Shadow Touched (Shadow Roamer #1) Read online

  Further in the back rounded walls made out of some very modern, posh-looking kind of frosted glass created a more private area, so Stella decided to try her luck there. Noises and voices drifted to her, grunts, thuds, muffled approval and advice. When she reached the doorway, she stopped in her tracks and just stared.

  She had found him alright. He was dressed only in a pair of black sweatpants, his feet and chest bare, revealing muscled shoulders and a toned body, the kind of which she had never seen in real life before. His dark hair was tousled from his hands having run through it a time too often, and his almost black eyes focused on the man in front of him in a way that tugged at her lower belly. That kind of determination - add a healthy pinch of heat to it and that look could be a damn sexy thing to be on the receiving end of.

  Mentally slapping herself to get a grip – though she couldn’t fault her mind for the lapse really, since what healthy woman wouldn’t appreciate the sight in front of her – Stella took in Nero’s opponent. He was dressed in black as well, his build leaner and a bit taller than Nero, his hair cropped short, so short she was sure it would make a raspy sound when running a hand over it. His eyes held humor and arrogant challenge as he watched Nero closely.

  The both of them were light on their feet, moving like a blur that had her stare in awe and reminding her of martial artists she had seen on television.

  “They are nice to look at, aren’t they?”

  Stella almost jumped, so transfixed on the men in the center of the room, that she hadn’t even taken much notice of the other people standing on the sidelines, although she had certainly heard them on her way here. The woman beside her was beautiful with big eyes and a wide mouth, and tall, easily reaching five-eleven feet. But her most stunning feature was her hair. Long and thick and dark with a hint of deep, rich blue in it, Stella was sure it would cascade down to her hips, if it weren’t tamed and kept in a multi-layered braid.

  Her gaze flicked back to the men and Stella smiled. “Sure are.”

  The roamer turned to her, a kind and yet alert curiosity in her eyes. “You must be Stella. Nero told us about you and your adventures last night. Wish I could have been there to see you spit a reptile in the face. I would have paid for that!” Her smile was honest and wide. “I’m Ombra, a member of Nero’s patroller team. The guy he’s fighting is Trevas, our macho slash joker around here.”

  Ombra motioned her chin towards a man and a woman on the sideline. The man was a bear of a man and the woman was on the short side for a roamer as far as Stella could tell but looked ethereally beautiful with hair that shimmered a silvery hue. “And over there are Scuro and Nebbia.”

  “Interesting names. I mean, they’re not exactly common.”

  Ombra rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, roamers do like to use words from all kind of languages as long as the meaning has something to do with shadows. Just like yours.”

  Stella frowned. “Mine has nothing to do with shadows.”

  “Sure it has.” Her eyes twinkled. “A star lights the night, creating shadows.”

  The others had noticed her presence by now as well, resulting in the end of the simulated fight, and came closer to greet her. All of them were in clothes suited for training and wore curious and friendly smiles. Greetings were exchanged, hands shaken and jokes made, and Stella found herself quickly feeling at ease and laughing as well.

  “So, you guys fight the creatures of the dark ,huh?”

  Nero smiled, doing something to her belly, and the fact that he was rubbing away a healthy sheen of sweat from his bare chest wasn’t helping her at all. “We fight them. The sooner you consider yourself as one of us, the better.” Following Nero’s lead the group dropped on various comfy chairs and a couch in the corner of the room. “But to answer your question, yes and no. We make sure everyone stays on their side, especially during the twilight hours, when humans still mingle about and the stuff of their nightmares is waking up. Other than that, we also have to walk a fine line between justice and, well, basic food chain.”

  Her eyes darted around the group. “Which means what exactly?”

  Scuro, who really started to remind her of a bear inside and out with his slow but powerful movements and friendly eyes, shrugged his shoulders apologetically. “Any human foolish enough to walk the streets at night does so at his own peril. There is only so much we can do.”

  It was logical, and she couldn’t blame them for that. Her gaze went back to Nero. “Those creatures of the night? Do they all look like the ones I met?”

