Page 87 of Flock Around and Find Out

Galen stepped first into the large cave, his gaze upturned like an acolyte ready to meet a god. It was strange to see him that way.

The inside of the cave was similar to the one Grey had spent the night in—the one with the creature—but this one had amber crystals everywhere, bathing it in that light, instead. It was larger, as well, with an opening near the back.

In the center of the cave was a pool of amber liquid, as though molten gold simmered there. The beauty stunned me, while it also warned me away.

It was the same part that felt that pull to go in another way, that warned methiswasn’t for me. Did it want me to follow the path to my own source? To the thing that had given me the energy that made me a Nature?

I ignored it. That didn’t matter, not right now.

What I carried in my arms was so much more important to me than whatever might rest at the end of that path.

Galen shifted into his wolf form, the stitches of his pants giving way, the scraps of fabric left behind, forgotten as he moved toward the water, drawn forward by something greater than him, than any of us.

That was one of the benefits of being a Nature—I didn’t tend to fall under the same delusions of grandeur as the other clans. My connection to the rest of the world made it far easier to understand my place, to see how grand other energies were, and how both great and small I was in comparison.

Just as he approached the water, when I wondered if he would leap in, if he would drown in the gold, a flash of light filled the space so bright I had close my eyes to escape it—and even then it felt as though it seared my skin.

“You idiots.”

I didn’t recognize the voice at first, even if it felt familiar.

Then, when I could open my eyes, when I could look across the space, I wouldn’t forget the man who stood there.

I held Grey tighter as Ruben stepped between us and Knot, the mysterious man who had created Grey, who had shown up to her trial to save her.

Even if he had saved her before, none of us trusted him.

“How are you here?” Ruben asked.

Knot scoffed as if the question were stupid as he came forward, not seemingly concerned at all about any of us.

When Ruben again got in his way, Knot raised his hand and swiped it. It wasn’t a physical hit that got Ruben moving, though, and instead seemed as though a wave of power struck out, knocking everyone back except me.

I had a feeling it wasn’t that he liked me in particular, it was simply that I held Grey. If he struck out at me, I might drop her.

He continued to come forward, his red hair bright and shimmering as though the amber glow in the room didn’t touch it at all. His eyes were the same stark blue as before, locked not on me—as though I were no concern of his—but instead on Grey.

“What did they do to you?” he asked, his voice soft, a tone I suspected he saved for her and her alone.

And it immediately made me wonder just what was between them. This was not the tone used between two barely connected people.

Did he show this to her? Or did he hide it, only exposing this side when he knew she couldn’t take notice?

He reached toward her, and I took a step backward, unwilling to let him touch her in this state.

He lifted his gaze to mine, any softness gone in an instant. Funny, given the way Grey had spoken about him, it had seemed as though he were a joke. If you listened to her, he never was serious, never clear, more like an annoying little brother than anything else.

Did that mean he hid this side of him?

Because there was no doubt that the man before me was nothing if not a hell of a threat. His gaze was steady, rage simmering deep inside his blue eyes, eyes the same color as Grey’s hair.

“Is this your fault? You let one of the pests bite her?”

“You know what bit her? How do we cure her?” All the questions about what he was and worries disappeared, because at least Knot appeared to understand what had happened. That was better than we’d had so far.

He cast me a withering look. “If you weren’t an idiot, you wouldn’t have brought her here in the first place. Do you haveanyidea what kind of place this is? The things that would kill her the moment they saw her?”

That made me think about that creature, the way it had locked onto her—not us.

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