Flirting with the dark, p.7
Flirting With the Dark, page 7
Rowan frowned. “Because of me.”
“No.”
His eyes hardened.
“Because someone is guiding it.”
A chill spread through her chest.
“Someone?” she echoed.
“Yes,” Elias murmured. “Someone who knows what you are. Someone who wants your light extinguished before you realize your full power.”
Lightning flashed far outside the sanctuary.
Elias’s shadows flared instinctively.
Rowan’s breath caught. “Who is it?”
Elias’s voice dropped into a growl.
“The Hollow wasn’t corrupted by accident. There’s a master behind this. A shadow that thinks it can take you.”
Her pulse pounded. “Do you know who?”
He hesitated.
Then looked at her with an expression she had never seen on him before—
Regret.
Fear.
And something else.
Something protective.
Fierce.
Personal.
“I know their name,” he whispered.
“Tell me.”
He shook his head slowly.
“I will,” he said. “But not yet.”
“Why not?”
Elias stepped close, brushing a damp strand from her cheek with trembling fingers.
“Because once I say it,” he murmured,
“there’s no going back.”
Rowan’s voice barely reached air. “Elias... tell me.”
He met her gaze.
Shadow and light reflected in his eyes.
“Rowan,” he whispered,
“the one hunting you...
the one leading the dark...
the one who wants your light...”
He leaned in closer—
“...is someone I once called brother.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The word “brother” hung in the air like smoke—
thick, choking, impossible to ignore.
Rowan stared at Elias, her pulse pounding in her ears.
“You,” she whispered. “You have a brother?”
Elias’s jaw tensed.
Rain dripped from his hair.
The sanctuary glow painted him in pale gold, but the shadows at his shoulders churned restlessly, responding to his turmoil.
“I had one,” he corrected. His voice was quiet, but sharp, like each word scraped against something raw inside him. “Before he chose the dark fully. Before he became the first of them.”
Rowan swallowed.
“You mean the dark-born in the road?”
Elias nodded once.
“That was him.”
Her breath caught. Goosebumps prickled up her arms. “What’s his name?”
Elias hesitated—pain flashing across his face.
Then he said it.
“Kael.”
The name felt heavy, ancient, like the syllables carried their own shadow.
As soon as it left Elias’s mouth, the sanctuary stones pulsed a faint warning glow.
Rowan shivered. “Tell me about him.”
Elias looked away, gaze drifting to the glowing archway as if answering might wake something he’d tried to bury.
“We were created from the same dark source,” he said slowly. “Two shadows born at the edge of the Hollow... but I was different from the beginning.”
“How?”
“I had light inside me,” he murmured. “A spark the dark couldn’t quite snuff out.”
“And Kael didn’t.”
“No.”
He let out a bitter, hollow exhale.
“Kael embraced the darkness. He wanted its power. He wanted the Hollow for himself. He wanted control. And when the dark offered him strength... he took it.”
Rowan stepped closer. “And you rejected it.”
“I did.”
He finally looked at her again—eyes haunted.
“And that made me his enemy.”
Her heart stung. “Elias...”
“He wasn’t supposed to come after you,” he said, voice tightening. “Not this soon. Not this directly. Your awakening... it woke him. It woke everything he commands.”
Rowan’s throat tightened. “So he wants my light.”
“He wants to erase it,” Elias corrected. “A flare like you—fully awakened—could undo everything Kael has built.”
Rowan’s breath trembled. “Then I have to stop him.”
Elias stepped forward so quickly she startled.
“No,” he said fiercely. “No. That is not your burden. Your awakening is barely stable. Your power is raw. Kael would tear you apart.”
Rowan lifted her chin. “Then teach me.”
His eyes hardened.
“That’s not how this works.”
“How does it work?”
He exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair.
“The sanctuary will guide you. Slowly. In time. But Kael won’t wait for that.”
“Then we don’t have time either.”
Elias shook his head. “Rowan—”
She grabbed his arm.
He froze.
“Elias,” she whispered, voice trembling but steady, “I already almost died twice tonight. I’ve seen things I didn’t know existed. And I watched you fight something that should’ve killed you. I can’t pretend I’m not part of this.”
His throat worked.
Emotion flickered across his face—fear, frustration, something deeper.
“You’re part of this,” he said quietly, “because you were born to be. Not because I want you in danger.”
Rowan softened. “But I’m already in danger.”
His jaw clenched.
She stepped closer.
“And I’d rather face it with you than sit and wait for your brother to tear this sanctuary apart.”
At her words, something in Elias broke.
His expression—usually so controlled—cracked open with an honesty he’d kept locked away.
“Rowan...” he whispered. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Then tell me.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering himself.
