SUNSHINE.

After Ryer’s disappearance into thin air, it took us all some time to gather our thoughts, to calm all the disturbing energy that Ryer had left behind. Like a bitter aftertaste, it sneaked up on us. I wanted to go—I was not ready for another fight—and still, I knew that there was far too much darkness between us all. One more thing I was certain of: something was about to happen.

“Ellie, what do you have with Ryer?” Jaden asked directly. He did not wait for us to be alone. Everyone was present.

“You will not talk to me that way!” she responded.

“And what way would that be?” Jaden asked again.

“Your tone is accusing, your energy is hostile, and your heart doesn’t trust me anymore!”

“Can you blame him?” Roran interjected with an angry voice.

“You will not talk to me that way, either, especially not in front of everyone. I have explained myself to you both, and I have nothing left to say. You have changed. You aren’t the same as before!”

“I think that it is better for us to leave now,” Source said, being the one with a clear mind. Nobody replied; they only obeyed. All of them vanished into the shadows at once, until only the four of us were left.

“What did you expect, Ellie?” Jaden asked after they were gone, but Roran was faster with his response.

“The only one who has changed is you, Ellie. You came back as if nothing had happened. Damn, I am so mad at you and disappointed in you. All of these years, I thought you were my shadow!” In that moment, it was as if Jaden and I shared the same thought; we withdrew ourselves. There was a meadow nearby, and although it was a misty day, the sun was timidly touching the visible air around us.

“I was never your shadow!” Ellie’s voice came from behind our backs, but it was clear to us. It touched my heart, as I knew how painful those words were to hear. Nonetheless, Roran was extremely angry.

“The Ellie I used to know was my shadow, without a doubt! But you…” His words were sharp. “I don’t know what he’s done to you, but you are not the one I loved. You are not the one who left a trace inside of me!”

Suddenly, the entire world was quiet around us. I couldn’t hear anything aside from Jaden’s loud heart beating. The moment he took me into the shadowy world, we experienced something peculiar. The energy between us was purifying itself. Golden dust from the sunlight was visibly liberating all the dusk that had sneaked up on us.

“It is Ryer’s impression,” Jaden spoke.

“What about it?” I did not understand.

“That strangeness between us lately, that was his impact. Without a doubt, he’s got his eyes on you!”

“What do you mean?” I was shocked.

“You, Aurora, without a doubt, you are my shadow!” he said as he took my head between his hands. I understood him completely—those words were the deepest thoughts and emotions one shadow could feel. Those profound sensations showed me with what intensity his affection was for me. Those sensations showed me how he felt each time I had a dream about Ryer, each time I distanced myself afterward, and each time he suffered as he fought for me. He felt like I was disappearing, as if he were not good enough for me. Those sensations moved me in a way that my heart almost broke. I rushed into a kiss.

There was so much passion between us, which cleared all the hazy movements that had surrounded us lately. In the heart of the mountain, hidden from the world itself, those shy and fragile, translucent flowers I had once seen blossomed. This time, it was the sun that glittered on their gentle petals, and the sight of those shiny little diamonds left me breathless.

“You shine,” Jaden whispered in my ear. His breath was stroking my skin; he was aware of that. Nonetheless, he didn’t stop there. He moved my hair behind my ear, behind my shoulder, while he was kissing my neck—all the way to the collarbone. I gasped as I held him tighter. It felt like the ground was moving beneath my feet, like the air was dancing around me, like the breeze was touching my skin—I was out of this world. Easily, he was undressing me. Removing my clothes, he was releasing all the wild energy that was imprisoned inside both of us. My skin reacted, as he was hypnotic to me. His dark-brown eyes were full of those rough feelings that were provoking every cell of my being. I released myself. Air came out through my lungs as an answer to all those times in my nightmares when I could not make a single sound. I was free. And I wanted more.

Jaden stripped himself as well, as I started to taste his naked body. We were closer than ever before. It felt like we were in some other world, another sphere, another universe. Without a single doubt, this was the closest I would ever be with anyone. The stunning man before me, over me, under me, inside of me, had awakened everything I was made of, everything I was. He showed the very way he loved me. He showed me his fears, his secrets, his hopes. I was the core of every wish he had. I was his shadow. He did not say it aloud, but his eyes told me that he loved me. He was releasing profound emotions while we were looking into each other’s eyes. When he was on top, the sunbeams made a halo around him, and I knew that he was my shadow as well. While we were moving, dancing, colliding, we shared everything. I didn’t remember much after. I got lost.

“Are you okay?” Jaden asked me while I was lying on top of him, while his fingertips gently traced my spine. It took me some time to come back.

“Better than okay,” I smiled as I kissed his smile.

“You got lost!” His beautiful grin lit up his face.

“And you are proud of it!” I noticed.

“Indeed, I am.”

“This was…” I didn’t finish.

“It was! But now, let’s get you dressed, otherwise, you’ll get lost again.”

“Oh, shut up!” I laughed as we started dressing ourselves. Jaden helped me, since he was quicker.

“We should go,” he suggested.

“What about Ror and Ellie?”

