A Shadow Thief's Magic Read online

  Gabby shook her head, “There is something different about you, care to share?”

  He frowned, “How so?”

  She winked, “Oh, most men act differently around me is all.”

  He frowned. Well he could see how her beauty would make most men either stare or stammer, while he did neither, he’d learned long ago women liked confidence but not so much leering confidence. Not that it didn’t take a small effort for him to keep his eyes above her neckline, but he also got the impression that wasn’t what she’d meant at all, when she first asked the question. She was intelligent and needed to be watched, figuratively.

  Before he could come up with a counter Erin and Katy returned to the camp. He wondered if they were going to practice tonight, and Katy may as well have read his mind when she asked him to take a walk with her to work off dinner.

  Chapter 11

  When they got far enough away for privacy Katy said, “Tomorrow you’re not going to be able to use your wolf scout, we don’t want to expose ourselves, unless of course we get attacked, then we’ll have no choice. I have another idea I want you to try that is a bit more subtle and more difficult.”

  “What do you want me to do,” he said simply.

  She frowned, “I can do it easily because of my life magic, I’m not sure if it will work for you. But basically create a shadow in your hand. You know how you connected it to Erin and we watched her? Instead of creating a window to view her, I want you to visualize the idea of knowing what direction she’s in, and about how far away.”

  He wasn’t sure how that would help scout ahead at all yet, but he did it. He didn’t even need to close his eyes anymore as he called a shadow to his hand that was so small it barely took any magic, it was hard to even see it. He figured that would be best, both to use less magic and because it would be hardly noticeable to others.

  He got the subtle sense of what direction and how far, but he wondered if his mind was playing tricks with him, it was so subtle he could just be feeling it because he knew where she was.

  “I think I got it, it’s extremely subtle.”

  She smiled, “Good, now do it again, but this time instead of thinking of Erin, visualize sensing where all humanoids are in a couple mile radius. I believe the shadow world knows what is casting a shadow, it should be able to give you a sense of all those shadows, but I’m not positive. I believe it works for me because I can sense life, sometimes it’s hard to tell exactly what I’m using when things get that subtle.”

  He frowned, “I thought visualizations needed to be accurate and specific. This sounds more nebulous and scattered. I’ll try it though.”

  He tried to visualize people as a concept instead of a specific. It was much harder than he’d expected. Erin, Katy, and even Gabby kept popping up in his mind.

  He frowned, “I think I need to meditate to get this one.”

  He sat down, and Katy followed suite, their knees were touching and her magic radiated up his legs. He’d have expected it to be distracting, but it was merely comforting and actually helped him to relax. He dropped into mediation and cleared his mind of one thing at a time, and then finally attempted to visualize the people, and the limit of two miles.

  He really didn’t want to know what would happen if he didn’t include that limit, he might feel where every human in the world was, which would probably be very bad. When it came to purely mental tasks and the shadow realm, distance wasn’t really a limiting factor.

  He fed his magic to the visualization and grunted. It was still subtle, but at the same time completely overwhelming. He knew where the three women were, but he also picked up wild animals and horses. For some reason he was feeling everything that was alive that was casting a shadow. He killed the spell and thought for a minute. He’d been too diffuse with his expectations. How could he be specific enough about a concept? Well he hadn’t picked up the trees, birds, or insects, maybe the shadow world could separate out mammals, but not the type?

  Wait, it could also do the size of the shadows.

  He tried again, but added the specific size of what was casting the shadow. This time when he tried it, it worked for the most part.

  He opened his eyes, and did it again, now that he had the trick of it, it was pretty simple.

  “I think I got it… sort of. It will pick up animals our size or larger, so I can also feel where the horses are. I imagine if a wolf pack or bear come into range I might get a false alarm, but I can take a peek through the shadows before I say anything.”

  She smiled back, and then looked a little nervous, “Umm, Daniel? I think we need to share a tent tonight, is that okay with you?”

  He almost laughed, but managed to suppress it.

  “That’s more than okay with me, but how do you feel about it?”

  She blushed and said softly, “I… you know how,” she swallowed.

  He wanted to tell her how he really felt, how he’d follow her anywhere, and give up anything to be with her. It was clear to him she felt the same way about him, but it was just youthful passion, the lie of the pheromones and chemistry between them. Wasn’t it? He felt his chest tighten, it would never work, and it would just hurt more when the inevitable happened. Assuming they succeeded she would be queen, and he would still be a thief from the proverbial wrong side of the tracks.

  It would seem her pride and fear held her tongue as well, as she just stared at him helplessly.

  He smiled gently through the pain in his chest, “I do know, and I’m here for you…” he trailed off, the words until the end died in his throat.

  He was disgusted with himself as they stood up and started back toward the tents, he should have taken the chance. Doomed to failure or not he wanted to give it a chance, but all his experience told him it would be a mistake. They went straight to the tent as if they’d talked it over, neither of them wanted Gabby who was too perceptive by far, or even Erin, to see the raw looks on their faces.

