Page 21 of Stubborn as a Shadow

“I’m not leaving without you,” he said. “I’m checking if the guards are gone and getting your earbud off the shelf.”

Yeah. Okay. That made sense. I totally would have thought of that too.

A moment later, a tingle of magic fluttered through the air, right before a very real hand grabbed my wrist. I reached for him with my other hand, just to check I wasn’t misinterpreting what I was feeling. I may have been accused of having an active imagination once or twice. It was one of my best qualities. But sometimes it got a little carried away, so it was always best to check whether things were real.

My free hand hit a solid body.

Excellent.

“Come on. Let’s get somewhere safe where we can talk.”

As we stepped into the empty hallway and the light (the actual light, not the metaphorical one), I seized the opportunity to check out my mystery rescuer.

My first thought: Score one for Violet. Because this guy was also dressed in blah and boring black. She’d insisted this disguise would help me blend in, and obviously he agreed.

My mystery man even had short, dark brown hair, almost as dark as my wig. Oh! Was he wearing a disguise too? He was super handsome, so I understood why he might want to wear one: I knew I’d never forget him.

His neatly trimmed beard accentuated his jawline. I hadn’t thought of a beard. That would have hidden more of my face than the makeup. Shoot. I’d have to remember to try facial hair next time. Maybe something I could glue on would work, since I’d never be able to grow that much on my own.

Oh well, I guess a few differences between us would be good too, so we weren’t complete twinsies.

His thick dark eyebrows were tilted down in the center when he glanced back at me with his dark eyes. Was he wearing contacts? If he was, I needed to invest in his brand. They made his eyes look menacing and almost black.

It was super effective.

He dragged me to the end of the hallway before stopping abruptly when the sound of conversation from the banquet room reminded us we weren’t alone on this floor. He shot a look down the hallway.

“We’ll leave through the stairwell, and hopefully no one will notice us,” he whispered.

I nodded because it seemed expected. Without any other discussion, he was pulling me along behind him again.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about him dragging me around like he was a little kid clinging to his precious teddy bear—me being the precious teddy bear, if my simile wasn’t obvious—but I was too curious to put up a fight.

Violet would have hated this. She’d have kicked his ass if he tried to manhandle her, but I was willing to give the guy some leeway. He had saved me, after all.

He could be my overprotective sidekick. Every hero needed one, right?

Besides, my cloak was fluttering behind my hurried steps, which was immensely satisfying. It made me wonder why fashion trends had steered away from cloaks. But everything came back in style eventually, right? Cloaks would be popular again anytime now.

My rescuer, who still hadn’t identified himself, hit the stairwell and kept on going. The sound of our footsteps ricocheted over the unadorned concrete. I hoped no one heard us and investigated. We didn’t need that kind of attention. What happened in the janitorial closet was a reminder that our safety wasn’t guaranteed here. Although, to be accurate, I wasn’t safe anywhere.

“Where is your room?” he asked.

Was it a bad move to take him to my room? Probably. But my instincts told me to trust him. And that’s how, a few minutes later, we were safely ensconced in my room on the third floor.

“Now what?” I asked, curious about… well, everything. Him. His plans. Why he’d been in the closet.

Did he want to get in my pants? He’d hugged me and stroked my face, so maybe? Should I tell him I was happy to have him polish my horn? No one had ever wanted intimacy like that from me before, so I wasn’t sure what to do. I was wildly curious, though—curious enough to agree if he started stripping.

Unfortunately, he didn’t do anything delicious like box me in and press me against the wall again.

How disappointing.

Instead, he stalked across the room to the window and yanked the curtain closed. Then he spun toward me and narrowed his eyes.

“What’s your name?” he demanded.

Hmm… What to say? Violet would have opinions about how I should answer. Many, many opinions. But without her warnings in my ear, I needed to wing this on my own. Which reminded me… I should probably get the earbud back from him and check in with V before her head exploded.