Shadow Slave : Shadow Clan

It was a rare weekend morning—quiet, slow, golden.

Sunlight poured through the tall windows of the Shadow residence, bathing the kitchen in warmth. The soft scent of butter and syrup hung in the air as Rain chattered excitedly at the table, swinging her legs beneath her seat while Jet sat across from her, sipping from a cup of tea, still unused to warmth that wasn't forged in survival.

Sunny sat at the breakfast table, absently poking his waffles with a fork.

Olivia, wearing a light grey robe and an apron dusted with flour, brought over a second plate. "More for you, Sunny," she said sweetly.

Sunny blinked. "Thanks, Mom."

He didn't touch it.

His thoughts were miles away, somewhere between confused pulses and a quickening heart.

"You're quiet this morning," Olivia said, brushing flour from her wrist as she took a seat. "Worried about dinner?"

Sunny groaned. "You invited Cassie and her parents."

Jet raised an eyebrow slightly. Rain squealed. "Cassie's coming!?"

"Why would you do that?" Sunny asked, turning to Olivia.

She tilted her head with a smile too knowing to be fair. "Because you need friends, and I happen to like her."

Sunny shifted in his seat. "It's not that—she's just… you don't invite people to our house. This place is full of secrets. What if she sees something?"

Olivia chuckled softly. "We'll manage."

Rain leaned over her plate. "Do you like her, Sunny?"

"Wha—no! I mean—I—"

His voice cracked mid-sentence. Jet smirked quietly behind her cup.

Olivia folded her hands under her chin, eyes studying him intently. "Your heart beats faster when you talk to her, doesn't it?"

Sunny stared. "…What?"

She smiled. "That's because you love her."

The fork slipped from his fingers and clattered against the plate.

He blinked. "Wh-what?"

His voice was too loud. Rain giggled. Jet leaned back, visibly entertained. Olivia just sipped her tea like she hadn't just thrown her son's soul off a cliff.

"I… I don't love anyone!" Sunny said a little too quickly, a flush creeping across his cheeks. "I mean—I… maybe I just feel weird."

"Exactly," Olivia said, nodding with that maddening adult certainty. "That's what it feels like sometimes. It's not just thinking they're pretty. It's when their voice makes you calmer. Or nervous. Or happy. Or like you've finally come home."

Sunny felt his stomach drop.

Cassie made his heart beat fast, sure. Her smile always made him forget the world for a moment.

But the one who made his world feel safe… was Nephis.

Nephis, who had visited after Abel's death—when the world had turned dark and silent. Who had sat with him in the training yard under cold skies, not saying anything, just being there. Who sparred with him when he didn't want to talk. Who smiled without ever laughing. Who never asked for anything, but gave everything.

Who had been his first real friend.

His chest clenched.

So that means… I love Nephis?

"Sunny?" Olivia asked.

He hadn't realized how quiet he'd gone. He looked up—and instantly wished he hadn't.

Her eyes were glinting.

No. She knew.

"W-who's the lucky girl?" she asked lightly, tapping a finger to her cheek.

Sunny's eye twitched. He stood abruptly, leaving his half-eaten waffles behind. "I'm going to the training hall."

He didn't wait for a response.

Jet raised a brow. "Did we… break him?"

Rain laughed into her juice. Olivia just sipped her tea, watching her son's retreating back with a soft, silent smile.

Still just a boy.

But one learning what it meant to feel.

And maybe—just maybe—what it meant to love.

———

The training hall was silent.

It stood vast and dim beneath the high vaulted ceiling, where morning sunlight filtered in through slits in the stone, casting golden shards across polished blackwood floors. The scent of incense lingered faintly—old smoke and steel, a place of memory, of ghosts.

Sunny stood alone.

Barefoot. Still.

His sword was already in his hand, though he didn't remember picking it up.

A deep breath filled his lungs.

Then, he moved.

Step by step, slash by slash, his form unfolded—not with brute force, but with fluid grace. Like a shadow unraveling in slow motion. Each strike was smooth, not rushed. Intentional. Precise. A dance of silence and breath. It wasn't just training—it was ritual.

Shadow Dance.

The name had come to him like a whisper in the night. A style that borrowed from his mother's deadly elegance, from Julius's survivalist grit, from Nephis's sharp resolve. But it was becoming something uniquely his.

A rhythm of adaptability. A poetry of combat.

His blade twisted and carved through empty air, not to kill—but to express.

He had been perfecting it for months.

And yet, his mind wasn't with his blade.

It was back at the breakfast table.

"Because you love her."

Those words from his mother had struck him harder than any sparring match.

Love?

Sunny faltered mid-step. His sword dipped.

His breath hitched.

What was that feeling?

When Cassie smiled, his heartbeat quickened—like the world grew brighter. But… when Nephis smiled?

The world stilled.

Cassie was a spark. Nephis was the quiet warmth of a fire in winter.

Nephis had been with him through grief—not to fix it, but to share it. When his hands trembled from training too hard, she offered silence. When he broke down once in the garden, she sat beside him, not saying a word, just… being there.

And when she smiled…

…he felt like the world could never fall apart again.

