Shadow Touched (Shadow Roamer #1) Read online

  His mind most likely – Nero barely refrained from admitting that out loud.

  Vago suddenly paused clearing his desk and braced his hand, not looking up. “Is it just me or does she…”

  “…look like Alba.” His friend’s gaze snapped to his and Nero was as relieved as Vago was to know that it wasn’t just him seeing the likeness.

  Vago nodded sharply. “Okay, then. Like I said, I’ll be back in a few days and then we’ll discuss this further.”

  The moment Nero was back in the elevator and on his way to the training floor, he started wondering how he would react to her blood, when a kiss was all it took to make him loose control. Losing control was not something he easily endured, but with Stella…just the thought of his fangs in her flesh, her own in his…

  Down boy, Nero mentally ordered, debating whether he should get a cold shower before facing her for another round of training. But then the thought of the Council and especially Fosco testing her and basically using her in their scheming against the King, sobered him up and cooled him down more effectively than any shower would.

  SEVEN

  Stella was hungry. It didn’t surprise her that much given that she hadn’t eaten anything ever since coming here. But what did, was the fact that she was hungry for blood, specifically for Nero’s blood judging by the vivid dreams which were disturbingly dominated by the roamer.

  Any minute now she would have to train with him again, see him wearing nothing but sweatpants, that body of his so close and yet untouchable. Ombra had already told her that it would be just the two of them, what with the other’s already having gone through their training routine and because Nero thought it would be better for her concentration.

  Right. Just the two of them. Nero and her. Alone. They would sweat and pant - and she really should stop that train of thought. It was safe to say that she had grown incredibly frustrated.

  Pulling herself away from her thoughts and into the here and now, she focused on the others. The gang, as Stella had come to think of Nero’s patroller team, was slumped on the floor and on a sofa in a corner of the room while they waited for Nero to show up. Ombra had mentioned him being summoned by their King.

  It seemed the gang was discussing politics as well.

  “Some of the opposition would calm down if he would bind himself,” Scuro said, rubbing his chin.

  Traves snorted, “Poor fella. Still, I’d rather kiss a woman’s shapely ass than that of the Council’s.”

  They were talking about the King she assumed. Stella cut in, “What would that change? Him being shadow bound, I mean.”

  Nebbia, who managed to look almost elfin with her silvery hair despite the muscle beneath her skin, explained, “Some people aren’t comfortable with the King ruling on his own. We roamers are real big on equality and it’s custom for either a shadow bound pair or a brother-and-sister tandem to rule us. The King used to rule with his mother, something that hadn’t happened before but the union of youthful strength and wisdom of age was greatly respected and appreciated. However, it’s been two years since she died and more and more people would like to see someone beside him on the throne again. A group his uncle, Fosco, and cousin have gathered around themselves are using this and don’t hesitate to point out what they believe to be other failings.”

  “Such as?”

  “They think the King’s wasting too much energy, and with that I mean resources, on protecting the humans. They’re saying that humans have reproduced en masse and that letting nature run its course might not be too bad.”

  “So…let the demons eat them?”

  Nebbia shrugged, a small, apologetic smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Basically, yes.”

  Stella’s eyebrows went up. “Nice.” Then she frowned. “And him being married, or shadow bound, would change what exactly about that?”

  “It would simply stabilize his position.” Another shrug. “A show of strength of sorts that would calm the people and take some of the wind out of the opposition’s sails.”

  Huh.

  At that moment Nero entered the room and the gang swiftly got up on their feet. There was a hard set to his jaw and something about his eyes that showed he had received some kind of bad news.

  He nodded towards his team, “I’ll see you guys later.” And they filed out.

  Once alone with him, Stella wasn’t quite sure what to do.

  He motioned towards the couch and she sat down, watching him. He was in his black sweatpants and pacing towards the window, muscles tense beneath his skin, his strong gait reminding her of a caged animal. Sighing, he turned to look at her. “I’m sorry I brought you here.”

  Those words tugged at her heart, even as her mind was busy finding out what he was talking about. The bad news must be related to her. “What’s going on? Did the King change his mind?”

  “No, I actually think he’s already on your side. But his Council is not.”

  Ah. “That Fosco guy?”

  Eyebrows twitching in surprise, he cocked his head. “What do you know about Fosco?”

  Stella shrugged. “The others filled me in some. He wants the throne for his son. So my guess is having a so-called shadow touched here with the possibility to go crazy and run amok, makes another good argument against the King. Like him becoming too soft regarding humans and all that.” She almost snorted. As far as she could tell there wasn’t anything soft about the guy.

  “In a nutshell, yes,” Nero nodded, a glint of something akin to respect in his eyes and a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, while some of the tension left his shoulders.

  “So what exactly is going on?”

  The small smile disappeared. “In four weeks they’ll test your abilities as a shadow roamer to see…”

  He broke off, but she nodded her head in understanding, “…to see whether I’m more roamer than human…and less likely to go crazy, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  She swallowed and stood up to stand to join him. “So, what kind of tests?”