“They are long gone!” Jaden stood in front of me as he placed both hands around my waist. “You think I would let anyone see us having sex?!” His victorious smirk was on his face again before he kissed me once more.

“You call this simple sex?” I asked.

“How would you call it?” He smiled.

“Out of this world, perhaps?” We laughed.

“I like that! Now, let’s go! It’s a long way down.” He took my hand in his as we started walking. “I’m not sure how on Earth you managed to climb so high this quickly!”

“I was mad!”

“I noticed!”

“Oh, shut up!”

We walked in silence sometimes; other times, we laughed and teased each other. We were both in a good mood, and I almost forgot about what had happened. I decided that it was our time, so all other problems disappeared that day.

“There is one more place all the way in the north, where we have joint land. We should all go there for a while,” Jaden suggested.

“What about my work? I cannot ask for more days off. I’ll get fired!”

“No, you won’t!”

“I will, Jaden. I have no more excuses left!”

“You won’t! Ror bought the company you are working for…”

“Excuse me? What do you mean Ror bought the company? You don’t just buy companies!”

“With your parents’ money! I wanted to do it myself, except he assured me you’d get mad. Anyway, you shouldn’t have known…”

“But I do now!” I sighed helplessly. “I don’t understand. Do you solve all your problems by buying things up?”

“It’s not like that! We wanted to keep you safe, Aurora. You live in another world now, and you cannot deny it anymore. It is impossible to balance both unless you understand that everything should be subordinate to your shadowy part from now on. We are fighting against something that’s bigger than us. Our parents fought as well. It’s been going on for some time now.”

“So, Roran is my boss now?” I surrendered.

“No, you own the company!”

“What?”

“You make your own time now!”

“I cannot believe you two…”

“Every one of us lives that way. It’s impossible otherwise.”

“What about Chloe?” I protested.

“What about her?” Jaden asked. “She is a freelancer.”

“You don’t like her?”

“I don’t trust her. That’s the difference!”

“But you accepted her as Roran’s girl?”

“That was before!”

“Is it because of Ellie?”

“What happens between Ellie and Ror is their own private matter. Whoever Ror chooses, it doesn’t affect me!”

“It affects me!”

“How?”

“Chloe is my best friend. She has been my best friend since even before I met you. I trust her with my life!”

“You should be careful about that!”

“You should be careful, Jaden. She’s got your back! She approved of you... and that was good enough for me.”

“I know,” he admitted. “I’m sorry. You are right. I forgot I accepted her, too. I doubt everything these days.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t,” I suggested.

“I must!”

“Did you speak with the guys?”

“We didn’t get the chance. That is why I would ask everyone to move to the north for a while. We usually spend some time together during the seasons.”

“So, you never go away alone?”

自由 “We travel alone if we choose to. Occasionally, we have to in order to set our minds at ease, since this whole thing can be too stressful. However, we are like family. These are my brothers, and everywhere we go together, we make sure that each of us has privacy. We are a good team,” he smiled.

“Yes, you are! Still, I didn’t get the chance to know them as well as I wanted to… I take that back—I had a chance, however, you are constantly distracting me.”

“I think it’s the other way around, mademoiselle!” Jaden laughed. “Constantly seductive…”

“Oh, shut up!”

“I mean it,” he was serious now. “You are not aware of how you shine. How you are constantly tempting me to escape with you into this unknown cosmos we felt.”

“This is all new to you as well?”

“Well, yes!”

“Either you never had sex before…”

“Not with a shadow, no!”

“So it’s different?”

“As it was for you!” He stopped. He smiled. He kissed me.

It was almost time for sundown when we got down. I was glad, since the mountain was getting darker, and it was hard for me not to feel frightened. Jaden sensed that but didn’t say a word. I wasn’t sure if he got scared as well, but we decided to walk in silence. Jaden wanted to concentrate more on our surroundings, so I tried to do the same. However, every hum, every dark shade, and every corner where the mist occupied was another alert to my senses. It was all too much for me, since I didn’t know how to distinguish the difference between those two worlds yet.

“Are you okay?” Jaden asked as we got into my car. He offered to drive.

“I am now,” I said, feeling a wave of relief.

“I can see that!” He laughed. “You know, there aren’t always bad things hiding in the shadows!”

“So, you mean to tell me that you are not bad for my health?”

“Quite the opposite; you exercise a lot these days.” We laughed. Once more, I knew I had made a good decision when I welcomed Jaden into my life. Things had been rough lately, beyond my imagination; still, it was all worth it. I was not completely aware that we fought for good itself. In my mind, we fought against the darkness. I was not aware that I had a shadow. I was not aware that I was a shadow. I did not even understand the true meaning of it. “What are you thinking about?”

“As if you don’t already know the answer…” I replied.

“Still, I want you to tell me. I want us to talk about things—all the things!”

“Okay,” I followed. “I was thinking about us and the decisions I’ve made recently.”

“Do you regret them?” Jaden asked, looking at me.

“Not at all,” I smiled. “No matter what, I would regret it if I had never met you. That would be the biggest mistake of my life. There was always something missing.” I looked back at him. “What about you?”

“Since I knew you even before we met, and since I had to guard you a few times myself, it was too difficult for me to be apart.”

