The Broken Angel & Her Overprotective Brothers

"I'm about to freeze," Emily muttered as she followed Shadow inside the cave that they had come across after walking into the forest for about ten minutes or so.

The man who had been silently leading the way did not say anything in response but his left hand immediately took hold of her right hand.

Emily felt him transferring his warm energy into her hand and within the next couple of seconds, her body was no longer suffering because of the cold.

"Thanks." She said softly as she stepped inside the small clearing inside the cave. Her breathing got caught in her throat as her eyes landed on the little creatures that were snuggled against each other as they slept.

"Oh my...!"

She could not find proper words to define her shock and amazement at the sight in front of her eyes.

"They are the presents that Kaiden has prepared for you," Shadow told her as he settled down on the cold ground of the ice cave and tugged at her hand to make her sit too.

Though Emily feared the cold ground, she still ended up taking a seat next to her bodyguard, close to where the three little snowballs were sleeping soundly.

To her amazement, she did not find the ground cold at all even though she was literally sitting on a floor made of ice. Her eyes immediately moved towards the man beside her and in response to her unasked question, he just raised their joined hands before he turned his attention back towards the furballs.

The two of them were silent for the next few seconds but then Emily decided to find answers to the dozens of questions that were swarming through her little brain.

"The crystal ball was so small. How is it even possible for us to be inside it?" She asked her first question as her eyes too find their way towards the little sleeping creatures.

At first, she got no reply to her question but rather than repeating her question or turning to look at the man beside her, she just sat there in silence, patiently waiting.

"This world is no longer the same as before, Princess. There are things and creatures present on this planet that were never supposed to even exist. The word 'magic' is very powerful. It can make anything possible. Creating an entire world inside a small crystal is just one of the millions of wonders that are possible because of magic." 

Shadow finally spoke after the silence of a few moments. 

"Is magic a good thing?" Emily found herself asking as she turned her eyes towards the handsome man beside her.

His attention was on their hands that were still joined together. It looked like he was thinking about something as he stared at their hands.

"Do you think oxygen is a good thing?" He suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Emily was so taken aback by his weird question that it made her stare at him with a confused expression covering her face.

However, the man did not share her a single glance as he just stayed silent, waiting for her to answer his question.

"Well.....It is a good thing. It's something that is very important for the survival of all the living beings..."

She did not get to speak further as Shadow immediately cur her off.

"Magic is the same for supernaturals. Our kind not only needs oxygen to survive but also magic. Some of us can survive without oxygen but we can't survive without magic. If you will take away the magic, the supernaturals will no longer be supernaturals. Magic in itself is pure and good. However, whether someone uses it for a good cause or a bad cause, it depends on that person." 

His words made Emily think deeply about her question and the answer that she received. His words made sense and she could tell that he really meant what he just said.

"Shadow..."

"Hmm?"

"You are a shifter, right?" Emily suddenly asked as the curiosity took over her. She was a little bit unsure about her judgment because there were situations where she felt like he was more than what she was seeing but her instinct was telling her that her speculation about his supernatural identity was not wrong either.

A small twitch appeared on Shadow's lips as he finally looked up at her face, finding her emerald eyes staring back at him with pure curiosity filling in them.

"Part shifter." He replied as he observed her shocked expression that immediately overshadowed her curiosity.

"Part shifter? Y-You mean....like Bee? You are a hybrid?" Emily asked as she looked at the man in amazement. She never expected him to belong to more than only one supernatural race.

Shadow was silent for a few seconds as he pondered about how to answer her question.

"Not exactly a hybrid. I'm one of those rare vampires that are born and not turned..." He stopped for a second to look at her shocked expressions at the revelation of his identity as a vampire.

She was not terrified nor did she looked disgusted. She was just taken aback to know that he was a vampire.

"My father was a high blood vampire and my mom was the head of the which clan, meaning I can control magic way better than any other vampire present on this planet. I'm a little bit better than your friend Bianca." Shadow explained a little bit more about his mixed-race blood.

"Bee is a third rank witch and....you are saying that you are better than her. Exactly how much better?" Emily asked as she looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Seventh rank."

"Holy Pumpkin! Are you kidding me?" Emily almost shouted out in shock but somehow she succeeded in controlling the volume of her tone. She could barely believe what she was hearing.

"Holy pumpkin? Seriously Princess?" Shadow asked as he arched his eyebrows at her choice of words.

"Forget about that. Let's focus on the important matter. So you are telling me that you are a seventh rank mage, the highest rank that is possible to achieve by a mage or a witch? Oh my...!"

How could he call this just a little bit better? It was a whole lot better than Bianca's rank. If Emily remembered correctly then there were only eight or nine seventh rank magic users present in their world. This alone could clearly summarize exactly how powerful Shadow was.

"So you are a pureblood Vampire which already makes you very powerful among your race and in addition to that, you are a seventh rank magic-user.....and you are a shifter too..." 

Emily trailed off as the realization of exactly how powerful Shadow was finally hit her. It was a good thing that she had no idea about his identity as the Supreme Sire, otherwise, she surely would have passed out because of shock.

"My ability to shift into the spirit form was supposed to be a punishment for me, a lesson that my father and elders of my family wanted to teach me. But with time, I have learned to use it according to my requirements. It's now a reward rather than a punishment." Shadow told her as he started playing with the emerald ring that she was wearing on her index finger. It was the same ring that he gifted her on the night of the banquet, a protection charm that was supposed to keep her safe.

"How old are you? And what's your spirit form?" Emily asked softly as she could not help but be curious to know more about the person in front of her.

This time, Shadow actually chuckled at her curiosity. He shook his head as he spoke, "Don't you think that both of your questions are too personal?"

"Come on, Shadow! At least answer one f these two questions. Forget it, just answer the second one. The first one isn't that important. Pretty please!" 

Emily begged as she looked at him with her puppy eyes. The eyes that held the power of moving the hearts of all six of her cold-hearted brothers. The eyes that could melt the aloof and cold Kaiden Sullivan just in a few seconds. How could Shadow not give in to those eyes?

"Alright! I'll show you. But you have to remember that you can't go around asking shifters to reveal their spirit forms, especially if it's someone who's not close to you. Alright?" He asked as he looked at her with a serious expression.

"Yes, boss." Emily immediately gave him a mock salute as she hurriedly nodded her head in acceptance. 

Even though she acted like she was playing his words like a joke but she knew better than to not trust him. One thing that she had learned after the revelation of Shadow's mixed races secret, was to never question his judgment about anything related to the supernatural world.

Just when she was busy in her thoughts, a bright golden light shone through the cave and the very next second she was staring at the spirit form of her bodyguard.