Savior of the Shades: The Complete Shifted Fates Series

by Vasilisa Drake

They’d know I was awake,

How did they know you were sleeping in the first place?

It was clearer, in a way. But it was probably just my imagination. What else could it be?

You're actually speaking to someone and you being wherever you are in death brought you closer.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d slept for, but it was a day.

You're not sure but you know it was a day?

The lava tickled at a memory in the back of my head, but it was just out of reach. Where would I have seen lava anyway? It’s not like I’d lived near active volcanoes.

Your dreams honey

The sheets were already in disarray on the bed, in a hazardous heap rather than neatly made.

I'm guessing there's someone in it

“Comfortable?” a half-asleep voice rumbled.

I told you so

“What a strange place for me to find you,” he mused.

He's the one from her dreams

But then, to my mortification, my stomach growled.

That would 100% happen to me too

Then they dragged me under.

You're in Hell, I expected nothing less

I did what any other composed shifter with lightning-fast reflexes would do. I let out an ear-splitting shriek.

Lol smooth

“Are you volunteering another of your shirts?

Or some of the clothes from that dresser filled with clothing in your size maybe?

Well, her and that weird subconscious voice.

COLE.

You looked at him and you thought about him in bed. And on the floor. And against the walls.

I can imagine

No, my wolf-side, the killer that lurked beneath my fur, she bent her head down to Cole’s face… And she licked him.

I'm shitting myself laughing here

She shifted on her feet. I felt a surge of hope that this humiliation would end and we could go back to sparring. And then she flopped on her back, looking up at Cole expectantly.

I'M DYING

I was unwilling to risk another embarrassing episode like before.

I thought it was funny though

By the time I pulled a third off the shelf, a book on magical creatures, my arms were overfull.

Must be hefty books

The shifter manual wasn’t much use. It spent pages going on about inner peace and harmony and balance without any actionable advice, and I quickly grew bored of it.

That's the spirit

Unfortunately, I was starting to suspect my wolf side just really enjoyed being pinned by Cole.

Can you blame her?

There was more to my reluctant roommate than met the eye.

I thought the fact he lives in a castle in Hell and no one dares bother him was a dead giveaway there honey

They were a realm away, and Cole was just an undead shifter like me.

Yes, living in a CASTLE, sitting on a THRONE, being called LORD. Love, you can't be this dense?

“After all the hours you spent dreaming? I’m confident you’ve recovered.” The word choice was just a coincidence.

No it wasn't

“Please,” the female begged. “Just come closer. Look at me. Take pity on me, it’s been so long since I’ve seen another creature.”

Is it medusa? Given the statues and all? 'look at me' gave me chills

Almost. Except I suddenly couldn’t move my feet. “I’m known as Medusa. Maybe you’ve heard of me?”

Lol I called it!

“My pleasure,” Hecate said, sounding almost genuine. “It’s not every day that someone as important as the king of the underworld makes a request of me.” I froze. King? No. No, no, no. Cole couldn’t be the king of anything.

You really ARE that dense

It took me no time to find Cole’s room—despite the fact I hadn’t set foot inside it since that first day.

Yes you did, the second day when you were both soaked

To ease the guilt, I picked the most worn pieces of clothing.

That would be their favorites honey

“No,” Hades at last agreed.

I can not say this was an unexpected twist

Part of me was convinced I was still in Hell, that the Libra demon hadn’t actually held up his end of the deal—that I had no plans of fulfilling my part of—but

I feel like you would have to

“Her body wasn’t found, of course,

Oh I would totally go find my own dead body lol

Moon, if Hell had a suggestion box, I’d be popping this scene into it because there was no worse torture I could think of.

I frowned. Was I? Or had dying stopped the aging process?

I would think so

This time, it was me who kissed Cole. It wasn’t an explosive, passionate kiss.

I'm sure he's holding back given you were just puking a second ago

And both Cole and Hecate kept reminding me if anything happened to me, I’d face eternal torment after dying again.

She will most definitely die again somewhere in these books.

“You want me to kill everyone who gives me a dirty look?” I snapped. “No.” For a second, his gaze softened. “I want you to tell me when it happens so I can do that.”

Blue tents were in surprisingly short supply.

Good, no?

Another cackle. “I’ll decline that this time. No, my price for what you seek is this. You must be bound to one form for three days. You will not be able to shift, no matter what you attempt.”

Well that's not suspicious at all

We walked until I was confident we’d hit almost a mile from the gates.

He said HALF a mile

And it hit me; I knew I’d agreed to Hia’s deal too quickly, because while we agreed I would spend the next three days bound to one form, we had never agreed on which one. And apparently, I was spending the next seventy-two hours as a wolf.

Either Hia has a funny bone, or she wants you out of the way for a bit.

I walked into what could only be a throne room.

Oh noooo not the throne room

I heard it more than felt it. Powerless to stop it. Thump, thump, thump. My leg involuntarily gave in to the instinctive relief.

I thought this couldn't get any better

since only a few days ago, Hecate had advised me that showing off my goods apparently sent a message.

She meant wearing his clothes honey

My lame joke drew about as much laughter as a clown at a funeral.

Even I didn't notice the joke until you told me it was one

Something triggered it.”

The teeth!

“Not far. Maybe ten minutes from the city.”

Hmm, about a mile?

“I won’t let you have a single regret, Avery,” he vowed. “You are my heart and my soul, or whatever black pit sits in my chest.”

I grasped his erection in my hand. It seemed to dwarf it, my fingers unable to even fully wrap around it.

Oh come on

“Isn’t that thing supposed to, like, deflate?” I asked.

That's one way to put it

Am I to be your queen? I’d asked Cole that before everything had gone to shit. He hadn’t really answered.

YES HE DID

I’m shielding her as best I can, but it’s not perfect. If anything tampers with the seal…”

Like scrying in a mirror?