Page 189 of Shadowblood Souls
How can we know which side has our best interests more at heart?
What if neither of them does?
Zian stiffens, more fur sprouting along his shoulders as he does. “A few more guardians just came in. One of them was carrying something—it looked like a gun, but I’ve never seen one that big.”
A shiver ripples through my body. Our time is running out.
As if to add emphasis to that suspicion, the man hollers at us one more time, sounding a little impatient. “You can’t trust them. They’ll use you and spit you out. Make the smart choice and end this now.”
The slight edge in his voice raises my hackles.Use us and spit us out—isn’t that exactly what the guardians have done all these years?
Why am I even considering believing a single thing they’d say?
The shadowkind might not have the exact standards of morality I’d prefer, but only one of them has actually tried to hurt us. The rest, as far as I can tell, have genuinely been trying to help, whether I’ve liked their advice or not.
Footsteps are starting to scrape across the concrete now.
I suck in a breath, my heart thumping, and turn to the guys. “I think we know who our real allies are, even if they’re not perfect. We can’t do this alone.”
The guys all nod except Andreas, who hesitates. Then he tips his head too with a grimace.
The second I get his acceptance, I spin toward Rollick. He’s waving off the massive green-skinned man, turning on his heel as if he’s going to leave too.
Shit.
“Wait!” I burst out, darting over. “We—we can’t fight them off alone. We still need your help.”
Rollick halts and raises his eyebrows at me. “You want to throw in your lot with the monsters who’ll steal your souls?”
I make a face at the wry note in his voice. “We’re more like you than we are like them. Please. I don’t know how we’re going to get through this without you.”
Rollick makes a gesture, and a few more shadowkind materialize around us. A quiver runs through my veins with the sense that there are definitely several more lurking unseen.
“What exactly do you want us to do?” he asks. “Our methods aren’t necessarily pretty.”
My guys have come up behind me. “Give those assholes everything they deserve,” Jacob says in a caustic tone.
“But not the young ones,” I jump in with a skip of my pulse. “The teenagers—they’re like us. They’re being forced. Just—just scare them off. The guardians knew what they were getting into. I don’t care what you do to them.”
Rollick nods. “Fine. Let’s get this done before it turns into an even bigger mess.”
“Do you want—” Andreas starts.
The shadowkind near us have already leapt into the shadows. I gulp a breath—and then the chaos starts.
There’s a clang and a crunch of smashed bone. Shouts that sound more panicked than irritated bounce through the garage.
By the entrance way, the figures scatter, dark shapes rearing in their midst.
A clawed hand severs a helmet-clad head right off its neck. Electricity crackles through the air, and two bodies seize up in spasms.
The smell of burnt flesh reaches our noses. My stomach churns.
“Should we… go help them?” Zian says with an uncertain expression.
Dominic shakes his head. “I think we might just get in the way.”
We thought we were skilled fighters, but we’ve got nothing on these, well, monsters who can leap in and out of shadows and wield their powers and supernatural strength with total confidence.
