The Prophecy of Shadows by Michelle Madow Read Free Book Online

under the glow of the moon, they appeared almost yellow.
    “It should be interesting,” I said, taking a sip of hot chocolate. It scorched my tongue, burning as it made its way down my throat.
    “Hot?” he asked, his eyes dancing in amusement.
    “Yes.” I lowered my cup and blew on it. “Very.”
    “So, we’re supposed to form groups of five when we watch the comet.” Chris pushed some hair off his forehead, and he continued, “I was thinking we could be in the same group. If you wanted to.” His eyes filled with hope, and I had a feeling that he’d been waiting to ask all night.
    “That sounds great.” I smiled to show that I meant it and wasn’t just agreeing to be polite.
    Kate headed over to us, and her eyes flashed with what looked like hurt when she looked at Chris. I blew on my hot chocolate again and took a step away from him. If Kate had feelings for him, I didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. Because yes, Chris was nice, but I’d never thought of him as more than a friend.
    “Do you all want to be in the same group?” She looked back and forth between Chris and me, toying with the ends of her hair.
    “Yes,” I said. “Of course.”
    Then someone else joined us—Blake. He stepped between Chris and me to grab his own hot chocolate, his gaze meeting mine with so much intensity that I could barely breathe. I took another sip of my drink, glad when it didn’t burn my tongue, and waited for him to say something.
    “Does your group have room for two more?” he asked.
    “It’s just the three of us,” I said, my voice shaking. Hopefully he would think it was because of the cold and not because of his effect on me. “So yeah, we need two more.”
    The other person he was referring to must be Danielle. She stood at the edge of the deck with her arms crossed over her chest, a scowl plastered across her dark red lips. She reminded me of an angry lioness about to pounce on its prey. I broke my gaze away from hers, not wanting to look at her for a second longer. I couldn’t help but think that she hated me, even though we’d never actually spoken to each other.
    Given what Kate had told me about her, I should be scared. But I wasn’t. Because according to Darius, I had powers, too. I was one of them. Danielle might mess around with humans, but she wouldn’t hurt one of her own.
    At least I hoped not.
    Darius walked to the middle of the yard and cleared his throat. The chattering stopped.
    “It’s time to begin,” he said, his voice carrying in every direction. “Please put down your drinks, find an empty place in the yard, and have your group gather in a circle. Take off your gloves if you’re wearing them so they won’t interfere with the energy passed between you and your group members.”
    Chris placed his half-empty cup down on the table. “Come on,” he said, bounding off the deck and onto the yard.
    Blake joined up with Danielle, and I followed them towards the spot that Chris had claimed. Kate trailed behind. Once we were all there, I looked up, gasping at what I saw.
    The comet was already streaking through the sky, and it was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. It shined yellow, with a hint of blue surrounding the edges, a trail of white growing wider behind it. It crawled at a steady pace. Unlike meteors, which flashed by in a second, the comet would stay visible for about an hour.
    The comet was so beautiful that it was hard to believe it was real and not a special effect like in the movies.
    The five of us joined hands, Blake on one side of me and Chris on the other. I’d expected to be more affected from Blake’s touch than Chris’s, but that wasn’t the case. Both carried warmth, and a sense of security that I’d never felt before.
    Darius didn’t have to explain what to do next. I knew to close my eyes and focus on the energy surrounding us. It pulsated from every direction, and unlike the other day in homeroom, when I’d focused on gathering the