Chapter Eight

The handsome stranger hands me a glass of water and sits beside me on the couch. He's unmuted the TV and found some Jackie Chan movie to watch. I'm not big on action movies, so I have no idea what it is. After taking a long sip, I place the glass on the end table, on top of the sunflower coaster, and focus on breathing. My head is spinning. What have I gotten mixed up with? Shadows? Radiants? It's all crazy.

"What is your name?" he asks gently.

"Lexia," I answer. "Yours?"

"Lumen."

"How original," I comment sassily.

He huffs out a laugh. "Had I been able to choose my name, I'd have chosen something else. Maybe something cooler."

I don't miss his mocking tone, and watch him for a long moment, then say, "I'm sorry. That was rude of me. I'm just… not in my right mind."

He nods carefully, a lot of that humor fading away. "There is a lot of sadness around you."

I frown, recalling that Ves said something very similar to me. "How do you know that?"

"I can feel emotions from others, especially humans. You aren't good at masking them."

I nod slowly, then pull my gaze from him. A ball of sadness weighs on my chest. "Ves always said I was sad even when I didn't feel it."

"Ves?"

I nod. "The shadow I know. Vesperon."

"Right," he mutters. "Ves is short for Vesperon. Who is he, exactly? How do you know of shadows?"

I sigh, staring down at the knife that I still have by my side, resting on the couch cushion. Just in case.

"He found me one night. The one night I was actually sad. Scared the hell out of me."

"A shadow was out in the open?" I nod carefully, noting the confusion in his tone. "That's unheard of."

"He said as much but told me he couldn't help it because I was his mate. But about a month ago, he acted like he didn't know who I was. He was angry and just… different." I shake my head, clasping my hands together. My chest gets so tight I can't breathe. My eyes fall closed, and I picture his face… I miss him.

Lumen shakes his head, his brow pinched. "A human mated to a shadow?"

"Yeah. He said he was here because he is a guardian."

"Guardians are not supposed to have mates," Lumen says firmly.

I figured as much with what I read online in that forum and Ves's reaction but put little thought into it because Ves didn't seem to care. And if he didn't care, then I wouldn't care, because I trust him. I trusted him, and he… he betrayed me just like everyone else.

"Well, that's probably why he's ignoring me then."

Luman shakes his head adamantly. "If he still felt that mate bond, he wouldn't be able to ignore it."

Now I'm confused. "How do you know that?"

"There's no greater feeling than a mate bond, darling. It's impossible to ignore. We all know that."

Which would explain why Ves came on so strongly toward me, but if that is the case, then how is it so easy for him to ignore me when I call out to him now? We don't speak for a short time. Lumen focuses on the movie, smiling every so often at what's happening. I'm watching it but couldn't tell you what's going on. I can't focus.

"Do you think they did something to him? The other shadows? His boss?" I ask suddenly.

Lumen blows out a breath, scratching the back of his neck. "It's possible."

"Could this be why you're here?"

"To help a shadow get his mate back?" He chuckles. "Absolutely not. Agents are only sent out for serious situations that could cause a detrimental balance shift. An unmated shadow is the least of my concerns, but…"

"But what?" I urge, sitting up straighter.

He shakes his head absently, a lost look in his eyes as he stares ahead.

"It has something to do with the shadows, that much I know, considering it's what I dealt with the moment I crossed into this realm."

"Do you ever have missions that don't revolve around the balance?"

"Ultimately, that's what it all comes down to. Not always directly, but my duty is to keep the balance. The shadows spending too much time here will mess with the balance, which could be why I was sent to stop them."

"Why don't they tell you?"

"They don't always know. I'm like a detective. It's my job to figure it out."

"And handle it?" I ask.

"And handle it," he assures me.

I don't know if I should be happy about that or not. Will he stop Ves from speaking to me? If he ever chooses to again, that is. I'm afraid of the answer, so I don't ask. I've been brave enough for one night, I think. Lumen has been kind to me. He saved my life. I'm not sure there's anything nicer than that. To find out he's here to get rid of Ves for good, so we can never be together, I can't deal with that. So, for now, I'll ignore it and hope it isn't why he's here.

And because I need to change the subject and I'm awkward as hell, I blurt out, "Did those hurt?" as I jab a finger at his arm, pointing to his tattoos.

He has so many; I can't help but stare at them. There are markings that look similar to letters, like perhaps in a language that I don't know. Do they have their own language? They remind me of hieroglyphs mixed up with swirls.

Lumen chuckles. "I don't think so."

"You don't know?"

"I don't remember," he explains. "They are from so long ago that I can't recall."

"How old are you?" I ask carefully.

"Couple thousand years old."

That takes a minute to process, and when it does, all I do is blink at him for a few seconds.

"Not surprising," I finally comment, then look at his tattoos again, noting the shining gold. "Are they magic?"

"In a sense, I suppose they are. By your standards."

"Is that why they are gold?"

He winces, then goes stiff.

Did I say something wrong? Is it rude to mention that? I stare at him for a long time, and when I realize he isn't going to say anything, I pull my gaze away, and mutter a weak, "Sorry."

He says nothing for a long time.

Way to go, Lexia. Make things more awkward with the handsome stranger.

He stares straight ahead, but even I know he isn't focused on anything. His eyes have this lost, almost frightened look. You'd think if I offended him, he'd at least tell me. I reach for my water to take a sip and end up drinking it all because I needed something to do.

The air is thick with tension, and I have no idea how it changed so quickly.

How could I have offended him by asking about a color of his tattoo? The more I think about it, the stranger it seems. I toy with the glass for a few seconds before putting it down on the end table. Should I apologize again or change the subject? Maybe try talking about the weather instead. Yeah, the weather is always a safe bet. Totally safe.

"You can see the gold?" he finally asks, his voice barely above a whisper. He swallows hard, then darts his tongue out to wet his lips.

He still isn't looking at me. Still frozen. Still acting weird as hell. It has me on edge.

"Yes," I say carefully. Then figure I should explain myself, because if I did offend him, I want him to know I didn't mean it. "I noticed it right away because I've never seen a tattoo ink that color before. I'm sorry if I upset you by asking about it."

A million thoughts run through my head as I wait for him to respond. Seconds tick by like hours. Is he so angry that he can't speak? Is he going to kill me over this? He's been so nice to me; I really don't want to make him angry over a tattoo. This is obviously some sort of misunderstanding.

He gives a small shake of his head, then turns his bright gold eyes on me. He swallows hard, then says, "You didn't offend me, darling. It's just…" He swallows again. "Only my mate should be able to see the gold ink."