Chapter 553

"I do," Jackson replies, nodding once. "Not important right now. Just... let's get these shadows tucked away, all right? I want you to imagine like...a fishing rod, with all the shadows attached to the line. And now slowly, mentally, just...start to reel that fish in, okay?"

A moment passes as Jesse stares at Jackson, a little disbelief in his panicked eyes, but then he exhales a long breath and concentrates. My arms tighten around Rafe's arm, my fingers digging into his skin a little, when I see the shadows begin to change shape, transforming - my eyes widen to see - into a shadow river, complete with currents, still swirling around Jesse -

But including, of all things...tiny little shadow fish inside.

"There you go, man," Jackson says, sounding completely at ease now, even laughing a little when he sees the fish moving in their shadow streams, swirling around his wrist and his hand, still pressed to Jesse's chest.

Jesse stares around at the shadow scene in awe but - clearly encouraged by the result - he begins to take Jackson's advice, breathing easier and I suppose...beginning to reel it all in.

The shadows slowly start to lessen, to seep, to disappear backwards into Jesse as he calls them mentally back. They fade in density and in color, all slipping away like smoke from the air until they're just a haze around his skin.

And then Jesse takes one last sharp inhale and the final shadows slip back into his mouth, swallowed down...I don't know where. His soul?

And just like that...they're gone.

"Holy...holy shit, Jess," Rafe says, his voice trembling.

Jackson laughs a little, taking his hand from Jesse's chest and sitting back on the bed calmly. "Nicely done," he says, leaning back on his hands. "Honestly, you reined that outburst in pretty fast - took me ages to learn that."

Jesse still pants a little, tense on his bed, his shoulders shaking as he stares first at Jackson and then over at Rafe and me. "Am I...did I dream that? Please tell me I dreamed that."

Rafe and I just stare at him.

"No dreams, man," Jackson murmurs, shaking his head. "You're a badass shadow mage. It's cool."

Jesse continues to shake as he looks back at Jackson like he's totally crazy.

And I can't help it – a ridiculous, hysterical giggle breaks from me.

Jesse and Rafe snap their heads to me as I smack a hand over my mouth.

But there's no stopping the panicked laughter that continues to spill from me as I stare at my gentle, silly cousin - whose gift is literally...the opposite of anything I'd have ever expected from him.noveldrama

"What...what's so funny?" Jesse asks me, his voice tremulous even as his mouth starts to curl up, as if he's desperate for a laugh, for a smile.

"Jesse," I whisper, dropping my hand and pressing it to my chest, my other hand still clinging to my brother's arm. "Why...why is your magic so scary!?"

Something about my stupid

question works, because Jesse's

mouth begins to twitch, a smile

taking over it and then fading, andet

then coming back as a little laugh stumbles from his mouth. "Look who's talking, little miss

I-can-light-things-on-fire-with-the-forc

And even though it's not really even that funny - I burst out laughing at this, laughing so hard I double over, my hands on my knees. Slowly, I feel Rafe next to me begin to loosen, and then he starts to laugh.

And even as I catch my breath, trying to reel my ridiculous, embarrassing, inappropriate laughter in like a shadow fish on a line, I hear Jackson and Jesse join in too.

We're a mess like that, all of us, for a minute or two - and Rafe tugs me onto Jesse's bed beside him, seating me down on it while he reaches behind Jesse's headboard for the bottle of contraband whiskey hidden there.

When I finally stop laughing hard enough that can open my eyes, wiping the tears from them, I look around to see Jesse hesitantly smiling, and Jackson grinning

around at all of us, and Rafeel

sighing

and shaking his head as he uncorks the whiskey bottle. Content belongs

“Come on,” he sighs. "If we're all up in the middle of the night after having the shit scared out of us, we can all probably use a drink to settle our nerves."

He raises the bottle into the air in a toast. "To the newfound Duke of Shadows," Rafe says with a clever twist of his lips. We all give a little cry of joy as Jesse's face breaks into a wary grin, liking the title much more than he's comfortable with his newfound magical skill.

Then Rafe tilts his head back, taking a long swig of the liquor before passing it to Jesse, who does the same.