When he opened them again, his shadows had stilled, calm for the first time all night.
“If I teach you,” he murmured, “if I show you how to use your light... it creates a bond. A permanent one.”
Her heart fluttered. “Permanent how?”
“Permanent as in unbreakable.”
He hesitated.
“Permanent as in... you and I will be tied. Closely. Dangerous-close.”
Rowan felt heat rise in her chest.
“Do you want that?”
Elias inhaled sharply—because she’d thrown the question back at him.
He looked at her like the truth terrified him.
“I do,” he said—barely audible.
“More than I should.”
Rowan took a step forward.
He took a step back.
Not because he didn’t want her close—
but because he did.
Too much.
“You don’t understand,” he said, voice rough. “A bond like that means Kael will see you as mine. It’ll provoke him. It will drive him to kill anyone who stands between us.”
“Then let him try,” Rowan whispered.
Elias stared at her like she was both the bravest and most dangerous thing he’d ever seen.
The sanctuary pulsed again—this time brighter, warmer.
Wrapping them both in gentle gold.
Elias’s shoulders sagged in surrender.
“All right,” he said quietly.
“I’ll teach you. I’ll stay with you. I’ll help you fight him.”
Rowan exhaled shakily.
“But know this,” he added, stepping closer, voice dipping low, “if we bond, Rowan... if our powers intertwine... there is no going back.”
She met his gaze steadily.
“I don’t want to go back.”
Elias’s breath hitched—
shadows recoiling,
light catching in his eyes,
something fierce and protective breaking free inside him.
Then—
A hollow howl split the air outside the sanctuary.
Elias turned sharply. His expression darkened instantly.
Rowan stiffened. “What is that?”
His voice dropped to a growl.
“Kael’s calling the hunters.”
Rowan’s heart lurched. “They found us already?”
“No,” Elias murmured, stepping in front of her.
“They’re warning us.”
“Warning us about what?”
He looked back at her—face grave.
“Your awakening wasn’t the end of something, Rowan.”
Lightning flashed.
“It was the beginning.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Morning didn’t come to the sanctuary.
Light did — but it wasn’t sunlight.
It was a soft, golden haze rising from the stones themselves, warm enough to thaw Rowan’s rain-soaked clothes, bright enough to cut through the fading storm.
Rowan sat on a flat stone near the center of the clearing, breathing slowly, letting the unfamiliar warmth settle into her bones. She felt hollowed out and overfilled at the same time — as if the awakening hadn’t just changed her, but replaced her from the inside out.
Elias paced in front of her.
His shirt was torn at the shoulder, streaked with dried blood and mud. The shadow under his skin had quieted, but not fully. Every time a distant howl echoed through the forest, it flared — like warning lights in muscle form.
“Elias,” Rowan said softly, “you’re making me nervous.”
“Good,” he muttered, not slowing his pacing. “You should be.”
She rolled her eyes. “Very reassuring.”
Elias stopped abruptly.
Turned.
Faced her fully.
“You awakened too quickly,” he said, voice low. “The sanctuary pushed you through it because Kael was near. Flares aren’t supposed to awaken under threat.”
Rowan swallowed. “So I’m... unstable?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Raw. Untamed.”
His gaze softened a fraction.
“Dangerous — to everyone.”
She opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Tried again.
“To you?”
Elias’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t look away.
“Especially to me.”
Heat stirred beneath her ribs.
Not embarrassment.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something drawn to him.
But before she could speak, Elias lifted a hand.
“Stand,” he said.
Rowan got to her feet slowly.
“We’re training now?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“I thought the sanctuary had to—”
“It already started,” Elias interrupted. “Your light is responding to the stones. But it needs to respond to you. Not to danger. Not to instinct. To your will.”
He stepped closer, shadows stirring faintly at the edges of his shoulders.
“Close your eyes,” he murmured.
Rowan obeyed.
Elias circled around her, slow and silent. She felt him without hearing him — like his presence had weight, gravity.
“Tell me what you sense,” he said.
Rowan swallowed, focusing.
She felt...
Warmth.
Light.
The hum of the sanctuary stones.
And—
“...you,” she whispered.
Elias stopped behind her.
Close enough for her to feel his breath stir the air above her neck.
“What about me?” he asked quietly.
“You feel like...”
She hesitated, searching for the right word.
“...shadow. But not cold. Not heavy. It feels—”
Lightning flickered far off beyond the sanctuary boundaries.
She opened her eyes. “You feel like a shield.”
Elias inhaled sharply behind her.
“Good,” he murmured. “Now push outward.”
“How?”
“Think of the light you used before. But don’t let it explode. Let it rise. Controlled. Focused.”
