Page 74 of All the Devils are Here

In the distance, I spied a ripple. What was that?

It grew, spreading and widening, like the trail following a boat. As it grew closer, I saw the way the water writhed in it the wake. It reminded me of a swirling frenzy of fish.

That’s exactly what it was.

Toward a central point they gathered, churning the water and making it choppy and chaotic. I couldn’t quite see what they were.

I crept closer to the edge.

A group of birds flew overhead into the sunset, and a flash of violet light sliced through one, making it fall. Out of the water, a creature launched itself into the air, and my feline body froze in recognition of the danger.

Sharks.

So many sharks in the water. I’d never seen anything like it. The island very well may have called every shark in a hundred miles to this one spot.

The blood of the bird was spreading in the water, creating even more of a frenzy. More birds fell, creating nothing but carnage. It was the kind of sight that was once in a lifetime, and the kind of thing nothing could come back from if they were caught in the middle.

Just death.

I turned and sprinted, not worrying about sound or scent. Only speed. Distance disappeared beneath my feet, my lungs raw even in this form as I forced my body to nearly break itself and its limits.

There. The house was there. I crashed through the door just as I saw Meg disappear into a glimmer of magic, and I was moving too quickly to stop as I shifted. They all looked at me, and I huffed out the only word that mattered.

“Sharks.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

____________

MEGHAN

The soup was delicious. And Trin made sure I ate all of it.

There may have been some extra motivation, since he wrapped all of his arms around me and kissed me in different places every time I took a few bites. It took way longer than it should have because of that.

“You can’t bribe me to eat every time,” I said. “And I don’t need to be bribed when the food is this good.”

“Who says I’m bribing you?” He asked, the bowl lifted out of my hand by one tentacle and placed on the nearby table. “Maybe I’m just enjoying my mate.”

Heat unfurled and stretched within me, enjoying the way he wrapped around me further. I very much wanted to find out what else his tentacles could do, but I also couldn’t focus on anything because it felt like time was sliding through my fingers too fast. Toward the inevitable.

Though Trin was still in his true form, we were on the couch. Close enough to the water for him toalmostreach it.

Ban had been gone a long time.

I looked down at my hands, and already the purple magic was advancing. It didn’t feel like anything, but it looked like I was slowly absorbing this through the air. If this color were used for a tattoo, it might be beautiful.

“Why is it so pretty if it’s so dangerous?” I murmured.

Trin tightened his hold on me. “No matter what, we will find you. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

“But—” Fear seized me. That was why they’d mentioned bonding to me. If they did, they’d know where I was. But they weren’t going to force me before I was ready. Was I ready? I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t ready to die. “You won’t know where to find me.”

“No,” he admitted. “But we know this island and your scent. We will find you, mate.”

I smiled at the name. “It’s so weird.”

“Why?”

---