Page 55 of Soul Fated

After we passed a small sign that announced ten kilometers to Swan Lake, I turned to Lana. My mouth opened and closed. Her fingers were clenched on the steering wheel, her hands at ten and two. Her eyes were glassy, and she clenched her teeth.

“Lana—”

“I don’t feel well.”

I searched for the water bottle I’d put on the floor. “Here, let me?—”

“No, Callista, I think something’s wrong.”

I held out the water. “Are you sick?”

Lana didn’t answer. She followed Kael’s truck onto a narrow road that led up a hill through dense forest. The trees were so thick, they created a canopy over the gravel road. “It’s hard to breathe in here."

I frowned. "Do you want to pull over and get some fresh air?"

"No. I want to get to the lake." She shot me an irritated look.

My heart started to pound. This wasn’t like her. My eyes dropped to her waist where the dagger sat. “I think we should pull over.”

Lana's breathing grew more labored. "No, I don't want to stop. I just need to—" She winced, and I reached for her arm.

"Lana, what?—"

She gasped, and her hand wrapped around the dagger's hilt through her shirt. "I don't know!"

“Let’s pull over, Lana. Put your foot on the brake.”

Lana's voice shook. "We're almost there.”

I reached out, but before I could touch her, she let out a guttural growl and the car swerved off the road.

Chapter

Twenty-Six

Kael

Everything happened in a split second. One moment, Callista and Lana's truck was behind us, the next, it was screeching off the road, tires skidding on gravel.

"What the hell—" My words were drowned out by the hiss of brakes. The truck plowed into the underbrush, kicking up a cloud of dust and needles.

“Kael, watch out!” Bill gripped the dash.

I swerved, barely avoiding a collision with a motorbike in the opposite lane and slammed on the brakes. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, my breath catching in my throat.

Bill sat next to me, his eyes wide. "What in the name of?—"

I didn't wait for him to finish. My door was open before the truck had fully stopped, and I was out, sprinting back down the road. My eyes scanned the scene, my brain trying to make sense of what I was seeing. The truck was half-buried in the underbrush.

"Kael, wait!" Bill's voice was a distant echo.

I didn't wait. I couldn't. Callista. My thoughts were a jumbled mess, but one thing was clear—I had to get to her. Had to make sure she was okay.

The smell of burning rubber filled my nostrils as I ran. Bill’s boots pounded behind me.

“Shit.” I sprinted as soon as I saw black fur against the driver’s window. “She shifted!” I called out to Bill. How had Lana shifted while driving? My hand was on the door handle when I heard the screams.

The dagger. Lana had been holding the dagger. If she shifted, it would’ve dropped.

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