Grace and Shadow Read Online Free Page A

kept working with the dice until Shadow stated that nothing he did could provide him with the power he had felt the day before. There were flickers but nothing solid.
    “I am going to try and focus on the blood. Keep the scanners going.” Imgrace took a breath and imagined the vials of blood and then the warmth that she felt while kissing Shadow.
    “We are getting a reading!” Shadow was excited.
    She evened her breath out. He wasn’t the only one. One kiss and she had a memory strong enough to send a signal through space.
    Imagine what would have happened if he had kissed her back.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    Imgrace still got queasy when she thought about what Shadow had done with all the blood samples. Some had been held in the hand, some had been topical and some had been ingested. All carried a shadow of energy that he could use, but none of them worked as well as direct contact had. Great.
    Link handed her a plate while they waited for the other two to return.
    She felt tears well in her eyes. Starburst cookies. They had been her favourite for her entire childhood. Her hand shook as she reached out to take one of the brightly coloured pastries.
    “I love these.”
    He chuckled. “I know. You fought Kelbi for one of them when you were six. It shattered during the scuffle, but you said it tasted like it should. The same ingredients always gave the same result.”
    “And the satisfaction was in the victory.”
    He laughed. “That was it.”
    She wrinkled her nose and crunched into the cookie. “This one isn’t really a victory.”
    “No, Imgrace, but you didn’t have to fight for it. Take the win.” He winked and set the cookies down on the table.
    “What the hell are you two talking about?” Shadow’s voice came through the headsets.
    Shatter chimed in, “And are there really cookies?”
    Link cleared his throat. “Concentrate on coming in. If you are all cleaned up and ready for a snack, the cookies will still be here.”
    She chuckled at their anticipatory grunts and removed her headset. “Can I go for a walk? I need to stretch my legs a little.”
    Link nodded and covered his own headset. “The grounds are fenced, so you can go anywhere your feet can take you.”
    She moved to put the headset on the table, but Link said, “Take it with you. Just in case.”
    She slipped it back on her ear and went exploring.
    It felt so strange to be walking unaccompanied in a place where her coworkers would love to have set foot. The base was larger than she had imagined. There were outbuildings with bedrooms in them, large expanses where more Guardians could gather, gyms, pools; it was a city occupied by three men.
    She grinned to herself and stripped off the bodysuit and headpiece. She slipped into a pool and began to pull herself through the water with long strokes.
    She flipped when she reached the end and continued her journey back the way she had come.
    When she heard the rumble of the engines coming, she looked up and yelped. Her selected pool was right on the flight path.
    “Damn it!”
    Her com was chirping, so she sloshed to the edge and put it in her ear.
    Link’s dry voice said, “And by now, you have realised that they can see you. So, either stay against the edge of the pool until they land or jump out and take your chances. I would recommend against getting out, grabbing your suit and making a run for it.”
    “Thanks for the help. How long have they been able to see me?”
    Shadow’s voice came in, “Long enough. You need to lower your arm a little as you stroke downward.”
    She blushed.
    Shatter added, “And more power to your legs as you kick off. You could really improve your propulsion.”
    She pressed her forehead against the cool stone of the edge of the pool.
    The shuttle came into view, and it settled just a few buildings away. Imgrace pushed herself out of the pool, grabbed her suit and tried to stuff her wet skin into it. She was not immediately successful, but after a lot of