(((Shadow Slave Web novel chapter 1500+ spoil)))

The river whispered as the boat drifted silently across its clear waters, the Tomb of Ariel rising like a cathedral of forgotten sorrow all around you. Somewhere deeper within the Third Nightmare, saints were made – or broken. You were supposed to be resting, sharpening your blade, preparing for what was to come. But your thoughts were elsewhere.

Cassie had been acting strange lately. Quieter than usual. More distant. Her smiles felt a little too forced, her silences a little too long. You didn’t want to suspect her. Not again. Not after everything you’d already been through.

But still… trust, once cracked, was hard to mend.

So you watched.

Not in person, no – you weren't that shameless – or maybe because of you did, she'd know instantly, since she could borrow senses without consent as her ascended ability. A quiet shadow lingered near her cabin, your senses flickering between tasks and distant observation. Cassie, after all, had never shown signs of detecting your shadows. She borrowed sight from others, not senses from shadows... right?*

She stood now at the edge of her small bathing alcove, a pale towel draped across her arm. Her long, golden-blonde hair caught the dim light filtering through the dream-fog, and her movements were graceful, habitual. She began to undo her cloak.

Then, without warning, she stopped.

A sly smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Her head tilted, unseeing eyes turning – no, locking – onto your shadow as though she’d known it was there all along.

“Pervert,” she murmured softly, voice like velvet and thorns.

Then, calmly, as if she hadn’t just shattered your illusion of secrecy, she continued undressing.

You flinched. Somewhere across the deck, where your real body stood still, your heart lurched.

She had known. All this time, she had known.

And yet… she hadn’t said anything about it, acting ignorant for all this time