"Are you done preparing?"

Shadow's smooth voice killed the silence of her bedroom, making Emily turn her attention towards the glass window.

The man was sitting on the bean bag as he watched the guards patrolling the perimeters of the mansion.

"Don't pretend anymore. I know that I'm not going." She said with a sigh as she closed her laptop and put it aside.

She was just checking the mail that she received from the bank, informing her that her salary for the last month had safely arrived in her account.

Her words successfully pulled Shadow's attention to her as the man turned around to look at her.

His face did not let her grasp his emotions. However, the way his amber eyes stared at her made Emily quickly turn away.

The man was powerful and smart. Strong too! And his eyes always succeeded in making her give in.

"Why do you think so?"

"Huh?"

She was so distracted by his eyes and her thoughts that she could not grasp the meaning of his question, not until she made a fool of herself.

"Well....I.....it's just....."

She did not how to answer that question, so in the end, she just trailed off and lightly shrugged in response.

"You are going to attend the Christmas Banquet with your brothers. So you better prepare yourself for it."

He informed her before he once again turned his attention towards the patrolling team.

"Really?"

Emily could not help but ask in amazement as she hurriedly walked towards her new bodyguard.

"I don't lie, Princess."

Shadow's response was so low that it was barely audible but she still succeeded in hearing it.

"Really?"

She again repeated her question but this time, it sounded different.

Shadow turned his head to look at the girl who was standing just a few feet away from him, her beautiful eyes trained on him as if he was a puzzle that she was trying to solve.

"Let's just say that I lie very rarely. So rarely, that I can't remember the last time I lied about something. And so far....I have not lied to you."

His reply made Emily look at him with even greater focus as she tried to recall their previous conversations.

"How can you not lie? That's not normal at all." She finally spoke after a few minutes. Her voice coming out soft and curious.

"I'm not normal either. Moreover, I don't need to lie because I have nothing to fear." Shadow answered as he turned his attention away from the girl.

"What are you, Shadow? Who are you?"

Emily found herself asking as her eyes refused to leave his face. His side profile appearing so familiar to her even though she was pretty sure that they had never met before.

She could feel the familiarity between them. She felt it in her soul, the soft pull that advised her to stay close to him, not because she needed it, rather, because he needed it.

Even though he was the one protecting her as her bodyguard but her inner voice we're telling that in reality, he was the one who needed to be saved.

She had felt the pull between them from the very moment they met. It was not the same pull that she had been feeling towards Kaiden or Rylan. It was different.

The link that she felt with Rylan was because of the guardian spirit bond. She could feel relieved and assured every time they were together.

He had become her best friend along with Shane, and even though she shared no guardian bond with Shane, the two young boys always made her feel well protected.

On the other hand, there was no link between her and Kaiden Sullivan. However, she could not deny the pull that she had been feeling every time that man appeared in front of her eyes.

Of course, he was handsome and powerful, but the way her heart, soul, and body reacted towards him was not normal.

She remembered those soft electric tingles that erupted all over her body every time he touched her.

The way her breathing and heartbeat tended to accelerate at his nearness. The way his beautiful eyes held the power of pulling her into a vast ocean of something mysterious.

These reactions that she had been feeling towards him were definitely not normal. However, no matter how hard she tried to find the reason behind them, she had not succeeded so far.

And now, there was another person who was filling her brain with questions and confusions.

The pull that she had been feeling towards Shadow was different from those that she felt towards Rylan or Kaiden.

It was pure, full of warmth, and most importantly, it was protective. As if a part of her wanted to protect him from some kind of harm.

She could tell that he was powerful. Too powerful to even exist. Every cell in his body screamed power, wealth, and experience.

She could tell that he was a man full of mysteries. And somehow, she could even tell that he was the most dangerous creature walking on the Earth.

She had no idea why she had such thoughts about him. However, she just knew that they were true.

Nonetheless, she never feared him, even for once. She believed him, she trusted him.

And these feelings and emotions that she had been experiencing towards this strange man was making her confused.

She looked into his eyes that held the answers to all her questions. But she was not capable enough to read them.

The man looked at her silently for a few minutes. His eyes assessing her as he thought about her questions before he finally decided to reply.

"It's not the right time for you to learn about my identity, Princess. You are too innocent to learn about my dark world."

A soft sigh escaped Emily's lips as she smiled softly at his response.

"Everyone kept saying that. Everyone thinks that I'm too innocent to learn about their dark worlds and the dark secrets that surround them."

The sad twitch on her lips made Shadow raised his eyebrows as he asked, "Why? Are you not?"

Emily looked into those amber eyes as she shook her head in denial.

"No, I'm not. My world is also dark Shadow and in there lies just as many dark secrets as someone like me can have. I'm not innocent, nor I'm safe from the darkness of this world."

Her answer made the man look at her with pure confusion covering his face.

"What are you talking about, Princess?"

Shadow asked as he could tell that she was not just playing around with him. She was telling the truth.

"I thought you knew everything," Emily commented as she completely ignored his question.

"I'm no elf, Princess," Shadow replied with a shake of his head.

"Elf? Oh, those who knew about everything. I think they are even far more reliable than a seer. Right?" Emily asked curiously.

"Indeed. They know everything and their information is far more reliable, but they are treacherous. They will surround you with riddles that you can never solve and the payments that you need to make in return for their help could be the end of your happiness. That's why I'll advise you to stay as far away from an elf as possible."

Shadow informed her as he looked at her, trying to read her mood.

"Alright! I'll keep that in mind." Emily said before she fell silent.

The two of them were silent and Shadow still could not pull his eyes away from the girl.

He had always felt the darkness lurking around her. He had recently learned about her episodes and that she did not have a perfect childhood.

He first wanted to know more about her past but then stopped himself. There was no point in doing that.

However, as he looked at her now, he could see that the darkness around her felt familiar. It was not the darkness that she experienced because of her mother and her downfall, rather, it was the darkness that she experienced while going through a life that was worse than death.

He felt something inside him shrinking in horror as he noticed that very darkness still looming in her eyes.

His hands twitched to grasp her smaller hands and delve into her memories to see exactly what had happened to her, but he did not.

He could not cross that line. He needed to maintain his distance from her. He only came to find her because she was the only one who could help him get rid of all his burdens and pains.

He just needed to wait for a little more time and then he would leave her forever. He would leave everyone and everything behind, finally finding the peace that he had been searching for centuries.

For him, Immortality was not a gift. Rather, it had become a cage for him. A bane that he wanted to get rid of.

And Emily was his only chance!