The Darkness Within Us (The Shadows Between Us, #2)

by Tricia Levenseller

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A BAD IDEA, JUST POORLY EXECUTED AWESOME ONES. —Damon Salvatore, The Vampire Diaries, Season 2, Episode 15

Fair? Fair! Men do not get to utter that word in a world that favors them in every single space of life.

Those aren’t really options at all. They’re merely ways to stay safe. To remain subjected to the wills of men. I would rather die first. That means I need to keep playing the game to see where it leads.

I thought we were competitors, that by playing the same game only one of us could win. But perhaps the truth is more complicated than that. We always wanted different things. It doesn’t have to be her or me. While it hurts to see her in such a position of power and respect while I’m still working so damn hard for my happy ending, it doesn’t mean that I should blame her. No, the blame rests solely upon the shoulders of the men who drove us to make the choices we did.

I mark my place in the lovely romance novel about two gentlemen who must bridge the gap between their social classes to be together, and march into the parlor.

Clearly she’s reading KJ Charles🤩

But just because one man behaved that way, it doesn’t mean that all men—” “Do. Not. Finish. That. Sentence.” His eyes narrow at my tone. A mirthless laugh escapes me. “You want me to put my trust in another man? Just hope that the next one won’t abuse his power? I want to be the one with the power: the power to remove myself from those who treat me poorly, the power to protect myself, the power to always make my own decisions about my body and my life. Neither you nor anyone else can put a price on that freedom. So you and your twenty thousand necos can leave me the hell alone.”

“When you hate someone so fiercely, they have to be worthy of that hatred. You wouldn’t ardently hate someone who was beneath your notice or someone who didn’t compare to you in wits or charisma. You have to be on equal grounds to hate someone so much. And that level of hate inherently comes with a level of respect. You’re recognizing that they’re an actual threat. That they compare to you.” Tekla nods vehemently. “And when that level of hatred comes with that level of respect, it’s all too easy for that passion to turn from one form to another.”

“You. You make me forget all my rules and reasons for everything. You make me want to believe it’s possible not to be alone forever. You make me want to claim the whole world and gift it to you on a silver platter. You are unlike anyone I’ve ever known. And gods, but I love your mouth. The way it smiles. The words that come out of it. How it feels against mine. Just looking at your lips makes my mouth water.”

“What if I don’t want to burn down the world? What if all I want is my quiet country life?” “Then I’ll burn anyone who tries to take it away from you.”

There is just something intoxicating about a man who knows the true me and wants me anyway.

“We Stathos sisters are a force to be reckoned with.” “That we are. We are as arrogant as the gods, deciding who gets to live or die.” “If the gods didn’t want us killing men, then they shouldn’t have allowed them to hurt us so much.” “Indeed,” she agrees. “We only have the one life. We have to fight to make it the best it can be. And when others abuse the powers granted them, then what choice do we have except to fight back?”

“The words you said to me in that letter. I want to hear them aloud.” “Which ones?” he asks as he leans down to kiss my neck, but he knows very well which ones I mean. “The only ones that matter,” I answer. He raises his head to look me in the eye once more. “I love you. I fought loving you, but it was as inevitable as the sun rising every day. For you are my equal in nearly every way and my superior in all the rest.”