The Shadow Soul (A Dance of Dragons #1)

Chapter Fifteen

Jinji

~ White Stone Sea ~

Jinji was leaving.

She would wait until Rhen was reunited with his family, until he was distracted, but as soon as that happened, she was gone.

She had to be.

It had all started with a dream—so small, so insignificant, yet everything. 

Jinji sat in the golden palace. Rhen's head rested on her lap. A gold dress flowed over her limbs, her eyes were hooded with the veil, and she ran her fingers lovingly over his cheeks.

"Rhen," she whispered, dipping her lips down so they skimmed the soft skin below his ear. "Wake up."

Hair fell over her shoulder, hair that was black and long and luscious—hair that was not cut in mourning, that showed no respect for her heritage, for her family.

A hand gently cupped her cheek. It was coarse and callused, yet comforting.

"Jinji," a deep voice said. She pulled back, meeting sparkling green eyes—the color of the forest just before twilight.

Rhen.

And he looked at her like she was his world.

Slowly, she pulled the metal mask off her head, but his expression bore no surprise. He knew who she was. He had known the entire time.

His fingers slipped behind her neck, running through her heavy locks, massaging the skin around her shoulders before pulling her down.

Down.

Closer.

Until their breath mingled, hot and electric.

And then his lips were on her skin, setting it ablaze. His fingers like lava as they traced a path down her back, over thin fabrics, to her hip, and still lower.

Jinji gasped.

She had never been touched like this before. Never been held like this.

Her skin prickled, hot to the touch. Her fingers stretched into his hair, gripping the short strands, forcing his face closer. 

But then they both stopped moving, halted in time.

Suddenly, his lips turned cold. His hands fell away.

Jinji sat up. But it was not Rhen below her anymore.

It was Maniuk—face frozen in betrayal. 

She blinked.

The face changed to that of her father—eyes downcast with disappointment.

Tears blurred her vision, so she rubbed them away.

Now her mother—mouth open in disgust.

"No!" She yelled and stood, backing away.

The body shifted, flipped over—rotting fingers gripped the ground, pulling the carcass closer. The figure stood.

And it was Janu.

"Have you forgotten?" He asked. The skin around his lips flaked away. "Have you forgotten what you are?"

His hands rose up and gripped her cheeks. His skin melted off, dripping to her feet until finally it was her own face that remained.

"Remember," she said, "remember."