A Soldier of Shadows 19 by Forrest Bella

Author:Forrest, Bella [Forrest, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2015-10-24T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17: BEN

A lthough it had been an agonizing experience facing my family, telling them what I’d done and that I didn’t know when I might be able to see them again, it was also strangely liberating. At least now they knew what the situation was.

When I’d first left The Shade, during those months that I was away, it had always played in the back of my mind that my parents didn’t know where I was or what had happened to me. I had brought no phone with me, so for all they knew, I could be dead. The thought of them worrying had been a constant stress. Now they knew, and although they were clearly horrified, they didn’t have to suffer the added fear of the unknown.

I couldn’t have felt more grateful to River for the way she had comforted my mother when my mother had needed it most. I glanced back down at River’s pretty face as we stepped back through the boundary. Her eyes were set forward in determination. I realized I had never known a girl as strong as her. Even my sister, for all her bravery… I honestly wasn’t sure that she was capable of carrying herself with the same levelheadedness as River.

I didn’t know exactly what had made River the way she was—I guessed it was rooted in her upbringing, and the difficult childhood she’d had—but at that moment, I didn’t think it was possible for me to adore or respect a woman more.

Although Aisha, who’d brought us up to see my and River’s parents, was still waiting for us within the boundary with a look of slight impatience on her face, I stopped River in her tracks. I slid an arm around her small waist and raised my other hand to support her head as I tilted it backward and kissed her deeply. No words from me were needed. I could see from the look in her eyes as I raised my head again that she understood what her gesture had meant to me.

Then I resumed my hold on her hand, and we closed the distance between us and Aisha. I could’ve sworn a scowl crossed the jinni’s face on witnessing my display of affection for River, but it passed quickly. Aisha cleared her throat, flicking aside a lock of her curly black hair.

“Was there anything else you wanted?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “But first let’s return to your atrium.” I’d already decided that I wanted to spend as little time as possible in the upper atrium to avoid bumping into Jeramiah, Michael, and other unsavory characters, so I had requested Nuriya to allot me an apartment down in the jinn’s abode.

“As you wish,” Aisha replied smoothly.

A thick mist appeared from nowhere and surrounded us, and the next second, we were standing in the Nasiris’ gardens, a few feet away from the border of the sparkling swan-dotted lake.

“And now?” Aisha asked, raising a brow.

I paused, pulling my mind away from thoughts of River and my family and fixing it on my next move.

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