Haunting Shadows (Book 2)

Chapter 35

Kalen was walking out of the inn, in desperate need for fresh air when a dark figure in the distance caught his attention. The figure grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared from sight. His eyebrows furrowed, but he’d pushed the feeling that the figure was something important aside.

Mallory was heading toward the inn, a single flower in her hand. She was playing with it absentmindedly and Kalen was struck by how beautiful she looked in the moment.

“Are you okay?” she asked when she crossed the distance between them.

“Yeah, perfect,” he said, his voice slightly dream-like.

Mallory gave him a strange look before they started walking back to the inn. “I’m sorry about the other day… I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did and I realize I may have come across as quite a bitch.”

Kalen placed a hand on her shoulder and she smiled. “I understand. We both had a lot going on that day.”

“So your friend, Casian, he’s…”

“A jerk?” Kalen provided.

“I was going to say interesting, but jerk works too.” They both laughed as Kalen opened the inn door and gestured for Mallory to go inside.

“He and I were never really friends. I mean we knew each other and it was sad when he died, but we didn’t have any kind of personal relationship,” Kalen said sadly. He remembered how crushed Andreas had been after Casian’s death, a painful memory for himself as he consoled someone he considered a friend – most of the time, who didn’t want to be comforted.

“How come you seem so familiar with him then?” Mallory asked after waving to her aunt and taking a seat on one of the lounge chairs.

Kalen joined her on the opposite chair and leaned back, making himself comfortable. He realized then just how little he had told her about himself. “Well, he was the best friend of the person who is probably closest to a brother I will ever have.”

Mallory cocked her head to the side and Kalen continued without further prompt. “His name is Andreas, you might have heard us talking about him the other day. As you know, my parents were killed when I was born and I lived with my uncle since then until I turned eleven.”

“What happened?”

Kalen shifted his weight, not quite sure how to go about talking about his past. The reason he had entered Lana’s dreams the first time they had met was exactly for that reason, so he could show her before she could judge him. But Mallory was different. He couldn’t explain it, but there was something oddly comforting about her presence. And perhaps if he shared his sob story, she’d finally reveal hers as well.

“When I was eleven, a group of dark sorcerers invaded the village my uncle and I were living in. We had been living there for several years, and my uncle got too comfortable. He hadn’t expected them. They killed almost everyone in town, my uncle included. He had tried to stop them, but he wasn’t strong enough. After that, I was able to discover the full extent of my own powers and I leveled the entire village.

“Emilia Grigoli, Andreas’ mother, found me. I don’t know how or why, and she took me in until my aunt could be reached. It took my aunt a year to receive the message and send someone for me. In that year, Andreas and I were able to grow close and even become friends.” Kalen paused.

“You guys became that close in just one year?” Mallory inquired.

“No, it took a little longer than that. Something happened while I was living with my aunt that caused me to kill her bastard of a husband and she kicked me out. Emilia heard of this and offered me permanent residence with the Grigoli family. I was thirteen at the time and I lived with them since.