wink before turning back to him.

“Well, it’s good to see you’re keeping busy.” His voice dripped in sarcasm. Aris sighed. I wanted to laugh but repressed the urge to do so.

“So, what are you doing here then?” Stellan asked, taking a seat. Aris and I awkwardly followed suit.

“I am doing exactly what father has told me,” Aris answered diplomatically. Stellan narrowed his eyes.

“Is that right?”

Aris said nothing. I could feel the tension begin to rise in the room. I felt the urge to leave but was unsure if that would’ve been wise. Afterall, I had no way of knowing if Stellan had come here on his own. As if he had read my thoughts, Aris asked, “Are there any others with you?”

“ ’fraid not,” he answered, shifting back in his seat. “Why? In the mood for a family reunion?”

Aris chuckled. “Hardly,” he answered. Stellan grinned. I was relieved for the change of topic. Aris and Stellan chatted idly for a while longer. I felt left out, recognizing nothing of which they were speaking. Stellan was being careful in his word selection. A few times their conversation switched to a language I didn’t recognize. But I sat patiently while they caught up, smiling along and being a pleasant host.

“So, you really came all this way just to ask me about a prophecy?” Aris asked as their conversation wound down. I was happy that they had switched back to the common tongue.

“Well that, and to see if the rumors were true,” his eyes sparkled.

Aris cocked his head to the side, “Rumors?”

“That you’re back!” He hit Aris on the shoulder in excitement. “The whole shadow realm’s up in arms about it. I had to see ya for myself.” I watched Aris look down, struggling to suppress a smile.

“Well,” he held out his arms, “Here I am.”

Stellan smiled widely. Then he turned back to face me, surprised, as though he had forgotten I was in the room entirely. “Now my dear…Rose? Is it?”

I nodded.

“Yes, tell me, what is it you plan on doing with all this newfound power?”

I furrowed my brow, unsure of what answer he was looking for. Aris had told me I was powerful, but just how powerful, but never specified just how powerful.

“I suppose I’ll do whatever I like with it,” I answered drly.

Stellans’ eyes widened with approval and he grinned devilishly at me. “Oh, brother,” he said to Aris, not breaking eye contact with me. “I like this one. I don’t suppose you’d be up for sharing?”

I felt myself recoil away from his words. Aris stood up looking infuriated.

“Relax,” he shrugged off. “I was only joking.” He then leaned in closer to address me, “But listen sweetheart, if you ever tire of my brother here, you know where to replace me.” He gave me a wink and then stood abruptly. “Well, dear Aris, it’s been great catching up with you. Do let me know what becomes of this...” he gestured around him, “...situation.”

Aris nodded and the two embraced before Stellan vanished, presumably back to the shadow realm. Aris stood with his back to me for a moment. When he turned to face me, he looked mildly flustered. All I could do was laugh.

“So that was fun,” was all I said, settling back into my chair.

He sighed and sat beside me. “Yeah, that’s Stellan for you.”

“You two go back then,” I added.

“Oh yes, Stellan was there the day I died. We’ve had a lot of…adventures together,” he looked down.

“Is that why he was so interested in whether or not you were back?” I asked.

He nodded. “Like him or not, he’s the closest thing to a friend I have in the shadow realm.” I found his statement oddly wholesome. “I’m sorry about the remarks he made to you. My brother is not exactly chivalrous.”

“I can see that,” I agreed. “Why was he asking me about what I planned on doing with my power?”

Aris stiffened slightly. “Well, that’s the thing. See, ever since this prophecy of power came about everyone has been trying to figure out what exactly it means.”

“And?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Truly, I don’t know. I know father was adamant that you stay alive but none of us know why, or what other gods may or may not be planning.”

The thought sent a shiver down my spine.

“Hey,” he put his hand on mine. “Don’t look so frightened. We’ll see you through all of this.”

“And what if ’we’ don’t all have my best interest at heart?” I asked, putting air-quotes around the word as I spoke.

“Then I will fight the god of the underworld myself,” he teased. I grinned. I knew there was no way Aris could stand against his father, but his sentiment lightened my spirits nevertheless.

“Was that the ancient tongue you were speaking in?” I asked.

“No, well at least not the ancient tongue you are referring to, it’s the language of the shadow realm, Vynym.”

“So that’s why I didn’t recognize it,” I said to myself.

“I’ve spoken it around you before.” He looked puzzled.

“I guess I just assumed it was the ancient tongue of Windsle,” I clarified.

He smiled. “Would you like me to teach you?” he offered.

“Sure, we’ll just add that to my list of things to study.” I rolled my eyes as I laughed. Most, if not all of my free time had been spent studying magic since my arrival here. Given the considerable size of the royal library, I had been desperate to make up for the time I had lost while in my former village. “Should I be concerned about what Stellan was saying?” I asked.

“Of course not. What makes you think that?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, he made it sound like this was all a pretty big deal.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t think too much about it. Stellan’s just nosey.”

“If you say so,” I said matter of factly, rising to my feet. I had no reason to doubt Aris, but for the rest of the day I couldn’t help but think that Stellan’s visit was just the beginning of a lot more to come.