Page 44 of Storm Echo

It took everything he had to stay on the topic. This was important to her, and he would finish it before the spider took control. “The Ryder home is on the edge of the territory, and while access to it isn’t open, it’s far easier to get to than any other part of the territory.”

He was in no doubt that DarkRiver had guards everywhere, however. Leopards were masters of stealth.

Again—exactly like Mercants.

“DarkRiver allows anyone to seek Tamsyn’s help?” Disbelief in every syllable.

“Word on the street is that while she doesn’t run an open practice, she’ll stitch you up or treat you if you turn up on her doorstep—doesn’t matter if you’re Psy, human, or changeling.”

Ivan had been as surprised as Soleil when he’d unearthed that fact. Changelings had a reputation for being closed units; they were so powerfulbecausethey were so untrusting of outsiders and so protective of their own. In many ways, the Mercant family functioned exactly the same. No one got into their family without significant background checks and extreme vetting.

No one but the people with whom Ena Mercant’s grandchildren kept falling in love.

Ivan wondered what she’d think of his cat, then immediately squelched the possessive thought. Soleil wasn’t his, could never be his. Not if he wanted her to have any kind of a life. There could be no cubs for Ivan, no colorful sparkling existence in the outside world.

Monsters lived in the dark.

“DarkRiver,” he said past the crushing truth of that thought, “is seen as the protector of this entire city. Any local-body politicians have far less sway than the pack, though the pack doesn’t appear to wield that power for political gain. It’s a complicated situation.”

“You’re sure you can get us to their home?” Soleil rubbed her palms on her tights again, then lifted her hands to the soft beauty of her hair and began to braid it. “You can drop me off close by, and I’ll sneak up in my ocelot form.”

He stored away another memory, of her fingers so nimble in her hair. It was the kind of thing a woman might do in front of her mate. He’d never hold that position, but no one could begrudge him such a small theft. Of but a moment.

“Leopard guards will eat you before you see them coming.”

A rumble from Soleil’s throat, a reminder that she was far from helpless. “I’ve been keeping myself alive on my own for a long time.”

Ivan went to reply, was cut short by a sudden wave of memory in his mind. But … they weren’t his memories. A tall and thin body wove through a large crowd, contained and alone andhurting.

Alone. Alone. Alone.

It was a pounding internal beat alongside the noise of the crowd, the brush of arms and shoulders as people moved past, the high shrieks of a little girl who rode on her father’s shoulders.

Not his memories. Hers.

Chapter 22

Access to the severed section of the PsyNet has so far proved impossible to gain. Multiple attempts have been made by various parties across the Psy spectrum, including from Designation A and Designations Tk-V and E. All have failed.

—Message to the rest of the Ruling Coalition from Kaleb Krychek

THE QUEEN OF the Scarabs took in her domain.

The barriers she’d designed were holding, the ring of dead space around the island a total psychic emptiness.

Excellent.

No one that she didn’t bring in would be able to set foot on this island. It was now the perfect space for her to test her long-term plans. Because she did not intend to reign only over a single small island.

This was just the beginning of her conquest of the PsyNet and her attendant subjugation of its populace. “Step by step,” she murmured as endless power rippled through her web, her Scarabs small infernos of energy. “Piece by piece. It will all fall.Theywill all fall.”

Chapter 23

Your pack is the heart. The alphas who fuck up are the ones who start to think they’re the most important element of a pack.

—Lucas Hunter, alpha of DarkRiver, to Remington “Remi” Denier, alpha of RainFire

“I’LL BITE YOU if you keep ignoring me.” A threat made in a sharp tone of voice that cut through the sudden vision that had hit Ivan—of moving through a crowd wrapped in a cloak of aloneness.

---