Page 35 of Cast in Shadow
“I’m sorry. Beyond fucking sorry. For everything.”
“Five seconds.”
“Senna.”
“Four.”
“Wait.”
“Three.”
“Just talk to?—”
“Senna!” Shay’s high-pitched cry cut through our standoff, and I turned to see her running toward me with her dirty blond hair flying and a wild look in her hazel eyes.
I collapsed the energy ball into nothing, absorbing the power back into my palm and distributing it through my body a split second before she crashed into me.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I whispered through a tight throat as I pulled her into a protective hug. Her arms came around me like little pythons, squeezing so tight it took effort to breathe. “Are you okay?”
Her whole body trembled uncontrollably, and when her hot tears hit my neck, my magic surged within me, pressing against my skin until it felt like it might tear through.
Emerson was watching us, a mixture of emotions flashing across his strong features, not the least of which was understanding. He was just figuring out how important Shay was to me.
I slammed my eyes shut and pulled back from the ribbon, silently thanking it for its help. When I opened them again, Nguyen was there, limping forward, holding his left arm tight against his side. His face was a mess of bruises and bloody scrapes, and the gash over his left eye was still dripping blood.
Words refused to form in my throat at the sight of him, but when he met my gaze, he nodded, answering my unspoken question. He might look a little rough, but they hadn’t done any permanent damage. Nothing a shift and a few thousand calories couldn’t fix.
When he was safely by my side, I peeled Shay’s arms from around my middle and gently nudged her toward him. He would protect her with his life, but right now I just needed to get them both away from here.
I dug my keys out of my pocket, pulled my gun from my waistband, and pressed them both into his right hand. “Take her home.”
His jaw ticked. I could see he wanted to argue, but Shay beat him to it.
“What? No. You’re not?—”
“You don’t need to be here for this,” I said flatly.
“I’m not going anywhere without you,” she said.
I released a tired breath and tried not to aim the fury that was crawling across my skin at her. “I’ll be fine.” I forced myself to soften, meeting her gaze like I would on any other day, in any other situation. “I just need to have a talk with Emerson.”
“No.” She shook her head, reaching out for me. The hurt in her eyes when I backed away cut deep. Still, she was as stubborn as they came. “I’m not leaving.”
“This is not a request, Shay. You need to leave, now.” She could hate me later. I just needed to know she was safe.
I had no idea what the next few minutes or hours would hold for me. Especially if Emerson let the others question me. I risked a quick glance at the alley to gauge the mood the others were in, but someone was missing. “Where’s Phineas?”
Emerson and Jabiah turned at the same time, seeing what I saw. Phineas, the ancient being who had supposedly witnessed his brother’s eviction from our realm firsthand, was gone.
14
“Nguyen,” I said, keeping my eyes on Emerson, silently daring him to disappear like his brother in arms. “The Jeep is around the corner. Take Shay and get the hell out of here.”
She tried to argue again, but she was cut off by some not so gentle coaxing before her irritated yell echoed off the grime covered walls lining the alley. “Put me down you big dumb bear!”
In another situation, that would have made me smile. Now, I was just grateful he’d followed my orders without questioning me.
Nguyen knew better than anyone what I could do, even if he didn’t know the full extent of my abilities or where my power came from. That secret was part of the reason I rarely worked with a team out in the field. If something ever did go wrong with my magic, I didn’t want anyone I cared about anywhere near me when it happened.
