His shadow knows my name

CHAPTER FOUR

When the Dark Remembers

And I was left alone shaking, breathless, marked, and certain of one thing I had never been alone in my sleep Those words didn’t fade when he did, They hung in the air, echoing in the empty alley even after Raven vanished into shadow. My pulse felt tight, trapped, fluttering like a terrified bird inside its cage The world was suddenly too bright to real but l couldn't move not right away Because the meaning of what he’d said kept unfurling in my mind like smoke weaving itself into bone. Years not not nights not days years. Memories I’d dismissed strange dreams, shadowed figures, voices dripping with warmth rose up suddenly, horribly, vividly. Had that always been him? The thought sent a tremor through me so sharp I pressed a hand to the wall to steady myself I felt dizzy A warmth sliding across the inside of my chest a pull towards the unknown or perhaps.

towards him I moved away from the wall I have to leave there I had to breathe but I knew running away was not an option because he would find me everytime always I forced myself to walk Step after shaky step Back toward the street, toward people, toward noise, toward anything that wasn’t him. Because being near Raven felt dangerous the street was alive again cars, voices, the rumble of the city coming back to life after the blackout. No one looked at me. No one saw the shaking in my hands normal, normal, normal I repeated in my head like a mantra a spell But the warmth inside my chest wouldn’t go away I moved quickly, cutting through the blocks until the city noise swallowed the quiet, until the shadows around me looked thin and harmless again only then did I dare stop only then did my pulse begin to slow barely I closed my eyes, breathing in deep in out in out he is gone , he's gone he's No, a voice murmured behind me I spun so fast breath caught painfully but no one was there who's there who's there I asked Just the ripple of a shadow curling along the edge of a doorway too smooth, too controlled, too… aware. I stepped closer raven the shadow stilled not wind not imagination instinct The kind of instinct that comes from being watched by something with teeth My throat tightened then The faintest hint of warmth touched the back of my neck, like a breath exhaled directly onto my skin Not a hallucination Not a dream a presence him I didn't turn I didn't need to I just stood there, breath trembling, the city roaring around us, while the shadows behind me thickened slow, deliberate, like a creature stretching after sleep His voice slid along my spine You shouldn’t run from what already knows you Raven,” I whispered, not daring to turn. “Why are you following me followed by a pause a charged heavy then he said to see what you do with the truth The warmth intensified His presence sharpened. I finally turned but the shadow was gone he was gone again but not really because the warmth stayed Because the air still felt like it knew him I wrapped my arms around myself, breath shaking If you’ve been in my dreams,” I said quietly to no one, “what else do you know about me silence But the warmth in my chest pulsed once slow and deliberate like a heartbeat responding to his I wasn’t alone not anymore And deep inside, in a place I didn’t want to acknowledge yet, something whispered I don’t want him to stop

I didn’t remember falling asleep one moment I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to convince myself the warmth in my chest wasn’t him The next moment darkness not night darkness but his that I have become used to thick warm breathing I tried to move My limbs felt slow, heavy, weightless all at once then I felt it a touch at my waist not gentle not rough but intentional my breath tore out of me raven His voice slid along my throat like smoke you called me I didn't you dreamt he said and that is enough. The darkness brightened faintly shades of silver threading through until shapes formed hands, his hands, one curving around my hip the other lifting to my jaw, his thumb brushing a slow, devastating arc along my lower lip I couldn’t see his face only his eyes lit silver in the dark like embers that had learned how to stare I tried to sit up his hands on my hips tightened holding me still not forcefully, but with a certainty that vibrated through my bones you don't run from dreams he murmured This isn’t real,” I whispered It is more real than anything you’ve allowed yourself to feel The shadows behind him rippled like a living tide.

My breath tangled in my chest as his body leaned closer not touching fully, but close enough that heat rolled off him in waves Raven,” I whispered, but it came out like a plea His breath brushed my neck You feel that,” he said softly, “don’t you I swallowed The heat inside me pulsed low, dizzying, unavoidable you are not controlling this No,” he said, voice dropping I am responding to you . His lips hovered above my throat so close I felt the flutter of air each time he breathed I shuddered He lifted my chin with two fingers You hide so much,” he whispered You bury your wanting until it poisons you I don't want He cut off the lie with another slow brush of his fingers at my waist Heat shot through me, blinding, consuming, pulling a soft sound from my throat before I could swallow it The shadows surged alive, pulsing with my heartbeat Raven’s breath hitched sharply, like my reaction was something he tasted You feel,” he said And you can’t hide that from me. The dream thickened light and dark mixing, curling around us like smoke my heartbeat throbbed everywhere at once, too loud, too fast Raven leaned closer until his lips hovered at the corner of my mouth never touching, but electric in their nearness You want me to stop?” he asked quietly my lips parted words failed me He smiled, barely no he said you don't The shadows wrapped around my thighs like warm silk, rising, curling, pulsing with the same rhythm as his breath My back arched involuntarily my body responding faster than thought, faster than fear Raven made a low sound almost a growl, almost a groan dark, hungry, reverent all at once you feel this he whispered you feel me I cantt you can he murmured.“Dreams strip away lies His hand slipped behind my back, pulling me up against him not fully, not intimately, but close enough that the heat from him sank into me like a second heartbeat I gasped the shadows swelled Raven’s voice sank into a low, rough whisper let go The darkness twisted around us warm, alive and my body melted into the feeling, into him, into the pull he ignited in me with every breath he gave me I didn't resist I couldn't I shattered into the dream. And he breathed against my ear like he felt every ripple of it through him When the darkness released me, I woke in my bed sweaty, trembling, chest rising too fast, fingers gripping the sheets. My body pulsed with aftershocks warm shaking overwhelming And on the pillow beside me, where no one had slept, lay a single silver thread of shadow fading slowly, like smoke dissolving in daylight a reminder a claim a promise raven had been real he left me his mark.