  They laid out on the bedrolls and he stared at the ceiling for a while. The tightness in his chest had turned to anger, not at her, but at the universe. It took quite a while for him to calm down, the feel of Katy and her magic so close but ultimately unreachable felt more like a taunt than its usual soothing balm. Eventually he had to drop into meditation and clear his mind so he could get to sleep.

  He woke up quickly at the strange sound. It took him a minute to identify it, and when he did it was like a punch to his gut.

  Katy was crying as silently as she could, it was barely audible, but he could sense her shaking next to him.

  Great, he was a coward, and a dick. To be fair he was out of his element, this wasn’t about taking a woman to bed, if he did this it would mean so much more, so much more to lose when it eventually fell apart. But she was crying, and… he loved her.

  He rolled on his side facing her, and reached out and pulled her body into his. She resisted for a moment, but then rolled to face him and buried her face in his neck. She felt fragile, soft, and precious in his arms, and he felt fiercely protective as he rubbed her back trying to soothe her. He made comforting noises in her ear as she let it out, he was amazed at how strongly she felt about him and ashamed she’d had to break down before he was willing to admit he felt the same. Eventually her tears ran out but neither of them tried to move away from their embrace.

  He whispered, “I’m sorry I hurt you, I’m a coward.”

  She pulled her head back and looked at him with teary eyed confusion.

  He leaned forward and said even more softly in her ear, “I love you Kat, and I’m yours for as long as you want me.”

  A mélange of emotions passed over her face, “I love you too,” she said breathlessly.

  His feelings started to shift, no longer feeling so protective. Her body was so soft against him, felt so right in his arms.

  He frowned a little, “Is there a chance for us, I mean after this thing with your uncle is settled? We can’t even love each other…”

  She ti
lted her head and smiled wistfully, “Was that your clumsy way of asking if you could marry me?”

  He nodded slowly, “I do suck at this don’t I… so is it? Will you… can you marry me?”

  She giggled, “A little better. Well, it would be sure to cause a scandal, maybe even anger a noble or two. But I might be persuaded.”

  He raised an eyebrow, he was pouring his heart out and she was teasing him?

  “And how am I to do that princess Kat,” he returned with a smile.

  She leaned forward and brushed her lips softly against his, “Less talking, more convincing,” she said sultrily.

  His mind went in circles, “But we ca…” she covered his lips with a finger.

  She nodded but smiled wickedly, “No, we can’t do that, but…”

  His heart took off and he moaned softly as her hand snaked down between them and squeezed his cock through his breeches. He caressed her face softly, then cupped the back of her neck and pulled her in for a real kiss. Her lips were so soft, and she moaned into his mouth through slightly parted lips as he caressed down her back and then squeezed her ass.

  He broke the kiss and whispered, “Too many clothes.”

  Her loving gaze and touch took his breath away as they started to undress each other one piece of clothing at a time. How could this amazing woman really feel so strongly for him? He was filled with tender awe, and love, as he slowly bared Katy’s body to his caressing gaze and fingertips. Her body was supple and soft, her skin silky smooth and unblemished.

  Her breasts were more beautiful than he’d pictured, creamy, soft, and perfect on her body. They were firm and stood up without any support, but were large enough to be a perfect handful. Her tight pink nipples were hard, and when he brushed them with his thumb her body trembled in pleasure.

  He pulled her into a soft passionate kiss, and then started to kiss his way down her body. She protested when his hard length passed beyond her reach, but gasped his name and arched her back when he sucked in one of her nipples. When his fingers reached between her legs, he moaned against her breast and then sucked harder, she was so wet for him, so ready.

  He thought it would be frustrating since they couldn’t actually make love, but right now all he wanted to do was make her tremble in ecstasy beneath him. He teasingly explored her mound, lightly brushing around her labia, and then slowly ran a fingertip lightly up and down her arousal.

  “Please,” Katy begged in a heated whisper.

  He moved to her other breast to give it a similar treatment, and slowly parted her labia with fore and ring finger, as he slid his middle finger into her extremely tight virginity. He had no doubts she was still a virgin, but she was so wet and lubricated, his finger was welcomed inside her snug pleasure. He pushed down on her clit with his palm and bit her nipple lightly.

  She gasped, “Gods Daniel,” she said in a breathless and pleasure filled voice.

  Her body bucked against his finger, and he curled it and started to massage her inner wall as he kissed down her stomach and down between her legs. He thought about teasing her for a moment, but he was in a haze of lust and need himself. He’d been dreaming of this, and the scent of her arousal overwhelmed his ability to be patient. He needed to taste.

  He moved his hand out of the way by bending his wrist, and his finger slid in her silken heaven a little further as he leaned in and claimed her liquid silk with the tip of his tongue. He moaned in approval and licked her deeper, lightly brushing her clit with the tip of his tongue. He got lost in it, the way she arched her back, the sexy muted sounds of pleasure that fell from her lips, the way her magic entwined with his body and magic, and mostly at the satisfaction and love he felt when her body trembled beneath the sensual onslaught of his tongue and fingertips.

  He wasn’t sure how many times he brought her to bliss, he just knew he never wanted to stop, but the last time her body was twitching and shaking so hard he felt her grab him by the hair and pull him up and away from her body.