  “No. There are four big groups of demons.”

  His eyes moved to Nebbia, who picked up the conversation immediately, her voice sure and strong, her dark eyes a striking contrast to her silvery hair. “Demons of prey, of sleep, of blood and of the mind. The ones you met belonged to the first group and like their meal to be warm or even alive. They come in different shapes and sizes, looking like a cross between humans and animals of prey, like bears, snakes, cats or wolves.”

  “Wolves?”

  Ombra smiled knowingly, “Yes. What human myth and popular literature know as werewolves are not some cute hotties who turn into fluffy wolves, but demons. And warm human flesh is their favorite treat.”

  “Huh.” Charming.

  Lips curving, Nero continued, “Demons of sleep are basically parasites, who live off of human energy that’s released while dreaming until their prey wastes away. Demons of the mind operate in the same way, but on the waking mind. It’s what humans call ghosts and poltergeists.”

  “So let me guess, demons of the blood are vampires?”

  “Yeah, they need blood to survive and don’t know when enough’s enough and end up drinking their victim to death.” Nero leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his dark eyes on her, “Now that we covered the basics about the demons, wanna know more about our skills?”

  A pleasant thrill went through her. “You bet.”

  After hours of training, of a mix of theory and practice, Stella knew for sure that all of them were some damn good fighters, Nero was a born leader and Nebbia a hell of a good teacher. And they loved each other like family.

  Since the shadows were their home, Nero had dimmed the lighting and the glass windows had turned dark, letting only a fraction of sunlight spill into the room so that it wasn’t pitch black, but rather filled with a multitude of shadows.

  Then she had watched the roamers use the darkness around them, to move with them, to cloak themselves with and to trick the others – and then shocked her by using them as a weapon as well, much like a sword. After the little show off, the team had split into two groups. While Ombra, Scuro and Trevas fought and trained with each other, Nero and Nebbia tried to teach her basic moves in the martial arts and to get a feel for the shadows surrounding her.

  Feeling them was no problem for her, since it was what had always soothed her while walking through the almost empty streets at night. The shadows felt like a cool and yet warm blanket for her soul. A balmy breeze supporting her.

  Since Nero had seen her unconsciously pull the shadows towards her when she had been attacked by the reptiles, he wanted her to do so again. Unfortunately that part was easier said than done and soon the exertion had her sweating, until Nebbia had the idea that Nero should attack her, simulating the situation when Stella had been successful in pulling the shadows to her.

  The problem was, seeing Nero half naked, having him come at her and touch her – even if it was to throw her on the ground or some such – didn’t make her feel frightened at all, but something else entirely. Needless to say, her first day she didn’t really had any success to show other than feeling completely tired but strangely happy at the same time.

  When Nero finally announced the end of their session, Trevas and Ombra joked some, yanking each others’ chains in a friendly manner Stella had already gotten used to, and the team made plans for their nightly patrol before all of them filed out of the training room towards the elevators.

  Since the ot
hers got out one floor beneath them, Stella and Nero rode on in silence to theirs – until her stomach growled.

  Blushing she bit her lip, “Yeah, guess I’m quite hungry by now. Who am I kidding, I’m dreaming of a nice hot shower, followed by a nice steak.”

  When he looked at her in a funny way, she tensed, “What? I haven’t had any breakfast at all and it’s…” Stella looked around for a clock and threw up her arms laughing, “I don’t know what time it is, but it feels like we’ve been doing this all day.”

  Nero blinked as if coming out of a trance. “Yes, the sun will soon set and we’ll have to go out patrolling. “ His voice trailed off, his brow furrowed briefly before he cleaned his throat and looked back at her. “So, you eat human food?”

  Huh? “What else should I eat?”

  The doors pinged open and they went out. It was her turn to frown after him. “Wait a second. What do you eat?”

  They stepped into his apartment, which was only dimly lit. The windows still tainted that darkly hue to soften the harsh light of day. Now that the sun was low in the sky, the room darkened slowly.

