Emmanuelle sat on the bed again, studying his face. He sounded like he was telling the truth, but really? That was insane. “That can’t be true. Our shadows will fade from the wall and not be seen by others if we both equally commit to our relationship.” She did her best to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
“I’m only telling you what I translated, baby. I thought it was a crock of shit, too, but so far, everything that damn thing said has been right on point, so I would venture to say the shadow fades if we both commit.”
She tapped out a rhythm on her thigh, keeping her focus. “What else, Val? What is the dark part of the fairy tale? What happens if I try to run? How do you keep me in line?”
He sighed. “I don’t. I wish it were up to me. I’d drag you back and put you in my bed. Keep you there until we figured it out. You don’t like something I do, baby, you tell me, we fix it. That’s how it works. We talk about it. You don’t run from me.”
“Val.” She tried to sound stern when for some inexplicable reason she wanted to laugh. She pushed her knuckles into her mouth to muffle any errant sound. He really would chase her, drag her back and think they would find the answer in bed. Maybe they would. They talked about important things better in bed than anywhere else. “If you aren’t the one keeping me in line if I run, who is?”
There was a long silence. His features darkened. He turned his head slowly toward the wall where their shadows were tied so tightly together. There was something about the way Valentino turned his head, slow, stealthy, almost as if he didn’t want to be noticed, a predator watching a predator.
Emmanuelle frowned as she observed the shadows. What was it Val was trying to point out to her? The shadows weren’t in any way normal, but then this entire Saldi mythology with the capture of her shadow with ropes hadn’t been from the start. She narrowed her eyes and watched intently as the two shadows interacted. They mimicked Val’s movements as well as hers, yet there were a few spontaneous movements of their own, as if they were separate entities.
She blinked rapidly. That wasn’t possible. She kept her gaze fixed on the shadows as she inched closer to Valentino for comfort. This time a chill encompassed her entire body. Something very sinister was happening right there in the sanctuary of her home. In her bedroom. In the haven of her shadows. Her lip trembled, and she bit down hard to stop it.
Val reached over and pulled her right onto his lap. He often did that, so she cuddled into him, never taking her gaze from the shadows on the wall. She realized every movement she made, her shadow followed, same with Val’s. Once they settled together, so did the two shadows. That was when the spontaneous movements began again. It wasn’t her shadow moving by itself; it was his alone. Each time the shadow jerked or took a step on its own, it seemed threatening. Menacing. Evil, even. She didn’t know why, because when the shadow interacted with hers, it was just the opposite, loving and sweet.
“How can it do that? Why is it doing that?” She whispered the question, reaching up to hook one arm around Valentino’s neck. She wanted to climb inside him. The thing freaked her right the hell out.
“I told you those early fairy tales had nothing on the Saldi one. You’re looking at how they kept the poor woman trapped. That thing right there. I can’t go into the shadows to find you or the children, but it can. It can find your family, or anyone you love. It isn’t human. It’s a killing machine. How the hell do you kill a shadow? Something not alive? Something not real? Unseen? Unknown? You’d have to kill me, Emme, and I don’t know if killing me would kill it, because that thing has separated itself from me.”
He ran his hand up and down her arm soothingly. She wasn’t certain if he was soothing her, or both of them.
“It isn’t detached completely yet.”
“I keep sending more rope in and binding it to your shadow. That’s holding it, but I don’t think I can do it for long.”
“Does the Saldi myth say that you can use that shadow as an assassin against your enemies?” She tipped her face up to look at him. She didn’t know how she wanted him to answer. Yes or no. Neither was a good answer. A shadow that had no one to answer to was a loose cannon. For all she knew, it could become a serial killer.
“No, not my enemies in the sense of anyone such as Miceli. Only those to whom my wife would run away to. Those she would seek shelter from. Her family. Friends. Even grandparents. And I can’t send it or direct it. I can’t even stop it.”
“Oh my God!” She tried to throw herself out of his arms, away from him. The answer shocked her. Horrified her. It was the last thing she expected him to say.
Valentino’s arms tightened around hers, holding her to him. Rocking her. Soothing her. Cradling her to his chest as if she were a child. “I know. I’m sorry, Emmanuelle. I didn’t know. I had no idea until it was too late. Dario and I were both researching, trying to find ways to get rid of the thing without harming you or me, but there is nothing, absolutely nothing, written about killing that thing.”
“That is the most hideous thing I’ve ever heard. How do you know it doesn’t get worse? How do you know it doesn’t turn on us?”
“I don’t. I’m still looking for answers. This thing with Miceli heated up fast and suddenly took precedence.”
“Why does the woman have to take all the punishment? Maybe the man cheated or was so mean he drove her away. Maybe he did something that hurt her so much she had to leave him. Did that creepy shadow ever think of that?”
Why did women always get the short end of the stick? At least it seemed that way to her. She knew women cheated on their husbands. She knew they could be abusive, but in the majority of cases, it seemed it was the other way around. This grim fairy tale the Saldis had was skewed toward the men.
“I don’t think the shadow can be reasoned with. I’m pretty certain it doesn’t have a conscience or feelings, Emme.” Val brushed kisses along her temple. “And it will go after everyone I love if I were to leave you once the commitment is made.”
She pulled back to look at his face. “Could we not make a commitment? Would that save us and everyone else we care about? At least until we know how to get that thing back under control?” She didn’t know why she blurted out the last line, but she did. The look on his face? The hurt in his eyes? She wasn’t rejecting him. She loved him with every cell in her body. Heart. Soul. She was bound to him. Already committed. But that thing … She didn’t want to endanger her family any more than she already was.
“I think it’s too late, baby. That’s what I’ve been trying to assess for the last few weeks. Each time I saw you, I was stupidly allowing my shadow to connect with yours. You didn’t seem aware of it. Or that shadow was covering it.”
Valentino rubbed his chin over the top of her head. Back and forth. She could feel her hair getting caught in the stubble on his jaw. She’d always liked when that happened. To her, it felt as if that connection, no matter how small, mattered. Emmanuelle pushed closer to him. He winced, and she immediately pulled back, annoyed that she’d forgotten his wounds when he’d been so careful of hers.
“I’m sorry, Val.” She tried to slip off his lap. He liked her there. He always had. It had taken some getting used to. Stefano had held her when she was a child, but it wasn’t like she’d had a million cuddles. Valentino was affectionate. He showered her with touches, with kisses, and he liked her close.