Ever Shade (A Dark Faerie Tale #1) by Alexia Purdy (complete)

Chapter Nineteen

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Shade's eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the blue flickering light in the room as it intermittently broke up the darkness. The rock seemed to bounce the glow around and reflect the blue coloring. She blinked again and sat up, confirming that she was still in her stone dungeon. Realizing her light stone wouldn't be as bright as the glow shining in the cave, she rubbed away the sleep from her eyes and looked around.

Did someone just call my name?

"Shade! It is you! I knew you were close, but I never thought that you would be here!" a male voice said, filled with relief and eagerness. She stared at the figure; electricity crackled and flames radiated from him like a torch. She stood up quickly, wavering for a moment, eyes wide in disbelief.

Dylan! It was Dylan, without glamour, aglow in the most amazing blue fire swimming along his skin. It licked the air around him.

"Dylan? How did you get here? How did you find me?" Her eyes scanned him, waiting for his still-familiar face to change into someone else. Her heart leaped with the utmost happiness at the sight of him. She smiled and tried to stand until a sway of dizziness changed her mind.

"I don't know. I came to an ancient riverbed with enormous boulders throughout it. I was compelled to be there, and I'd been tracking you for a while. I can feel when you've been in a place, almost like I'm experiencing a feeling of déjà vu. It felt so strong there, but I didn't even know where to look. Suddenly, the land opened up and sucked me down between the boulders, and here I am. That's never happened to me before, definitely a first." He paused, beaming at her. "I was meant to find you. I can't even explain it. It's the weirdest thing to fall and be right here with you. No, wait. Don't get too close. You might get burned." Shade retracted her hand, just realizing she'd been reaching out to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

He smiled and nodded. "It's ok. You know how we look without the glamour to encase our actual bodies. If you were to touch me, I could hurt you."

Shade pressed her lips together, confusion flashing across her face. "Darren touched me when he was unglamoured like you are now, and I didn't get burned. I asked Soap and Jack about it, and they had no answers for me. It makes me think that I might not be harmed if I do touch you." She admired his flames and took in his handsome face.

It was a mask of shock as he shook his head. "I don't know about that, Shade. Maybe it was a trick of his. He could do so many things with mirrors that would make you believe things were real when they were really just illusion. He was a genius at that." Dylan's face was grim at the thought of his brother.

"No, I know because he was shocked when I didn't burn. He said that much, and I saw it in his eyes." Her eyes glazed over with the memory of the malice stamped on Darren's face. He was filled with so much pleasure when he'd seen the fear wash over her. She looked at Dylan and almost expected to see Darren standing before her. They were similar in appearance, but even as brothers, they didn't exactly look alike. They certainly didn't behave the same way.

"Well, if you must, Shade, I will tone the flames down. Then you can touch my skin with just a finger. That way it won't hurt you too much. Deal?"

She nodded and watched his flames shrink back into just embers glowing across his skin. She studied it and watched how his skin looked smooth and untouched under the heat. He watched her as she walked forward, extending her arm and hand up toward him. They both held their breath as she reached her finger up to his skin and slowly ran it up his arm. Dylan was still holding his breath when her soft touch reached him, seeming to freeze time.