Reborn (Shadow Beast Shifter, #3)(64)

His words struck a chord within me, and it took me a minute to work out why. It was how he’d talked about the library… like it was his child. He’d created and nurtured this offspring the best he could, giving it all the skills needed to grow and flourish in the world. Now it was time for it to find its own way forward, with Shadow there in the background as a support system.

Kind of made me think that part of the reason I loved this particular library so much, outside of a lifetime obsession with books, was because of its ties to Shadow. My mate.

Before I could get too mushy over all things Shadow, Inky swirled down from the ceiling above, spreading out before us. “Inky!” I exclaimed. “Did you figure out what was wrong with the library?”

The mist twirled around Shadow, and I could tell they were talking. Angel and I waited patiently… Well, at least she did. I started bouncing on the spot in anticipation of bad news.

“It’s Midnight.”

I lurched forward at those words. My heart was pattering like crazy because until this moment, I’d thought my mist was still stuck in the realm. But to hear it was in the library, and had been the entire time… I wasn’t prepared.

“What do you mean it’s Midnight?” I said in a rush. Inky wrapped around me, offering comfort, which did not bode well for the information coming my way.

“Midnight is the kink in the library,” Shadow said. “It’s infiltrated itself into the creation energy I used to bring this system to life and is causing the disruption.”

My heart hurt, a giant squeeze that was legitimately more painful than what I’d felt over my mother’s death. No doubt I needed therapy or some shit, but I couldn’t help that my mist was already more important to me than my birth mother. “How do I… I mean, what can I do to fix this situation? How do I free Midnight?”

Shadow pursed his lips, those sinful lips, but for the first time, I was too distraught to get distracted by him.

“From what Inky sensed, Midnight has integrated itself completely into the system, and the odds of easily untangling all of that energy are low. The only one who might have a shot is you. Can you reach Midnight through your bond? Convince it to release its hold on the library?”

Closing my eyes, I mentally followed the path of our bond. A path that had sat mostly dormant, even as my memories had returned. Midnight? Can you hear me?

A sharp vibration of energy shot back at me, not exactly hostile, but definitely not up for a friendly chat. I recoiled, unable to find a way to break through to my mist. At least I did know our connection remained, but it had been changed.

“It’s not up for a friendly exchange at this time,” I said sadly, opening my eyes and releasing my hold on the bond. “I mean, why did it even return here? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to stay in the realm it’s from, especially without memories of me?”

Shadow took a moment to converse with Inky before he passed the information on to me. “Inky believes that it was drawn back through the Solaris System looking for you. Only it didn’t remember you and ended up bonding to the shattered power of the library.”

I had to hold back my tears again, thinking about my poor Midnight just aimlessly searching for its bonded one, only to find the closest thing and settle. “Dannie has a fucking lot to answer for,” I growled huskily. “She managed to screw so much up, and it’s only by the grace of the damn gods we’ve come as far as we have after her manipulations.”

“Grace of no fucking gods,” Shadow shot back. “It was your stubborn ass. Now let’s head into the lair; Midnight will find its way to you. If there’s one thing I know for sure about Mera Callahan, it’s that she’s impossible to resist for long.”

He strode off, Inky wrapped around his shoulders, and I exchanged a look with Angel. “He just keeps using love words,” I whispered to her, “even if he won’t say the actual word itself.”

She smiled, tugging me against her side. For non-hugging beings, they’d certainly come around to the concept fast. “You should have known that he was going to love you from the first moment he didn’t murder you for smarting off at him. The Shadow you know is not the one most of us do. He never suffers fools or any form of disrespect. Not even from his friends, but with you… he almost encourages it.”

“It’s a lot like winning the damn lotto.”

Angel actually let out a chuckle. “Like winning it twice.”

Couldn’t argue with her there, and it was nice that I didn’t have to explain my colloquial sayings to Angel. Her years as a guardian angel on Earth had prepared her well for our friendship.

We hurried toward the lair portal to find Shadow had already stepped through. Just as I went to follow, I had a thought that jerked me to a halt. “You can’t go in there,” I said with urgency. “Wait here and I’ll tell Shadow he has to allow you entry.”

Her expression softened. “I appreciate you looking out for me, but Shadow and I have already reached an arrangement. For the time being, I’ll be allowed into the inner sanctum of Shadow’s life and power.”

“Really?” I blinked at her. “He’s usually very selective about who’s allowed into the lair.”

Angel let out a deep breath. “Yes. And it’s only because we both love you. That’s why he trusts me.”