  “I wasn’t allowed the details, but they will test your strength, your abilities of working the shadows. Fosco is a cruel man, so I guess you’ll probably have to fight while they’re watching and assessing you.”

  Her gaze drifted, taking in the view of the city as the sun caressed it with golden rays. “Sometimes I wonder when I’ll wake up and discover this was all just a weird dream.” Her eyes flicked back to his.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. You said I would have died sooner or later. In the light.”

  “Yes.”

  “No regrets then.”

  Something wicked entered his eyes. “Don’t be so sure. You might have them…after I’m done training you.”

  After an hour of working with the shadows – or rather unsuccessfully trying to work them – Stella thought he might have been right. Their training room was dark, flickering candles here and there their only source of light and creating a maze of shadows. And an atmosphere that reminded Stella a tad too much at another form of exercise that could have them panting and sweating.

  Giving herself a mental shake out of that particular gutter, she concentrated on the task at hand. Pulling the shadows towards her.

  Closing her eyes she tried to feel them as a part of her, like he had advised her to. They were cool and yet warm…like water caressing her skin…a blanket she wanted to grab. The shadows flowed towards her. And Stella stared, amazed.

  She had seen the others do it a hundred of times by now and still she couldn’t believe that she had done so. I’m one of them, the thought struck her and brought a warm wave of joy.

  “Good.” He was behind her, his breath tickling her ear and sending a delicious shiver down her spine, smoothly turning the joy into heat that burned her in all the right places. “Again.”

  She almost groaned.

  “And then we’ll start with the obstacle course.”

  Yup, if an overdose of hormones wouldn’
t be the death of her, then this training certainly would.

  EIGHT

  “Duck,” Nero ordered as he and Stella fought. She dropped to the ground and then quickly followed up with a sweep of her leg.

  “Nice one. But remember, some of your opponents might have stronger bones and you only would end up hurting yourself if you did that.”

  She jumped to her feet, nodding in understanding, and they continued, exchanging kicks and punches.

  “Now cloak yourself in shadows.”

  Nero pulled back a bit, giving her space and the time, knowing that it still took conscious effort for her to do as he had asked.

  He watched, his arms crossed over his bare chest, as Stella pulled the shadows to her, his sight not hindered at all by the darkness and flickering candle light.

  Almost a week had gone by since the King had left on his business trip and Nero knew his time was running out. Although Stella had become more agile, excelling the obstacle course he put her through on a daily basis, and could pull the shadows to her with ease now, she still hadn’t managed to do anything with them once that first task was accomplished.

  Only in the privacy of his mind did he admit that most of his frustration stemmed from the fact that he had no idea how she was sustaining herself and not from the lack of results regarding the shadow training. Had she acquired human food for herself or had she started to drink blood? And if she did take blood, then from whom? The thought of her at another man’s vein didn’t sit well with him. At all. Although he damn well knew he had messed things up after their first and only kiss. He knew he had absolutely no claim on her.

  Yet he couldn’t stop his gaze from traveling the length of her, admiring the curves beneath the sweatpants and top, the dark hair swept up in a bun and glinting violet in the candle light…and most of all, her face and the look of concentration and determination there.

  She cursed under her breath, then inhaled deeply and tried again.

  Over a week ago he had turned her world upside down, and yet here she was, facing life head on. Never once had he seen her waver, had he seen her break down…no, she was a fighter through and through. Nero could only imagine how odd and out of place she must have felt in the daylight, living amongst human but not really belonging.

  Though his parents had died when he was young and he had missed them, he had been lucky to have a Queen who didn’t care for status that much and had no problem making sure the son of her best patrollers and best friend of the heir didn’t lack for anything. He still remembered the pride in her eyes when he had come back from his first patrol.

  “I have an idea,” he suddenly announced before the thought had barely registered.

  She opened her eyes, beautiful black pools gaining a weary edge as if she might suspect him of having thought up another means to train/torture her. “Okay.”

  “How about you come with us tonight?”

  “You mean, patrolling? With you guys? Really?” she asked, her lips already spreading into a wide smile.

  Nero laughed, “The fact that you’re so excited about that reminds me that you’ve been cooped up in here for far too long.”

  “It’s not just that, though I admit the prospect of fresh air is kinda heady,” she said, going along with his teasing. More serious now, she continued, “I think it could help me.”

  “That’s why I brought it up. The first time I saw you using the shadows was under duress. Maybe going out during the twilight, maybe even running into a demon, will help you figure things out.” Another idea came to him. “But…”

  Stella laughed and shook her head at him, before propping a hand on her hip. “I knew there had to be a catch.”

  “…I want you to drink some blood first. It will make you stronger, and I want you at your best before taking you with me tonight.” It was also a – admittedly sneaky – way of finding out what she’d been feeding on these last few days.

  She swallowed and Nero wondered…ah yes, it was there in her eyes.

  She was remembering their first attempt at making her drink from him as well. Remembering their kiss. And suddenly the room seemed darker than before, the candle-scented air hotter around them, like a safe cocoon hiding them from the rest of the world.

