Eirin could not believe what she heard. It was not like Shade's usual self. It was a new, beautiful, and odd side of him that was now being revealed, a vulnerable side that she had only seen glimpses of before. She pulled him by his shirt to observe his face closer.
"Who are you and what did you do to the original Shade?"
Shade laughed, a genuine, joyful sound that came from his gut, his gums revealed in a wide uninhibited grin. His dark eyes, usually so serious and intense, were now gone, mere slits of amusement as he leaned closer to Eirin. His warm breath, a gentle puff against her ear, sent a strange shiver down her spine.
"Shade is gone," he whispered, his voice a low, playful murmur. "I took his body, and now I'll take his life too."
The words, so full of nonsense, were a testament to the new, easy comfort that had now settled between them.
Eirin frowned. "You better stop joking."
"You started it."
