Love in the Shadows

Suspicion and forgiven

{Alright I'm giving into peer pressure. Some of you guys have been commenting non stop about my story and I'm super flattered because the number of views were absurd. But I'm at school and I have never really had time to let myself continue but hey I don't care lets do this!
-Vodka_Martini}

Skulduggery floated up to Valkyrie's windowsill. He contemplated for a moment if she would get angry with him for invading her space. He shrugged and realized that it wouldn't have mattered because his ego was too big to let it get to him. So he rose up gracefully and did a swan dive into her window.

Valkyrie felt a gust of wind come from her window and she felt her hair whip around her face. She craned her neck from under her blankets to see what had caused this disturbance and she caught sight of a gleaming white skull.
"You never do respect my space do you?" She asked tiredly. She honestly wasn't in the mood for her sarcastic quips. And she sensed that Skulduggery would be grinning if he had lips.

"No I do not."

"Why are you here?" Valkyrie asked sounding annoyed.

"Well I wanted to see if you weren't dead. It would be such a tragedy as I wouldn't have my number one fan hanging around me to swell my ego."

Valkyrie had a hint of a smile on her face but it was a sad one. Skulduggery noticed this and he drifted over to her.

"I'm just joking," he said quietly. "I'm here because I care about you and because I was worried about you."

Valkyrie snapped her head up, astonished at his sensitive words.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes, really."

Skulduggery hesitated for a moment but he decided to wrap his arms around her. Valkyrie went stiff for a moment as she had never expected Skulduggery to give her such a gesture. But she wrapped her arms around his torso and she sighed.

"What's bothering you, Valkyrie?" He asked quietly. Valkyrie blinked and bunched the lapels of his coat tightly. She didn't want him to find out about the thing between Vile and her so her thoughts raced to come up with a lie. And she needed to fast.

"A guy came onto me," she blurted suddenly. "And I might be attracted to him even though he seems dangerous. But there might be another side to him and I'm conflicted about this."

"I see," Skulduggery said slowly. "But that's not a reason to avoid the Sanctuary is it? So why did you hide?"

"This seemed like a trivial and mortal issue. I was scared when the other sorcerers looked in my eyes they would sense this and would laugh at me," she said sheepishly. It was half true anyway. She internally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I understand Valkyrie. But please don't isolate yourself like this. It won't help you. Talk to me."

"As if you're the world's most tactful person," she retorted.

"You're right I'm not. My greatest advice is if they annoy you, punch them. If they are nice to you, punch them twice."

"I'll set that in stone," she said drily.

Skulduggery chuckled. "I meant what I said, jokes aside. Get some rest. I expect to see your smile bright and wide very soon."

He pressed his teeth affectionately against her cheek. A platonic kiss, she mused. She smiled and waved a goodbye to Skulduggery as he swan dived out of the window.

She bunched her fists into her sheets in happiness. Not because of the kiss but because of Skul's genuine love and care for her. That made her incredibly happy.

However not a moment too soon, the temperature dropped about twenty degrees and the cold went directly to her hands and the spot on her cheek where Skulduggery had kissed her. She cried out and tried to rub her hands together.

Lord Vile materialized in front of her bed, making the air chillier than it already was. Cold waves of fury radiated from him and Valkyrie stood up slowly, her legs shaking from the cold. "Vile? What happened? I didn't expect to see you..." But before she could finish her sentence, she felt a thin tendril of shadow lash at the spot of Skulduggery's kiss. She screamed through her teeth as the shadow lacerated her cheekbone.

The pain gave way to anger quickly.
"So that's what this is all about? You're jealous?!" She asked in disbelief. "Do you think you own me? That kiss didn't mean anything to me in the way that you think it did. Of course it mattered to me. Skulduggery was comforting me because I was feeling confused and conflicted. He made me feel loved and less lonely. And you know why I feel conflicted and confused?! BECAUSE OF YOU!" She shouted. "You got into my head Vile and I couldn't get you out. I didn't know how to feel. And it's your fault!"

She didn't realize she was crying while ranting. And she didn't like that she was crying.
Valkyrie placed her head in her hands and continued to sob. But then she felt her hand being pulled away from her cheek. She opened her eye and saw a thin tendril of shadow fall from her wrist and move towards her cheek. "Don't," Valkyrie said sounding strangled but she felt another tendril of shadow approach her cheek. From her peripheral sight she saw those two shadows braid and weave through the cut on her cheek. 'He's stitching my wound,' she thought with realization.

She then felt a cool caress of wisp on her face and then it pulled away. She gingerly touched her cheek and realized her wound had closed over completely. Her head snapped up and she stared at Lord Vile in astonishment. She stepped forward and looked into the slits which revealed his black orbs. But something was different. A strange light was shining in his eyes. And what was stranger was he turned away and vaporized. Valkyrie stood there in shock. She realized he had felt remorseful for what he had done and she didn't know how to feel about Vile after this. She curled into a ball and fell asleep clutching her knees.

She awoke the next morning to find a Rose made completely of shadow on her bedside table...