  Nero walked toward his comfy couch, but didn’t sit. God, he looked yummy, all broad shoulders and predatory kind of gait. Then he turned around to look at her, his eyes intense and touched with something wicked. “Blood.”

  For a second, her mind only registered images of warm flesh, skin on skin, tongues dancing and fangs glistening and bodies writhing – ripped right out of her paranormal-romance-fed imagination. She almost had to actually shake her head to clear it. “But didn’t you say that only demons of blood take blood?”

  Hands in the pockets of his sweatpants, Nero nodded, his eyes still on her, watching her reaction, watching her. “Yes, they do. But they don’t stop once they’ve opened a vein. We do.”

  Stella had to swallow. His scent, dark and a little sweaty, and his deep voice weren’t helping her at all as far as concentration went. “And from whom?”

  “From humans and demons from time to time. But mostly from each other. Couples drink each other, especially shadow bound once since for them other blood stops to be sufficiently nourishing.”

  “Shadow bound?”

  “Bonded couples, like marriage but a far more lasting connection.” Cocking his head, he asked, “How does human food taste to you? Is it nourishing and satisfying enough?

  Damn it all to hell and back, another blush crept up her cheeks. Keep it cool, Stella. “To be honest, I had always had a weakness for almost rare steaks.”

  “I thought so. Maybe we should try and see how your stomach reacts to real blood.”

  Nero was closer now. Had she moved or he? “Um, ok. And…well, who should I…drink from?”

  God, she couldn’t believe she was talking so casually about this – drinking someone’s blood. But most of all she couldn’t believe how much she suddenly wanted to taste his.

  “Anyone you wish. For now, you can feed from me, if you want.” His voice had gone a little husky there at the end, shooting shivers up and down her spine.

  “So how do I do this?”

  “You bite me with your fangs.”

  God, he was too close, too hot and too tempting. She was going to make a fool of herself. “I don’t have them…maybe I should better get myself something else.”

  She spun around and was about to walk away, when he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. “No, you don’t. I’m pretty sure you have them, but your human part suppressed them, like your ability to see the Tower.”

  His eyes were dark pools she was drowning in as he looked down at her. “How can we test that little theory of yours?”

  His head dropped down and his mouth caught hers.

  His taste flooded her as her mouth opened and their tongues danced. Desire rushed her, bursting through her veins and sweeping her away. Her hands reached for him, pulling him closer. Heat against heat. His tongue traced her lips, then slipped inside and did something wicked that had her heart thundering, her mouth watering for…more.

  His lips trailed away, dropping kisses along her jaw, that sensitive skin below her ear, making her shiver. Then his fangs grazed the skin of her neck and she moaned, the thought of him taking her blood so utterly arousing – when she suddenly felt a pop in her mouth. She searched with her tongue and found fangs had dropped down from her gums, but before she could react in any way, he was there again, stealing her thoughts and breath once more.

  When they finally broke apart, they were breathing heavily.

  His voice was deep, husky, “The fangs drop, if you’re angry, being attacked…or aroused.”

  Stella tensed, suddenly realizing that Nero had only kissed her just to show her that and not because he wanted to. Pulling back from him and wishing she could push away the hurt and embarrassment as easily, she nodded, and forced her voice to be light, “Okay. Thanks for showing me, but I guess I’m not that hungry after all. It was a tiring day, I’m gonna go. See you tomorrow.”

  Hoping it didn’t look anything like the escape it was, she headed for the door and left the room.

  SIX

  After a rather calm patrol and a couple of hours of sleep, Nero still wished he hadn’t given in and kissed her. It had been a mistake. After everything Stella had been through, losing his control there for a moment or two hadn’t been the way to go. Nero couldn’t even explain his reaction to her, this hold she had over him especially considering that they had only just met. But Stella had simply gotten under his skin. Her beauty, her smile and those fearless eyes of hers had pushed the right buttons in him from the start, and then the feel of her fangs which had never dropped down before until he’d kissed her. It had been quite the heady thought and it had pulled him under.

