The Shadows Between Us By Tricia Levenseller May 2026

Kallias didn't pull away. Instead, the shadows wrapped around her wrist—not crushing, but tethering. "A dangerous ambition."

"And I," Alessandra whispered, leaning into the freezing cold of his aura, "am the girl who is going to help you rule them. Or take them from you. I haven't quite decided yet." The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

"Step back, Lady Stathos," Kallias said, his voice a low, melodic warning. "The darkness isn't fond of company." Kallias didn't pull away

A flicker of genuine surprise crossed his handsome, pale features. The shadows recoiled slightly, reacting to his internal shift. For a second, the barrier thinned. Or take them from you

That night, she didn't wait for an invitation. As the music swelled into a haunting cello melody, she stepped into his path. The shadows around him hissed, rising like cobras.

"Perhaps your darkness just hasn't met the right kind of light," she countered, her hand hovering inches from the barrier of ink-black smoke. "Or perhaps you're just lonely up there on your pedestal of gloom."

The shadows in the Slytherin-esque court of the Shadow King didn't just flicker; they breathed. Alessandra Stathos stood at the edge of the ballroom, her gown a midnight silk that felt like armor. She didn't want the King’s heart because she loved him—she wanted it because he was the only thing standing between her and a crown of her own.