Shadelings

chapter two

**soon to be revised : critics, if you could quote for us what is bothering you, we'd be eternally grateful**

a/n:: if you're uncomfortable with reading a make-out scene, skip the two paragraphs after the line: “You'll appreciate this one,” I turn to Noah and hold up the black gown. “No assembly required. And I can put it on myself... unless you want to help?” I grin at him.

🐉

Constance

I wake up screaming. I kick the covers off of myself and sit up in bed, raising my hands to my face. Another nightmare. My heart is pounding. Fear grips my throat, and my breathing is ragged. What was I running from? Dim light streams throughout the room. It's freezing. I crawl to the edge of the bed and hop down to the floor. The carpet is coated in dew. I must have left the window open before I fell asleep. What happened last night?

I walk over to the window, pulling myself on top of the dresser in front of it and into the cold stone ledge. It is a clear day in Alksheist; if I had better vision, I could have probably seen Xidwin from my window. The morning sun streams through small clouds of mist. The ground is so far away, painted a pale blue at this altitude. I kneel and reach outside for the window. My hand finds the iron frame, and I hang over the world for a brief moment. I can't make out anything beyond the top of Floyd Peak; the ground is so far away. I pull the window back into place and latch it. I move back onto my dresser and sit there, my feet dangling.

I imagine the dew gone, and within moments, my room is dry. I slide off the dresser and walk to the kitchen. The smell of alcohol hits me before I even make it to the doorway.

“Inye oku.” The spell lights up the entire kitchen without any noticeable source. I raise a hand to shield my eyes from the sudden onslaught of brightness. The stainless steel cabinets reflect the spell like a hundred little suns. The dull ache in my head almost immediately turns to a stabbing pain.

“Ugh, put the dimmer on,” I say. The spell obliges, and I remove my hand from my eyes. It takes a moment for my vision to adjust, and when it does, I see my black-and-white checkered floor covered in soil, alcohol and glass. One of my ferns sits in a pile of dirt. I start to say a spell to clean up the mess when it hits me. Olivia was here last night. The things on the floor begin to shakily hover, and I quickly finish the spell, watching everything to assure it goes to its correct place. The alcohol is down the drain, the broken bottle thrown away and the plant back in its pot and dangling from the pan rack. The spell ends once the pot stops moving.

Olivia needed blood, she came up, and then Xerdonis was mentioned. My heart aches from the thought of my husband. Tears sting at my eyes. He is the only parent our children have, and now he is dying. I have been entirely unfaithful to him throughout my time as a class head. I haven't seen him or our children since the rebellion began. Now he's sitting in a cold, white room in a hospital in Xidwin, waiting to die. Tears stream down my face. A bottle of... something sits on the counter. I grab it and unscrew the metal cap, taking a long swig of what I now know is vodka. It is never too early to start drinking.

Someone shuffles across the carpet. Noah must be awake. I wipe the tears from my face and shove all the negative thoughts out of my head. The spell lighting up the kitchen dims until the only light remaining is from the window above the sink. Dawn tints the room pale blue.

“'Morning,” he says with a yawn. I set the bottle down on the counter and take in the tanned sculpture of a man standing in the same room as me. He is a flawless and forever young demon; there is absolutely nothing to not like about Noah.

“Why did you have to go and put your pants on?” I whine at him. “I might still need your services.” He is still shirtless, which I always consider a plus. Sure, he is nice to look at fully-clothed, but once a handsome guy starts taking off clothing... Well, he always goes from handsome to fuck-me-now.