  He was a patroller, a warrior of his race, and prided himself on control and honor. Both had been utterly lost to him last night. God, that mouth of hers. And that tongue. Inwardly he groaned, in bliss and despair. No matter how much he had enjoyed it…ravaging her like that when her life had just been turned upside down? Definitely not one of his finest moments. Nero shook his head at himself and rubbed a hand across his face.

  His feet had carried him to the King’s private rooms, while he had been lost in thought. Gathering himself, he ordered his mind to the here and now, and after a nod towards two of the King’s personal guards guarding the door, Nero entered.

  The King’s private rooms took up the entire floor – and not the upper floor, contrary to what most people and even most patrollers believed – and didn’t resemble the throne room at all. Whereas the throne room radiated darkness and respect from the King’s sheer presence, the air laden with authority, these rooms felt welcoming. The windows were only slightly darkened, leaving daylight to spill inside and on the natural oak wood of the floor and furniture and on cream walls.

  Being one of his best patrollers and, more importantly, having grown up with Vago after Nero’s patroller parents had died when he was still a child, Nero was one of the few to have entered the King’s sanctuary. Whatever Vago wanted to talk to him about, it wouldn’t leave the room – inside these walls Nero would talk to his friend, not the King.

  Vago came out of his bedroom, dressed in a fine, black suit and accompanied by a shadow that was Arnyek, his personal guard who never left his side, not even in his own home. A lot of people envied Vago the position as King, but that it went with having basically no privacy or alone time whatsoever was certainly something they tended to forget.

  While Arnyek became another piece of furniture - albeit a very alert one - Vago greeted Nero and asked, “How was your patrol?”

  Following Vago into his office, Nero replied, “Rather quiet to be honest.”

  “Good.” Standing behind his desk, Vago faced him head-on. “We have a problem. The…Council has gotten wind of your human.”

  The way his friend paused, Nero knew that it wasn’t the Council but one of its members in particular they were talking about. Fosco. Vago’s uncle but most untrustwo
rthy Council member, given how he dreamed of - and worked towards - seeing his own son on the throne in Vago’s stead.

  Vago went on, “After I informed them that she was not a human but shadow touched and that I have given you four weeks to train her so we can judge her abilities as a roamer, it was decided to test her.”

  Nero tensed. “When? And what kind of tests?”

  “You’ve still got your four weeks. Regarding the nature of those tests, I’m not allowed to reveal anything.” His eyes, hardened by the burden of responsibility but lit with kindness from the heart within that no one had succeeded to tame or break, gained a wicked edge, “But I can advise you to train her as only you will be able to, in all matters of the roamers. Martial and shadow arts. They will most certainly test more than just her strength and capabilities. Make sure she can hold her ground and won’t break. You know Fosco.”

  Yes, he knew him. The guy had a cruel streak to him and a way with words that always ended with the other Council members sharing his views. He probably wanted to use Stella as more ammunition against Vago, as evidence of the King becoming too soft and being too concerned about humans. That human saying came to mind…no good deed goes unpunished. Not only was Stella’s life at risk, he knew it without his friend needing to tell him, but also his King’s future…in that instance Nero regretted bringing Stella to the Tower, pulling her into his world. But then again, she wouldn’t have survived in the human world much longer.

  As it was, he simply had to make sure she would survive in his.

  “Have you tasted her yet?”

  Vago’s voice pulled him out if his thoughts. “No, I haven’t. It turns out she has never drunken blood before and has sustained herself with human food so far.”

  The King frowned. “So it’s probable she is more human than roamer?”

  “I don’t think so. I think it shows how strong she could be once she starts drinking blood.”

  “Well, let’s hope so, for her sake and mine.” Vago started shuffling some papers. “I’ll be gone for a couple of days but when I’m back, we’ll talk again and I will want to know about her blood.” His friend’s eyes glinted mischievously. “Or did you lose your touch?”