“No, you don’t. You could blow our cover if we run into anyone,” Sebastian rebutted, his voice fading as he hurried after an overzealous Caspar.
I hesitated, my toes inches from the door’s threshold as I wondered what that first step would feel like. As if sensing my inner turmoil, Reagan slid her hand into mine, squeezing gently.
“I’d say catch me if you can, but . . . we’re a team,” she said, blinking up at me. “We do this as a team, yeah?”
My smile returned and I squeezed her hand back. “Yeah. As a team.” Whatever happened next, nothing and no one would tear us apart.
So, with our hands firmly linked together, we left Nathra City and stepped into the unknown.
My veins simmered with relentless heat. Whatever Alec had injected into my neck had to have contained Genesis Crystal. The burn was familiar, though duller than my last experience with the green rock. I shuddered at the memory. That time, the pain had been all-consuming; I had been racked with alternating waves of fire and a strange, cooling energy.
This time had been pure flame.
I stared at my fingers, still trembling where they gripped my pack. A bump jostled the van and the Fae around me shuffled back into their seats with grumbled complaints.
“Can she even see over the steering wheel?”
I glared at Caspar, even as his lips tilted into a smirk. When the van hit another hard bump, though, even I side-eyed the lavender-haired shifter.
“It’s the road,” Nevaeh protested. “Mordecai clearly doesn’t waste his money on maintenance.”
Another wave of simmering heat pulsed under my skin. I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore the sensation. Seeking distraction from the jarring ride—and Tarik’s concerned stare—I closed my eyes and focused on trying to shift. Nothing. My lion was still nowhere to be found. Even my wings lay dormant.
“I’m worried about the contents of that syringe,” Akeno admitted.
I opened my eyes, seeking his, but Akeno’s gaze was locked onto my shaking hands. “What do you mean?”
He gestured at my trembling fingers, but it was Tarik who said, “You could at least shift that one time you touched the crystal. Something was different this time.”
“You touched the crystal before?” Nevaeh shot over her shoulder.
“Yes,” I admitted. “It forced my wings out without a full shift.”
Akeno nodded knowingly. “If you could shift before and you can’t now, Mordecai must have discovered a chemical that allows the crystal to be used against shifters.”
“But why would he want to?” Sebastian asked. “Surely he wants the shifters on his side?”
“Control,” I murmured. “His own daugh— I left. I betrayed him. He wants to ensure shifter loyalty, even if he doesn’t earn it.”
“And if he can’t have it, he won’t let them shift,” Akeno said slowly. “When we return, we should make stealing a vial priority. I’d love to see if I can find a way to counteract the effects.”
“So would I,” I grumbled, flexing my fingers. Still nothing.
Nevaeh flicked a glance over her shoulder. “Guys. Be ready. I’ve found us a way out of here.”
“Oh?” Malachi pushed his way forward in the van, leaning heavily against Nevaeh’s seat. “What is that?”
“A trawler,” she answered. When no one reacted to her revelation, she sighed. “It’s a boat. A fishing boat, generally, but more importantly, there will be a lower deck with enough room for all of us to sleep.”
“We’re not going to be able to just take it,” I said. My stomach turned. If it came to a fight and I was without my lion?
I was useless without my lion.
Tarik brushed his fingers lightly down my arm. “We’ve gotten this far. We’ll figure out a way.”
I focused on my hands. “We need to prepare. Nevaeh, do you see anyone on deck?”
“Not yet, but . . .” The vehicle jerked abruptly as she made a sharp right turn. A chorus of protests filled the van.
“At least two shifters,” Akeno said, peering out the window. “But we don’t know what they are or who might be below deck.”
“Plan for more, hope we don’t need the prep,” I murmured.
I knew how to hold my own in a fight, but worry still settled deep in my stomach. We didn’t know what kind of shifters we were facing. They could be harmless—smaller animals, or less ferocious ones. Snails, even. But for them to be trading with Nathra City, they had to have some sort of insurance. A guardian-breed shifter of some kind. I glanced around at my friends, at Tarik. Grim images filled my mind, of skin being shredded or throats being savagely ripped out.
A shudder ran the length of my spine. After the Safehouse, after Mordecai and Alec had senselessly slaughtered dozens of Fae, the nightmares weren’t so hard to summon. The children we had lost . . .
The van jerked to an abrupt halt. Caspar tumbled backwards, barely catching his balance. Around me, weapons clicked and then we were shuffling toward the back of the van. I slung my pack over my shoulders, gritting my teeth against the burn still hot beneath my skin, and pulled the one weapon I owned from my pocket—a small pocket knife with a serrated tanto blade. It wasn’t much but it would do in a pinch.
Nevaeh and my boots crunched against the gravel as we followed the Fae toward the dock. Their bare feet were nearly silent. Akeno disappeared into shadows I didn’t know he could fit into, and one glance at Nevaeh’s face told me she was itching to be right there with him.
I turned the knife over in my hand, running my thumb over the release. The moment we hit the dock, the shifters turned. First confusion, then alarm, and finally fury melded together in their wide eyes and gaping mouths. It didn’t last long. Their hands balled into fists.
A small snap and the blade of my pocket knife sprang free.
Sebastian lunged to stop Tarik as he shouldered past. He missed. Tarik moved until he was far enough ahead to avoid clipping any of us, then threw out his wings. The air filled with snarls at the sight. My hand shook around the blade’s grip as two more shifters clambered up from below deck.
And then they were on us, the air a nightmarish rush of blood and wings and snapping jaws.
Tarik caught a cheetah shifter midair, and I winced as claws raked long wounds down his side. I tried to find the other two shifters, but instead, leapt forward to help Nevaeh with a raging gorilla who was landing furious blows to Sebastian’s head. My tiny knife was nothing against his monstrous size, but my shifter strength was still somewhat intact. I grabbed him, throwing him to the dock. The wood groaned in protest.
Akeno appeared and struck the massive shifter. I wasn’t sure what he used, but the gorilla didn’t get up.
The twins bumped into my back. I spun warily, catching the unease on their faces before I noticed the two unaccounted for shifters. A polar bear and a small wolf. My eyes narrowed. I spared a glance around for help, but there wasn’t really any to be had. Tarik and Caspar were contending with the cheetah, Nevaeh and Akeno were nowhere to be seen. On the boat already?
I sighed and spun to face the looming shifters.
The blade in my hand felt so small.
Micah and Malachi moved back another step, even as their hands balled into fists. I shoved them both behind me. Every inch of my body was screaming in terrified need, desperate to shift but finding no answer. I rolled my neck, sliding a nervous glance Nevaeh’s way as she stepped to my side.