A King's Weakness (Book 1)

Chapter 19

I AVOID RYDER'S TEXTS ALL WEEKEND; I SIMPLY DON'T HAVE THE mental capacity to deal with him. The note remains at the forefront of my mind, and I almost bring it up to Kage before deciding against it. My uncle wouldn't be happy to learn that I've been playing with the local wolf pack without his knowledge.

The only time someone could have placed the note in my pocket was when I forced my way through the packed partygoers. Since I highly doubt that Ryder felt the need to warn me about himself, it could have been anyone at the party.

I quickly rule out the wolves, however, since the note only mentioned a single nameless wolf. It wouldn't make any sense for one of them to go to the effort of warning me about a packmate without naming the specific wolf. All of which brings me back to square one.

By the time Sunday evening rolls around, I've nearly convinced myself that I somehow wrote the note. So when Kage hauls my ass out of bed, telling me that it's time to train—whatever the hell that means—I don't put up too much of a fight.

"Time to put on your big bruja panties and show me what you can do," he declares, folding his arms across his chest.

I raise my eyebrows. "Bruja?"

"Spanish for witch. Alliteration makes everything more dramatic, kid."

I choke out a laugh. "I wasn't aware that you knew Spanish, let alone what alliteration is," I scoff.

He smiles, but it's tinged with something like regret. "There is a lot you don't know about me."

The sadness on his face hits me like a sucker punch to the gut. I want to tell him that I inherited my father's ability to shift, that I've already experienced the truly horrific first transformation. But when I open my mouth to say just that, I remember the rage, the disgust he emanated when he spoke about shifters. It might truly kill me if my uncle, my only remaining family, looked at me like that.

"I'm beginning to understand that," I say instead.

One side of his mouth tilts up into a half smile, and he stretches a hand out to me. Shadows burst into existence there, dancing along his fingers like phantom flames.

I suck in a breath, my entire body tensing in surprise. "What is that?"

Kage closes his hand into a fist, extinguishing the power effortlessly. "My domain. I'm a member of a caste called the Shadows. I can use darkness as a cloak to hide my presence, though my speciality lies a bit closer to home. I'm exceptionally good at hiding the existence of my troublesome niece from any nosy creatures that might come looking, for example," he explains coolly, winking at me.

"Show me again," I breathe, my mind whirring.

And he does. The shadows cast by the setting sun in our backyard stretch towards him, reaching for him with a powerful magnetism. He smirks, then simply...steps into the darkness, melting into it like he's a part of it. No matter how hard I squint, scrutinizing the shadows, I can't see him.

"Holy shit," I murmur.

He chuckles, stepping forward and releasing his hold on the darkness around him until he is visible again. "I've waited seventeen years to see that gasping-fish expression on your face," he jokes.

I instantly snap my mouth shut, because it was, in fact, hanging open. "How does that hide me, though? I think I would notice if people suddenly stopped seeing me."

"When your mom died, I realized that she cloaked you. She bound your magic so no one could track it, and basically threw a magical blanket over you so spells wouldn't be able to find you. I just reinforced the measures she took, sort of like wearing a raincoat and using an umbrella at the same time. The shadows circle the house and keep any locator spells from working." He shrugs, the nonchalant gesture at odds with the seriousness of his words. He shifts his weight, widening his stance, and then nods at me. "Your turn."