Shadow (Touched by the Fae 2)

During those nights when I was little, when Nine was still the Shadow Man who spent hours telling me about Faerie and why I should never, ever let the fae touch me, he went to great lengths to impress how powerful the fae are. With their glamour and their charm, they could look like anyone, convince anyone to do just about anything.

However, from Nine’s lessons, I also learned that the fae do have a weakness. Two of them actually—now three, if I count how carefully Rys stays away from the darkness.

One is that they can’t lie. Tricky and manipulative, Nine warned that any fae worth his pointy ears could find a way around having to always tell the truth. So it was a weakness, but not a fatal one.

The other, though? Iron. And there isn’t anything they could do about that.

I guess, for the Light Fae, the dark shadows leech their power and their strength just like iron does to any of the faerie kind. But if the Dark Fae use the shadows to their advantage, what about the Light Fae? What makes them stronger?

As if he can read my mind, Rys finally moves forward. No. Not move. He… he glides, almost as if he’s floating. Unlike Nine, he doesn’t wear a long coat that hides most of his body. Rys—going with the whole Light Fae, Blessed Ones thing—is all decked out in white, a stark contrast against his darker skin. His shirt is tight around his torso, long sleeves billowing as he steps gracefully toward me.

He pauses when only a few feet exist between us. I let out the breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding since he started to move in my direction. Even though he just told me that the portal is harmful to a Light Fae, he can’t stay away.

Part of me wishes he would—but a secret desire has me hoping he’d come closer.

I’m so freaking tired of being alone. He’s proven that he’s willing to do whatever he has to to get whatever he wants—me—and I haven’t forgotten that. I haven’t.

But he’s here. And, for the moment at least, I’m okay with that.

He smiles. It’s a gorgeous grin, his pouty lips split just enough that I can see his blindingly white teeth peeking through the gap. Lifting his hand, I flinch back from him.

Only he isn’t reaching for me.

“The Dark Fae love their shadows.” Rys sticks his hand into the weak light streaming down from up above. His whole form goes from a pale golden color to a vivid bronze. “As you can see, my people are drawn to the light.”

“What… what did you just do?” I whisper.

“I’m a Light Fae. Seelie. I can walk in the sun, take strength from its warmth and its shine. I can’t move in the darkness,

but so long as there’s a hint of light, I can travel anywhere between the human world and Faerie.”

So that’s how he did it. How he found me in the sewer, and how he followed me into the mausoleum.

That sucks. I mean, seriously.

If all it takes is sunlight for him to come after me, I won’t be safe unless I resign myself to absolute darkness. Otherwise, I’ll never truly be able to escape any of the Seelie—including Rys.

The shadows are keeping him at bay. For how long, though? Back in the mausoleum, he wasn’t about to cross the line between the sunlight and the way too dark depths of the musty building. He would’ve. I’m absolutely sure of that—it’s why I had to fight back and run before he gave in to the urge.

Just like he’s doing right now.

Rys holds out his hand. He looms in front of me, close enough that he’s all I see, with just enough distance that I know I’m safe from his touch.

For now.

I gulp.

I’ll never make it up the ladder in time. Still, I think I’ve got to try when my body bows back, desperate to avoid the slightest graze of his fingertip.

His smile is one part invitation, one part threat, as he purrs, “Come with me, Riley.”

I’m so distracted by his nearness, by the way his golden eyes seem to burn their way straight to my soul, it takes me a second to understand what he said.

Come with me.

“What?” I’m surprised he’d try that again, I don’t even tell him no straight off. When will he finally get it? “Go with you? Where?”

“To Faerie, of course. You belong with the fae. You belong with me.”