  When Stella licked her lips, offering him a glimpse of tongue, he knew it was excitement and nerves making her do so. The last part was what kept him from pulling her close, and almost made him smile as it was answer enough to the question that had been eating at him the last days. She hadn’t taken from a vein before.

  Gently taking her hand in his, he led her towards the couch in the corner where they sat down. As he had come to expect from her, Stella had used the moment to gather her thoughts and faced him, the nervousness not gone but controlled.

  “Okay, I‘ve noticed the snacks I’ve managed to hunt down aren’t as tasty anymore, so I’ve wondered how you…urm…how blood tastes, you know.” Her brow suddenly furrowed and somehow Nero could tell the exact moment when the pieces fell into place. Maybe it was the word ‘taste’ that jogged her memory, taking her back to the time King Vago and she met. “He wants you to drink from me.”

  Nero nodded.

  “Why?”

  “I might be able to tell who your mother was. From the taste of it.”

  Her eyes went wide, the deeply buried but unrelenting need to find out more about yourself, your own history and who you are pulsing through her. Her frown deepened. “And he can’t?”

  The image of Vago at Stella’s soft neck made his jaw clench, as he fought a possessiveness he had to remind himself he had no right to. “I’ll explain to you his reasons at another time. Now…this is about you. This is your first feeding and it’ll be enough of an experience without me adding to it.”

  “Okay, that sounds…logical.” She shook her head laughing at herself. “God, this is so weird. Training with you, learning to fight and to actually pull shadows to me. That’s…odd, but doable. But this whole blood thing and talk about feeding…it’s just so…Twilight.”

  Nero couldn’t help but laugh as well. “Hey, no need for insults, please.”

  A bit more relaxed now, their thighs touching, he held up his wrist to her. “Your fangs dropped once, so it’ll get easier with time. Just close your eyes and remember the feel of them. And think about your hunger.”

  When he felt her lips and then her warm tongue against his skin, he had to muffle a groan. A sweep of softness and then the sharp pierce of her fangs. She grabbed his wrist with two hands now, a needy sound escaping her when his blood hit her tongue that had him in knots. Never had a feeding been such torture on his control, never had it been so…erotic. Watching her cradling his arm, writhing…and suddenly she was straddling him. Her dark eyes opened, staring right at him, blazing with desire and need.

  This time he did groan, clenching his fists. He licked his lips, his eyes trailing to her neck, to the hot beat of life there. No, no, no…he told himself over and over again. This was about her. Not about him.

  But by God, it had never felt like this before.

  NINE

  Nebbia and Ombra had taken Stella to the shopping floor of the tower and the girls had fun selecting Stella’s fighter clothes and in turn parading in different outfits. It went without saying that most of it was black or anthracite - and looked amazing on the toned women.

  While Ombra seemed to have a weakness and felt the most comfortable in heeled ankle boots, slim-fitted army pants, tank top and leather jacket, Nebbia went for black pants and a kind of leather corset with a long-sleeved shirt beneath it. On a whim or maybe due to the heady thrill at the prospect of going patrolling that night, Stella settled on knee-high boots, leather pants and a sweater.

  Since both women had advised her to keep her hair in a braid and tugged under her shirt to keep it out of harm’s way that’s what she did. When she saw her reflection in the mirror, she could only stare. She was the same and yet not. However, it wasn’t just the clothes or the feeling of her
body becoming fitter and more toned every day, but the healthy glow to her. At the thought Stella flushed, remembering what might be responsible for that glow.

  She had drank blood. Nero’s blood. And it had been…divine and pure power. Sweet and metallic, the taste of the setting sun’s last golden rays sweeping across the city. Yes, he tasted like sunset.

  Never would she have thought it would be like that, and a part of her wondered whether a feeding was always like that, whether it always meant such loss of control…such pleasure.

  Although her mind had been blank and her body had been in a state of pure bliss, she had noticed him tense, had seen his clenched fists, his knuckles turning white. Yet she had never doubted that he had enjoyed it as much as she had. It had been in his eyes, black and blazing with a need that matched her own they had latched onto her neck. It was then she had known he wanted nothing more than to taste her as well. But he had refrained himself, just like he had promised her. That kind of control was utterly sexy and…a challenge of sorts, as it made her wonder what would make him lose it.

  A knock sounded at her door.

  Shaking her head sharply to shake those thoughts away, she threw one last look at her reflection before she moved to open the door where Nero was awaiting her.

  His dark gaze was a physical caress as it slid up and down her body, a sensual smile playing at his lips. “Well, I’ll be damned. No matter what the Council says, you’re definitely one of us.”

  He had probably no idea what his words meant to her, but inwardly Stella was squealing and swooning like a girl. “Thanks.” Her eyes traveled his body in turn, admiring and taking their time since it had been a while since she had seen him in anything but sweatpants. He wore the same outfit he had on the night they had first met, black army pants and a long-sleeved shirt that didn’t leave a lot to imagination the way it hugged his form. “You don’t look too bad either.”