My Darling Katherina

Chapter Three

Katherina collapsed onto her bed, Whining.

The past few hours had been consumed by her tireless quest to locate her father in the skies of Velaris. She was so close and yet, she missed her chance. 

She stuffed her face in the pillow. 

A sudden, ominous thud reverberated through the room. Katherina, who was supposed to be alone, cautiously disentangled herself from her bed, retrieving the knife discreetly stashed beneath her pillow. She made every effort to move silently, her senses on high alert.

Taking up a strategic position in the heart of her small apartment's living room, she recognized one advantage of her compact living space: the kitchen was the only possible entry point for an intruder.

Stealthily, she crept towards one of the kitchen's walls, waiting patiently for a few heartbeats before hurling her knife across the room in the direction of the perceived threat. However, before she could even ascertain if her aim had found its mark, she was violently slammed against the wall, her feet dangling in the air.

With a sudden, disorienting rush, she crashed to the floor, the stranger who had seized her ankle propelling her. Before she could marshal her thoughts and mount a defense, she found herself pinned against the wall, a hand at her throat, applying pressure but not enough to deprive her of breath.

Her eyes took a second to focus on the stranger, thoughts distracted by her position, only to be greeted with a familiar face. Or, to be more precise, a shadow.

Katherina recognised it anywhere. It had taken numerous shapes over the years, but it always liked this one.

A tall, enigmatic figure loomed before her, his skin remarkably soft to the touch despite his imposing presence. His hair, as dark as the deepest coal, cascaded in a long braid, ending just below his broad shoulders. His eyes, however, held an eerie, celestial quality, resembling the shimmer of the moon and stars, with an unsettling absence of pupils.

In the span of a blink, his claws lightly grazed her neck, a deadly caress that sent shivers down her spine. His voice carried the weight of a thousand agonized screams, all compressed into a raspy, bone-chilling tone.

"I could end you before you even realize what's happening. You must exercise greater caution, Katherina," he cautioned, maintaining his relentless grip on her.

Rolling her eyes in defiance, she struggled to break free from his vice-like hold, but his response was to press her harder against the unforgiving wall.

"The odds do seem rather uneven," she retorted, her glare piercing through the darkness.

Before offering a reply, he subjected her to a thorough inspection.

"Odds rarely favor you when life and death hang in the balance," he intoned ominously.

With a sudden, swift motion, she attempted to knee him, but in the blink of an eye, she found herself sprawled on the ground, her abdomen meeting the cold, unyielding marble. An oppressive weight bore down on her lower back, immobilizing her. She wriggled in vain, but he secured her wrists behind her and used his legs to pin her feet.

"All right, all right! I understand, I'll be more vigilant. Now, Let me Go!" she exclaimed, frustration and surrender evident in her voice.

The Darkness swiftly released her and helped her to her feet, brushing the dirt from her cheeks. A blush crept onto her face as she met his penetrating gaze. Katherina couldn't help but draw closer to him, her own eyes locked onto his like a moth to a flame. His diamond-like eyes shifted from her gaze to her lips, an electrifying moment that sent her heart racing.

At that moment, she recalled the stories she had heard about mates.

A few months after escaping from Under the Mountain, she had spent some time with a man from the Dawn Court named Alizandre, who was around two-hundred years old. She had asked him to share a story to ease her sleep, and he had spoken of mates.

When a male mated with a female, an intimate bond formed between them for the rest of their lives. Mating consumed a male's existence, leaving him with an overwhelming desire to satisfy and protect his mate.

He had also mentioned that, following the acceptance of this bond, males became exceedingly protective and possessive of their mates, viewing any other male as a potential threat to be confronted.

After that, Katherina began to entertain the idea that the Darkness might be her mate, even though she understood that mating with a shadow was an impossibility. It was, in essence, a simple crush on the embodiment of darkness and death.

Breaking her reverie, she averted her gaze from him and retreated to her bed, with the Darkness following closely behind. As she sank onto her mattress, she felt a weight at her side. Turning, Katherina discovered that he had stretched out on the bed beside her.

"What do you think you're doing?" she inquired, her brow furrowed.

"Drinking bread," the Darkness replied simply.

With a roll of her eyes, she shifted her weight until her back rested against the bed.

As she gazed up at the ceiling, she couldn't help but smile at the stars she had painstakingly painted there. Katherina had always been fascinated by the stars. She found solace in conversing with them, sharing her dreams, and believing, against all skepticism, that they listened and paid heed.

In a way, her connection to the Darkness had been sparked by this love for the stars. To her, he was a constellation, particularly in his eyes.

That night, she slept with her back turned to him, envisioning what it might feel like to soar among the stars themselves.