Minutes Before Sunset Read Online Free PDF Page A

senses out, letting her know I was near. She froze, and I stepped out, raising my hands up. “I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, and she squinted.
    “How do I know that?”
    “You don’t,” I said.
    She bit her lip, and the air filled with nervous electricity. She had no control. “How’d you know I was here?” she asked.
    I shrugged. “Lucky guess,” I said. “I haven’t seen you anywhere else, so I figured this was my best bet.”
    She leaned her back against the guardrail, folding her arms. “Why would you want to see me again?”
    I gaped at her. How could she not know? I’d never seen her in our shelter, and that was against our ways. She was breaking our basic laws, and I wanted to know why before I turned her in.
    “I want answers,” I said, and her face tilted.
    “I thought I was the one who wanted answers.”
    “About?”
    “What is this?” she asked, raising her hands and waving the shadows around. Her voice was high, and her cheeks flushed as she rambled. “What the hell am I?”
    My gut fell. She didn’t know—but how? That was impossible. Every shade was raised from birth with basic knowledge, and, looking at her age, she should’ve already had her powers and the prophecy memorized. This had to be a joke.
    “What do you mean?” I asked, stepping forward, and she pointed at my feet.
    “Stay there,” she said. She didn’t want me any closer than I had to be.
    “Okay,” I said, holding my stance as I looked over her face. Her lips were bitten, and her eyes were red from tears. When she used her powers, her fingers shook, and she held them close to her body afterwards. She was scared.
    “Is this a dream?” she asked, her voice trembling. “It’s happened before, but it was a dream, just a dream—”
    I shook my head. “You’re not dreaming,” I said, unable to comprehend how she could be so oblivious. She had no clue what she was.
    She turned away. I could hear her breath shift, shaking in the wind. Her shoulders hunched, and her face twisted.
    “I can help you,” I said, hoping she’d let me approach.
    Her purple eyes looked me up and down, and then she dropped her head. “Are you like me?” she asked, and I nodded, mirroring her staggered movements. Her eyes widened. “You are like me.”
    “You’re a shade,” I said, searching her face. “Do you know what that is?” She shook her head, and I stepped forward. “Can we talk like civilized people?”
    “Are we people?” she asked, and I chuckled. “It’s not funny,” she said, glaring, and I stifled my laugh.
    “You’re right,” I said, stepping toward her again. She tensed, and I stopped, but then she waved me forward. Her violet eyes watched my every move until I leaned against the guardrail a yard away. She still needed her space.
    I breathed in the frigid air and shoved my hands into my pockets. “You don’t know anything, do you?” I asked, meeting her eyes, but her expression was blank.
    “Am I supposed to?” she asked, fiddling with her clothes, like she wasn’t used to them changing during the transformation. “I only learned this was real last night—when I saw you.”
    My jaw dropped. “Last night?” My voice strained against my throat. “You’re supposed to know about this your entire life.”
    “What?” she whispered, her breath stolen by the wind. “This has only been happening since—”
    “Since what?”
    She shook head, and I stepped in front of her, trying to meet her eyes. “Every shade is raised in the Dark and by the Dark with their mentors and their parents,” I said, hoping to spark a memory. Maybe she’d been separated or attacked by the Light. But she didn’t respond.
    I ran a hand through my hair. “We’re given our powers at the Naming, and we’re waiting for the prophecy.” She blinked, and I fought the urge to shake her. “You have no clue what I’m talking about?”
    She tilted her head and squinted. “You think?”
    This was not good. If she was a