“You’ve guarded me before?” I wondered, but nothing surprised me anymore, and at this point, it was irrelevant.

“I did.” Jaden read my mind, so he proceeded. “However, if that meant I would save your life—I would do it again.”

“So, if it weren’t for those guys on the mountain, you would never have come back?”

“No.”

“In that case, I am grateful that they were there…”

“Don’t say that!”

“Why?”

“Because you do not know how easily you could have been killed. You still don’t know what kind of danger you are really in, or why it is so important for all of us to leave as soon as possible and for us to be in one place together.”

“We are really heading to the north?” I asked.

“If you agree, yes…”

“What about the others? Don’t they have the right to say no?”

“No one will say no. We do this all the time.”

“Okay,” I sighed. “So, when are we going?”

“How soon can you pack?”

“How long will we stay there?”

“Probably until the end of autumn. Maybe even during the wintertime.”

“I can’t recall when Roran was ever absent that long.”

“It’s because he was looking after you. Besides, these are different times.” Jaden took my hand in his.

“During the time you were babysitting me,” I paused, “what exactly did you see?”

“Oh, you would like to know!”

“Well, yeah!”

“A gentleman never tells!”

“You weren’t a gentleman up there on the mountain today!” I teased.

“You mean to tell me that you didn’t like it?” Jaden provoked me, with that fire in his stare and victory on his lips.

“Oh, shut up!” I smiled.

“How long before we met?” I asked.

“You mean, when was the first time I saw you?” Jaden clarified, and I nodded. “It was a warm summer evening, right after spring ended. You were with Chloe at someone’s party. Ror asked me to look after you when you took Chloe home, since she had too much to drink and you were walking alone to your place in the middle of the night.” He paused. “I remember when I saw you in that white dress and ponytail, it was really hard to remind myself not to look at you. That was the very night when I wanted to see you again. I guarded you only a few more times before we officially met, since it was impossible for me to stay focused near you, so Ax stepped in.”

“This is so cute, Jaden.” I was touched. “I remember that night, I really do. I sensed something, I swear; however, I thought I had too much to drink as well. The night was bright and starry, with a moonless sky above. The very scent of summer in the air felt liberating—that very scent is yours!” I suddenly realized. “I remember you. I didn’t see you, but now I know that I felt you.”

“You really had too much to drink,” he teased.

“Oh, come on, Jaden, I’m serious here!”

“I know you are, honey! I’m sorry.”

I leaned over for a kiss while he was driving.

“So, I can call the guys about our trip?” He hesitated. “We will have our privacy there, don’t worry.”

“Of course you can!” I confirmed.

“I sealed the deal with the mention of the privacy thing?” We laughed while he called Roran.

“Yeah,” Roran gasped.

“Hi, Ror,” we both greeted him.

“What are you up to?”

“We are heading back home.” Jaden’s response was cheerful.

“Now? What were you doing up there? Forget that. I don’t want to know.”

“Where are you?” I asked since the speakerphone was on.

“I’m running.”

“Good,” Jaden responded. “I almost thought we called you at a bad time.”

“Haha…” Roran commented.

“How is Chloe?” I interjected.

“Better, I think. She is making dinner. Do you want to come over?”

“I’m not sure,” Jaden answered. “Aurora and I were thinking about going north tomorrow. That’s why I’m calling to see about your plans.”

“We were all talking about how it was time to go there soon, but we didn’t set a date. I think most of us can leave tomorrow.”

“Aurora and I will go after breakfast?” Jaden was waiting for me to confirm.

“Sure,” I responded.

“I think we could leave in the morning as well,” Roran agreed. “It will take seven to eight hours to get there—depending on your driving, of course.”

“No worries, we will wait for you at every possible stop. Otherwise, we would arrive there much sooner.”

“Oh, you two,” I laughed. “Ror?”

“Yeah?”

“What about your trip?”

“I was thinking of going north anyway…”

“Is Chloe coming?”

“That’s up to her, but I hope so!”

“Wouldn’t she be in danger if she stayed?” I asked.

“I don’t think so! Still, I would like for her to come!”

“Okay,” Jaden spoke. “Tomorrow then…”

“Sure,” Roran laughed. “You can leave at 4 a.m., grandpa, so we can all arrive at the same time. Bye!” Before anyone could respond, Roran hung up the phone.

“So, beautiful,” Jaden started as I was staring at him, “I know I have never taken you on a real date, but I’ll make it up to you as soon as I can!”

“Honestly, Jaden, I don’t mind…”

“But I do. You deserve a proper date!” He looked at me meaningfully.

“Okay,” I rolled my eyes.

“Now that it’s settled, what do you say we order in?”

“I could drop you off at your place and come back later after I pack…”

“You cannot be alone, Aurora! We’ll go together.”

“Oh, relax.”

We went straight to my house to pack. Contrary to my expectations, we did not stay long. Jaden helped me, and soon we were on our way to his home. He ordered some food that we picked up on the way and ate as soon as we got there. Jaden teased me about my eating since I was starving. Afterward, we watched a movie, and I fell asleep before Jaden did.

And I dreamt…