Page 119 of Shadows of Ruin

I held up my hands. “Just making sure you remember to keep those magical abilities to yourself.”

Her lip curled and I swore I could hear her muttering unmentionable curses at me in the recesses of my mind.

I couldn’t name the reason for my viciousness toward her,but I swore it still felt like she was in my head. Even though she helped me against Andras, knowing her magic worked the same as his put me on edge. Whether that proved fair to her or not.

Kade stood abruptly, reaching a hand toward Lana like she was his. “Come on, Little Rebel.” His eyes darkened for a brief moment before he rolled his shoulders. An obvious attempt to right whatever flared within him. I hadn’t missed the way his eyes changed every so often. “Raya is right, we will regroup when we can think more clearly in the morning.”

Lana’s eyes darted among the faces surrounding the fire. She settled on mine, searching for an answer to her silent question of whether I was all right. I’d given her that look more times than I could count growing up. Fates, I’d missed her so damn much. I wanted to let the others go and talk to her more about everything, but instead, I gave her a quick nod. She was losing too much too quickly. There would be plenty of time to talk and process this new hell together later.

“I’ll take the first shift,” Hale offered. “Jax, I can wake you in four hours for the next rotation, all right?”

With the plan in place, Lana and Kalliah walked toward their separate tents, escorted by Kade and his inky shadows. The others broke off as well, while I entered mine. Alone. I was sharing with Hale, but with him on watch, I would at least get a few hours of peace and quiet before he returned.

My head weighed heavily on my shoulders, and the exhaustion from escaping Ellevail, riding for days, and searching for the journal hit me harder than I cared to admit.

Last night, knowing Lana slept safely nearby allowed me to rest better than I had in a long time. The thought of her here still made the weariness easier to succumb to.

Lana was safe.

We were all together.

With that knowledge allowing a semblance of peace toenter my mind, my eyes were closed before my head even hit the ground.

I couldn’t be sure how long I slept, but a crushing, lingering weight tugged me from my dreams. My eyes flew open as hands closed around my throat, choking me.

My attacker wore a hood over their head, but I bucked my hips and thrust them forward. A surprised male voice grunted. His elbow landed next to my head as he balanced himself on top of me again, but I wasn’t that easy to disarm. I wrapped my leg around his and flipped him onto his back, slamming my forearm into his throat.

The hood fell to the grassy ground.

Hale.

“What are you doing?” I seethed. “Have you lost your mind?”

I released the pressure at his neck to allow him to gather himself, but as I searched his expression for some sort of answer, his gaze collided with mine.

Hale’s eyes glistened in midnight black.

“Hale?” I swallowed, knowing immediately something was off. “What is wrong with you?”

Hale stilled beneath me, and I leaned back slightly, giving him space to speak. But he jolted and caught me off guard, landing a punch square in my jaw.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” I asked angrily, standing and putting some distance between us.

Hale stared at me, wincing, his eyes flickering as the black lightened, revealing a sliver of his usual brown coloring. He fisted his hands by his side, clearly fighting some internal battle.

“I’m sorry,” he admitted hoarsely. As soon as the words were out, his eyes returned to the solid state of black.

Suddenly, a powerful magic washed over me, making it impossible for me to move. Another set of darkened eyes and red hair appeared before me, surrounded by full moonlight in the slit of the tent flaps.

Lord Casimir West chuckled eerily softly, only loud enough for me to hear.

“My, my, my, Captain Stronholm.” His eyes narrowing as a sly smile crept up his face. “We meet again.”

My lips remained sealed by whatever magic he used to overpower me. My shifting ability vanished. Without having to touch me, somehow my magic evaporated, leaving me unable to reach for the string of power connected to my soul.

Casimir crept the few paces toward me and kicked my paralyzed body to the ground. He ran his tongue over his teeth.

“Healers are a fascinating thing,” he said.

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