He slowly lowered his sword. His arms hung by his sides, limp with a strange, quiet weight.

He stared down at his reflection on the polished floor. A boy growing into something more—but still too young to understand the tides of his own heart.

He walked over to the bench at the edge of the room and grabbed his phone. His hand trembled—not from fear, but uncertainty.

His thumb hovered over her name.

Nephis.

He tapped.

The line rang once.

Twice.

Then clicked.

"Sunny?"

Her voice came soft and steady, like a breeze before dawn.

His chest tightened.

"Hey," he said quietly. "What're you doing?"

"I just finished my reading. Homeschool." A pause. "Father made tea."

Sunny raised a brow. "Tea?"

"He's… trying," she said. Her tone wasn't mocking. It was hopeful. "I think he wants to understand me now. Maybe even forgive himself."

Sunny smiled faintly. "That's new."

"Very."

A silence stretched between them. Comfortable. Like the pause between heartbeats.

"Nephis," he began, voice suddenly dry. "Do you… do you want to visit?"

He regretted asking immediately. It sounded dumb. Too sudden. He tried to backtrack—

"I'd love to," she interrupted.

Sunny blinked. "Really?"

"Really," she said gently. "You haven't asked me in a while."

"…I thought you'd be busy."

"I always have time for you."

Something tugged at his heart.

He didn't speak.

She didn't press.

Then she added, a little shyly, "Should I bring anything?"

He swallowed. "Just yourself."

⸻

Sunny found his mother tending to the roses again—those strange, dark blooms she always kept in a row of glass pots. She was humming quietly, a soft lullaby from when he was younger.

"Mom?" he said, voice hesitant.

She glanced over her shoulder. "Yes, sweetheart?"

"Nephis is coming over."

Olivia blinked. Then smiled with a knowing glint. "Ah… so it begins."

Sunny blinked. "What begins?"

She waved him off with a little laugh. "Nothing. I'll get dinner ready."

He stood there, unsure if he should ask what she meant.

"Sunny," Olivia said suddenly, looking at him not as his mother—but as someone who understood. "You can take all the time in the world to figure it out. You don't have to name what you feel. But when you find someone whose silence feels as good as their words…"

"…don't let them go."

Sunny looked at her.

Then nodded.

A soft smile touched his lips.

He turned and walked away

——-#

Rain plopped onto the velvet couch in the living room, her small hands curled around a warm mug of milk. Her legs kicked lazily over the edge as she stared at the ceiling with a thoughtful squint.

Jet sat beside her, legs crossed, still quietly adjusting the sleeves of her borrowed sweater. Though she'd only lived in the mansion for a short time, she was already learning the rhythms of the household.

From below, faint echoes rose through the floors—the hiss of steel, the thump of steps, a sharp, crisp exhale.

Sunny was training again.

"…He didn't even finish his waffles," Rain muttered, puffing her cheeks. "That means something's wrong.Sunny never leaves waffles behind."

Jet raised an eyebrow. "Mm."

Rain glanced sideways at her. "Did you see him this morning? He was acting all… weird."

"Weird how?" Jet asked, curious.

Rain leaned in and whispered like she was sharing an ancient secret. "He had this faraway look in his eyes. The kind he gets when he's thinking too hard. You know, like when he tries to understand my math homework."

Jet snorted softly.

Rain's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And! His face turned all red when Mama talked about… y'know. Love stuff."

Jet blinked, then leaned back with a knowing smirk. "Ah."

Rain groaned, falling dramatically into the cushions. "He's in love, isn't he?! Ew. Gross."

Jet tilted her head thoughtfully. Her tone softened. "Maybe not gross. Just… confusing."

Rain peeked up at her. "Do you think he's okay?"

Jet looked toward the window. The sound of Sunny's sword striking the training dummy echoed again, louder this time—sharp, perfect, relentless.

"He's overthinking again," Jet said. "That boy's always carrying something too heavy."

Rain sat up. "Is it because of Nephis?"

Jet blinked. "Nephis?"

Rain nodded with a little grin. "She always visits him. She makes him smile more than waffles do."

Jet's eyes softened. "Then maybe… that's a good thing."

Rain tilted her head. "You think he loves her?"

Jet looked at the floor for a moment, thoughtful. "I think… when someone stays with you through the hardest parts, their name starts to live in your heartbeat."

Rain blinked. "That's so poetic."

"I've had time to think," Jet muttered with a tiny smile. Then she reached over and ruffled Rain's hair gently. "But whoever it is—Nephis, Cassie, or someone else…"

Jet's gaze turned steely.

"…They'll have to go through me first."

Rain gasped, giggling. "You sound like Mama when she talks about dating!"

Jet gave a sly grin. "I am his big sister now. That comes with rules."

Rain held up her tiny pinky finger. "Promise?"

Jet linked hers with Rain's, squeezing gently. "Promise."

Another clang echoed from below. The blade sang against stone like a heartbeat—steady, striving, searching.

They both went quiet.

"…Do you think Sunny's happy?" Rain whispered.

Jet leaned her head back against the couch, eyes closing.

"Not yet," she murmured. "But one day… he will be."

If not I will protect him