A Curse of Shadows

Taking a deep breath, I expect a musty scent with how old everything looks, but there’s only a fresh, woodsy smell within the building. The ceiling is made up of carved, white flower tiles and there are thin windows placed on the front and back walls, letting natural light in.

Per Sosheena’s directions, I take a seat at a wooden desk with a padded bench seat. I barely get comfortable before she’s making a stack of books in front of me.

“Look these over,” she says as she moves between the shelf next to me and the table. “If the pages of a book don’t call to you, set it to the left. When something stands out, place it on the right and those will be what we take home.”

“Got it.” I peek around again for Estee, but she’s still nowhere to be found. Traitor.

Opening the first book, I flip through the pages, one at a time, until Sosheena places a warm hand on my shoulder. “Oh, no, dear. Not like that.” She takes the book from me and flips through so quickly that I can’t even see the words on the pages. “Trust the energy of the book. It will tell you when to stop.”

And here I thought things couldn’t get much weirder than learning wolf shifters were real and I’m one of them. Technically.

She chuckles, adding, “We’ll be here until dawn otherwise.”

Yeah, I’d rather not let that happen.

I look for Estee again, growing annoyed that she’s ditched me and I’m supposed to figure out this energy stuff on my own. Yes, I realize Sosheena is here and I could ask her, but that’s not the same as having my best friend by my side.

Doing as I’ve been instructed, I begin flipping through books only about half as quickly as Sosheena is placing them on the table. Before I know it, I can’t even see around me, as the stacks are getting so tall, but I do at least hear the hum of a song coming from Sosheena.

Each tome is in pristine condition, the hardback covers sturdy and the binding tight. Even the pages are crisp, but the dates tell the truth of their ages. I’ve seen books as old as 903 BCE and none newer than the 1500s. After flipping through a few dozen of them, I’m starting to wonder if I can’t feel whatever energy I’m supposed to and say as much to Sosheena.

She peeks over the top of the stacks and smiles down at me. “You’ll need patience, Isla. There’s a reason I’m drowning you in books. Out of the hundreds you touch today, we’ll be lucky if three of them speak to you.”

Oh. Great.

Another glance around for Estee with no luck and I continue to flip through the books as quickly as I can. It feels like two hours later and my fingertips are red, my backend is numb, and my stomach is beginning to growl.

I also want to murder my sister. How could she have just left me like that?

A little more aggressively than I mean to, I grab the next book and nearly drop it. Feeling guilty, I try to shove down my own annoyances and continue the job I’ve been tasked with. Though I’m convinced at this point?—

My thoughts are cut off when an electric shock rolls through me, forcing my eyes closed as I grip tightly to the book within my hands. I take a deep breath and my shoulders relax for the first time in over an hour.

Except I’m no longer in the library.

I’m in a bedroom, my bedroom. The walls are a seafoam-green color, the bed a soft cream. Paintings of flowers, the ocean, wolves, and… Is that Estee? I also see Asher and Noen depicted in the art. Each one hangs proudly on my walls, all signed with the same initials: IB.

I look down to see my hands are covered in paint and another canvas sits in my lap. My fingers glide over the surface and I smile. The cave.

There are no people in this piece, but I recognize the cave’s entrance from having just been there. Wait. There’s a flicker of something in the shadows. I lift the painting and peer close, but the harder I stare, the more my head pounds.

Still, I don’t relent.

Something is there and I want to know what. What was I painting in the darkness? What answers might I find there?

The bed starts to feel as though I’m sinking into the mattress. I drop the painting, grasping on to the bedding, pillows, and even the bedframe, but my touch never finds purchase.

I’m falling, my speed too fast. There’s no light around me any longer and my heart is racing, but I’m not afraid. No matter where I land, I’m going to be okay.

As soon as I accept that, I find myself within the cave. I’m not alone. Asher is here, his hand outstretched, waiting for me.

“Mate,” he whispers with a sexy grin.

I take a step toward him, eager to close the distance, then another. With every inch forward, my chest blossoms, heat unfurling from within me.

Mate. Mate. Mate.

This man. He’s mine, all mine, for all eternity.