  He crawled up her body, kissing her soft smooth skin until he reached her mouth. He gave her a soft lingering kiss, as she continued to have aftershocks of pleasure beneath him. He lay on his side and pulled her against him so they were face to face. He caressed her body softly, waiting for her to recover a bit. His cock was so hard it hurt, and it was pushed hard into her abdomen.

  “Gods Daniel, that was…” she said still trembling in his arms, she burrowed against him trying to get as close as she could, and kissed his neck.

  He grinned, “So does that mean you’re convinced?”

  She giggled, “I think you may have over argued the point. Didn’t you hear all those times I said yes Daniel? It was so much more than I ever imagined, I won’t even try to imagine… you know.”

  He gave her a suspicious look and smirked, “You thought about this?”

  Her blush gave him the answer. Now that he thought about it a little, he was surprised Erin hadn’t came in the tent and ran him through, his princess hadn’t been all that quiet. There was no way she didn’t know.

  She whispered seductively in his ear, “More than thought about it, fantasized about it. And not just about what happened, let me show you the rest of it.”

  His cock twitched pushing hard against her stomach. When she pushed him he rolled willingly to his back, then he stared at her as she started to kiss her way down his body. He loved her, and was pretty sure she loved him. He wasn’t all that surprised she would reciprocate, but the love, lust, and joy in her eyes and written in her expression as she slowly kissed her way down his torso did.

  It was clear his beautiful Kat wanted to be there, when she teasingly took his sex into her hand and looked up at him as she licked the tip. He moaned softly, and couldn’t break their intense eye contact as she slid his manhood over her tongue, and between her full eager lips. There was a mixture of innocent tentativeness and eagerness in her wanton pleasurable assault on his manhood that blew his mind.

  She wasn’t experienced, but that hardly mattered to him at all, it was so erotic and sensual the way she softly caressed and teased his length with hands, tongue, lips, and suction.

  It was almost unreal to him, he was in love with a princess, she agreed to marry him, seduced him, and now said princess was currently worshipping his cock in a wanton manner that drove him crazy. He knew he wasn’t going to last long, not after eating her and bringing her so much pleasure, it had held him on the edge the whole time.

  It took all his discipline not to thrust up into her warm hot mouth as she licked his sensitive underside while milking him with both her hands and the intense suction of her soft full lips.

  Her eyes told him she wanted to be there, she wanted to give him pleasure.

  He felt his balls tighten and his legs start to numb as the intensity of the pleasure grew in his manhood.

  “I’m going to cum love,” he warned her.

  She started to suck him harder and her eyes sparkled. When he realized how badly she wanted to taste him, how she wanted to take his seed into her mouth and throat, he lost any chance of holding himself back any longer, and the intense bliss rolled over his body. She surprised him again, swallowing and sucking for more after each spurt of seed shot into her throat.

  When she was sure she got all of it she crawled up his body and kissed him softly. She responded to his amazed look.

  “I love you, Erin told me what to expect… I really wanted to…”

  He could tell, but teased her a bit and asked, “What?”

  She smiled and changed the subject, sort of, “I can’t even imagine what our wedding night will be like.”

  His mind shied away from the thought of her body engulfing and holding his manhood tightly within her moist soft core. He could only imagine a weak shadow of how good it would feel. He needed to wait, dwelling on that thought wouldn’t help.

  He kissed her softly, “You’re amazing, do you know that?”

  She melted under his gaze, “You’re not so bad yours
elf. I love how you look at me.”

  He raised an eyebrow in question.

  She sighed, “Do I have to explain that? Do you remember what I was so worried about when we told you the truth?”

  She was being oblique, he assumed because Gabby could be listening. It took him a minute to remember that she’d been worried about him treating her differently, and he understood. When he looked at her he saw a beautiful woman that was both his friend, and now his lover of sorts with the promise of marriage on the horizon.

  When he looked at her he didn’t see a throne, riches, or power… he saw her, he saw a beautiful sexy woman that had captured his heart and mind, and that’s what she loved.

  He still wasn’t sure he wasn’t being a fool. In fact the pessimistic part of him was sure he was a fool, but for her he was willing to be one for as long as she’d have him. It was too late to do otherwise, he was hers.

  He smiled, “I remember Kat, I guess we should get some sleep?”

  She pouted for a moment, but couldn’t hold back the smile she tried to suppress.

  “I suppose we should.”

  She turned around and then pushed back against him, conforming her body to his in the spooning position. He held her tightly for a moment, and then caressed her tenderly until he fell asleep.

  Chapter 12

  There was no awkwardness the next day, if anything they were even more comfortable in each other’s company, the discomfiture from keeping away from each other no longer an issue, except in that one point which for some reason wasn’t all that important to him.

  Gabby seemed to fit in almost right away with her sense of humor and relaxed forwardness. He wondered if she was a con artist as well, but for now would give her the benefit of the doubt that she really was just that friendly.

  The new scanning technique was a bit more intense, but at the same time it was easier. He was also more aware of his immediate vicinity, he could feel the three women and four horses at all times. It was around midmorning when he felt a number of other shadows. He quickly did a spell to look through one of those shadows, and to his disgust it wasn’t wolves, bear, or large prey like a deer.