The Elysean Illusion (The Holy Bloodlines, #3)

by D.N. Hoxa

Shade was here and I didn’t need anything else in the world.

“Do you have any idea how many times I’ve fantasized about being here again? This room, your bed, your body is my whole world, Snowflake,”

“…she is one true force of nature, but she does not want to be alone, either. It is you who needs to show her that you can complete her, not tear her apart. You can make her stronger, not peel off her strength. Show her that you are worth the fear and the potential pain. And have patience, kind soul, for if she begins to believe in you, truly believe in you, you will be one lucky man.”

“Really. Sometimes I want to, but I can’t. You’re here. You’ve given me purpose, Snowflake. You’ve given meaning to my life. I can’t wish that away no matter what happens.”

If I couldn’t have his body, I could still have his stories.

“I’ve never told you this before because I know you know it, but I love you, my beautiful Snowflake. I love your light and your dark. I love your glow and your tears. I’ll bring the whole world to their knees for you.”

“I am your mother,” Eeda said. “I am the mother of all.”

Eeda is Gaia/Gaea.

Gaea, as in Mother Earth. Gaea, as in the true mother of us all.

Girlie I put that together and I'm not living in a world with literal gods. Let's do better.

Then I turned to see Shade wasn’t looking at it at all, but his eyes were on me, a wondrous smile on his face that made me flush even more. He used to look at me like that when we were together, too. Naked and in each other’s arms. Fuck, how my heart ached to be there again.

Magic was great, but his arms were the only place in the world where I’d ever belonged. He was my home.

“Also, I can shoot arrows and wield scythes now, and my boyfriend makes shadows with his hands and fights monsters for a living.” I said the words and only after I finished speaking did I understand them. I flinched, cheeks heated up anew as Shade grinned. “Not to say that we’re together or anything. I know, we—” I muttered, but Shade cut me off. “What else would we be?” he said, arching a brow. “Not that we need a label, Snowflake—we don’t. We’re one and the same.” Yes, we were… “And I never thought I’d actually say this, but I like that word.” My heart skipped a beat. “What word? The boyfriend word?” Shade grinned. “Yep. That one—but only when you say it.”

“Then I’ll tie you to my bed and worship every inch of your body the way I do in my mind,” he whispered, and good thing I wasn’t standing because my legs were so weak. “I’ll keep going until you forget that word for good.”

“Not fair,” I choked, my skin burning, my panties soaked. “Don’t talk to me about fair, baby. I get to watch you from afar every day. I get to watch you wear my colors and my perfume, I get to watch your ass when you swing those hips the way you do, but I can never touch you. I get to watch you training, stretching and twisting, but I can’t bend you over the way you need,” he said, his voice heavier and darker with each word. “I get to watch you smiling and laughing and never know what you’re saying because I can’t get close enough.”

Shade smiled. “Goodnight, Snowflake. I’ll be thinking about you.” I nodded, standing up on shaking legs. “Every day?” “Every second,” Shade promised.

It was perfect. It was me, exactly who I was—Shade’s Snowflake.

“I keep thinking, there’s no way she can become even more beautiful than this every single day, and you prove me wrong each morning. It’s become my favorite game to play with myself.”

“Is there anything you don’t see, Shadow Boy?” I said with a roll of my eyes, just for show. He chuckled. “Not when it comes to you.”

I didn’t go so far as to assume Shade would join us, though. He wasn’t the type to want to dance in front of people, but I had the feeling that if I asked him, he’d dance with me. He’d dance with me in my room or his, and better yet—in the Void. He’d dance for hours and hold me to his chest, and whisper things in my ear that only he knew how to say perfectly…