Rowan took a slow breath.
The light answered instantly.
It flickered across her chest, then her arms, warm and shimmering under her skin. Not enough to burst — just enough to glow.
Elias stepped into view.
His eyes widened — not in fear.
In awe.
“Rowan,” he said, voice hushed, “you’re doing it.”
“I can’t hold it long,” she whispered.
“You don’t need to hold it.”
He moved closer, lifting his hand.
“You need to guide it.”
Rowan nodded.
Elias reached toward her — slowly, like she was something fragile and dangerous at the same time.
“May I?” he asked softly.
Her breath caught.
She nodded.
His fingers brushed her wrist.
The light flared bright between their skin — warm, golden, coiling around his hand like it recognized him. Elias’s shadows rippled in response, swirling around his forearm like smoke drawn to flame.
Rowan gasped.
“Elias—”
“It’s all right,” he said, voice low and steady. “Don’t pull away.”
“I’m not pulling away,” she whispered.
He looked up then — at her — and something in his expression softened in a way she’d never seen.
“This bond...” he murmured, “it’s already choosing us.”
Before she could answer, a thunderous crack split the air outside the sanctuary.
Elias snapped his head toward the archway, shadows surging violently.
Rowan’s heart lurched. “What is that?”
Elias’s voice was a growl again. “Kael is testing the boundary.”
The stones flickered.
Hard.
Too hard.
A deep vibration trembled through the ground.
Elias grabbed Rowan’s hand. “Don’t panic.”
“I’m not panicking,” she lied.
“You’re definitely panicking.”
Another blow struck the outer forest — not physical, but forceful enough to shake the clearing. The sanctuary’s glow dimmed for a heartbeat.
“Elias—” Rowan’s voice cracked.
“He can’t break the sanctuary,” Elias said sharply.
“But he can shake it. Intimidate it. He’s trying to rattle your focus.”
“He’s doing a good job.”
Elias stepped in front of her, close enough to feel the heat of her aura brushing his skin.
“He wants you afraid,” Elias murmured. “He wants you overwhelmed. Because if you lose control — even for a second — your light will blow the sanctuary open, and he’ll get in.”
Rowan swallowed hard.
“So what do I do?”
Elias turned slightly, eyes burning into hers.
“You stay with me,” he said.
“Stay grounded. Stay right here.”
Another tremor shook the clearing.
Elias cupped her face with both hands, forcing her to meet his gaze.
“Rowan,” he said, voice low, intense, unwavering,
“trust me.”
Her breath trembled.
“I do,” she whispered.
He exhaled — something like relief breaking across his features.
“Good,” he murmured.
“Because the next part... is going to be harder.”
“H-harder than this?”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer.
“Because now, you have to let me guide your light.”
Rowan’s pulse stuttered.
“My... light?”
“Yes.”
His forehead lowered toward hers—close enough to feel his breath.
“Don’t fight me. Don’t pull back. Let our power merge.”
A shock of warmth throbbed beneath her ribs.
“Elias—”
“Rowan.”
His voice wrapped around her name like a vow.
“We do this together.”
Before she could reply—
A violent, echoing howl ripped through the forest.
Kael.
Close.
Too close.
The sanctuary stones flared.
Elias tightened his grip on her hands.
“Rowan,” he said, eyes blazing with shadow and light,
“it’s time.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The sanctuary responded before Rowan could.
A tremor ran through the ground like a warning pulse, and the air thickened with gold and shadow. The stones surrounding the clearing glowed hotter — their light wrapping around Rowan and Elias like a rising tide.
Elias didn’t let go of her hands.
“Rowan,” he murmured, stepping closer until their chests almost touched, “focus on my voice.”
Her breath caught.
“It’s hard to focus when you—”
“When I what?”
His tone dipped — low, rough, not teasing.
Just honest.
Rowan swallowed. “When you’re this close.”
A muscle in Elias’s jaw twitched — not annoyance.
Restraint.
“Good,” he said. “Use it. Let the emotion sharpen your control.”
Another thunderous impact hit the sanctuary boundary.
The stones vibrated violently.
Rowan flinched. “Elias...”
“I’m right here.”
He released one of her hands — only to slide his palm to the back of her neck.
Warm.
Steady.
Anchoring.
Her breath stuttered.
“Look at me,” he said.
She did.
The shadows beneath his skin writhed, drawn to her glow.
The light beneath her skin stirred, drawn to his darkness.
“Now,” Elias whispered, “let it rise.”
Rowan closed her eyes—
And the light unfurled inside her like a breath of fire.
It filled her chest, spread down her arms, tingled at her fingertips. Not wild this time.
