Page 65 of Guardian of Shadows

“Let’s see.” Her arrow landed close to center.

“Holy fuckballs,” Tony muttered under his breath.

“Holy hell, Elle,” Tessa shouted. Elle hadn’t noticed her or Gregor standing on the deck, watching. “Remind me never to piss you off.”

Elle grinned and waved at the couple.

At Tessa’s words, Harlow and Carleigh came outside. Carleigh jogged down the steps and didn’t stop until she reached Elle and Tony. “Do that again. I want to watch.” Elle did as she asked, and when she hit the bullseye, Carleigh whooped, Harlow whistled, and Tessa and Gregor applauded. Elle gave them a little curtsy.

Carleigh ran a fingertip down the curve of the bow. Elle held it out. “Want to try?”

“I’d love to, but maybe not from this distance.”

“You’ve trained with all types of weapons, C. This should be a piece of cake,” Harlow said.

“I don’t want to embarrass myself. Let’s move closer.” They stepped off about half the distance and stopped. Carleigh asked Elle for instructions, and when she thought she had it, she nocked an arrow, but before she got the string taut, the arrow fell off her finger. “Shit.” Carleigh huffed and tried again. After the fourth time, the arrow stayed put, and when she loosed it, it flew close to the target, barely missing. “This is harder than it looks, and I have Goyle strength. How do you do this? Not saying you’re weak, but damn, Elle.”

“Practice. Lots of practice.” It filled Elle with pride to be able to do something better than Tony’s cousin. Not that she didn’t like the female because she did. But Carleigh and the others were shifters with superior strength, along with exceptional eyesight and hearing. Not only that, but they had been training since they were little kids. Tessa and Harlow wanted in on the action, so for the next couple of hours, Elle taught them all, including Luna when she showed up, how to shoot. Tony and his dad retrieved the arrows for them. It was the most fun Elle could remember having in a long time.

When they finally broke for lunch, Tony angled his head toward Luna, grabbed the bow and quiver, then followed his parents into the house with Harlow at his side. Elle loved Luna’s style. Even in the cooler temperatures, she wore a long, flowing skirt topped with a long-sleeved tee. She took a step back, grinned at Elle, then shook out her bracelets into a bow that looked similar to Elle’s. “Now we have another weapon in our arsenal.”

Elle had forgotten all about what the bracelets were capable of, even when she put hers on every morning. “Do you and your sister ever take on interns?”

“Not really, but that’s because no one has ever shown interest in what we do. Are you interested?” Luna sent the bow back to her wrist in the form of jewelry, then twined her arm with Elle’s as they walked toward the house.

“I am. I still need to learn to read and write better, but I love making potions and elixirs.”

“Then consider yourself my apprentice.”

Just like that, Elle had something else to look forward to. The air swished behind them, and before she could turn, Luna pushed Elle behind her and was holding two wicked-looking daggers. At seeing who it was, Luna relaxed.

Thran and Yari, who instead of wearing jeans and sweaters, were dressed in their guardian uniforms. Both had pulled their swords. “Apologies for startling you,” Yari said. “It’s hard to announce yourself using a portal.” They sheathed their weapons and remained where they were until Luna unarmed herself.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t show up a few minutes sooner.” Elle gestured to the target. “We were shooting that direction. Maybe next time call first?”

“Definitely.” Thran bowed his head.

“Is Nekoma back?” Yari asked as she and Thran strode closer.

“Not yet, but he didn’t give a specific time. Come on. Let’s go inside. Gregor is preparing lunch.”

Thran rubbed his hands together. “I could eat.”

Once again, they hadn’t gone more than a few steps, when a portal opened behind them. Nekoma rushed through carrying two large bags. He tossed them down before stepping back through and disappearing.

“I’ll never get used to that,” Luna muttered.

Elle waved them on. “Go ahead and eat. I’ll wait for him to return.”

“Do you want me to wait with you?” Yari offered.

“No, thank you. He and I need to talk.”

While her siblings followed Luna inside, Elle unzipped her jacket and shrugged it off. She placed it on the ground well away from where the portal had materialized, not wanting Nekoma to accidentally open the next one too close. Elle sat down and waited.

Chapter 21

Anthony kept his attention on the back door, waiting for Elle to come inside. Luna and Elle’s older siblings had already fixed a plate and were seated with his parents and cousins. Luna had explained that Nekoma portalled in, tossed some bags down, then left again. After twenty minutes, he went to check on his mate. She was sitting on the ground, close to the deck.

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