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His eyes were a familiar bright yellow … a color of eyes I'd seen nowhere but my own reflection.
"Ah — it's nice to meet you," I said, leaning down to get a better look. "You have such unusual eyes."
Finn smiled, front four teeth missing, then held his hands out like claws and let out a low growl. "Gramps says they mean I'll be a strong shifter someday. Grrr."
Ha. Unlikely. It was probably just a recessive trait the boy and I shared.
"Gramps says we body mages can't shift into anything but wolves anymore, but one day, I'm going to shift into a dragon. I'm sure of it."
The old man crossed his arms and shook his head, patient smile twisting his lips.
"Hey, it could happen," the little boy said, sticking his chest out. "Grammy says it could, and she said this is one thing you know gremlyn-shit about."
The older man tsked and playfully nudged the little boy's shoulder. "What have I said about using that kind of language?"
Finn giggled and jumped away. "I didn't say it. Grammy did, and she's your ma, so it's okay!"
My lips twitched despite myself.
"Anyways. We have a run tonight," the older man said, meeting my eyes before stepping out the door and motioning for the boy to follow. "If you'd like to join us, we can keep an eye out for your mate. If you washed up here, she's likely nearby and searching for you, too. Mate bonds are strong! Just about take over your mind." He chuckled. "Bring something of hers along for us to scent, and we'll keep an eye out."
I nodded slowly, mind racing. I needed them to find the witch, but not ask why I couldn't shift.
How was I going to manage that?
Chapter 39
Tye
Alpha Blackwood led the way to dinner a few hours later. I followed him through winding hallways and down stone stairs, praying I'd be able to find my way back later. Occasionally, the glow of the sunset would shine through a slim window. But when I looked out, the only things visible were vines and leaves or more stone walls.
This place had an ancient feel, but it seemed to be well maintained, and the way servants scurried around carrying trays of food said they weren't starving.
Could they somehow have developed a Forsaken civilization of some sort?
"Probably seems strange to mainlanders," the old man said, interrupting my thoughts as he leaned close. The scents of the forest, machine oil, and moonlight came with him.
Could someone even smell like moonlight? It seemed unlikely, but at least it wasn't a terrible smell. More than I could say for most of the people in the Capital, at least.
We finally passed through large doors into a massive room, and my jaw dropped.
I couldn't help but be impressed by the massive hall of white stone. And was that — holy hells!
I gestured toward a pipe running along the wall beside me. "What are those for?"
The man's brown eyes lit up as he gestured toward it. "This is one of my creations. The pipes form a network that carries water throughout the compound so everyone can have fresh water whenever they'd like.
There are similar ones in most of the buildings here.
Everyone thought I was crazy when I put them in a few years ago, but I swear they'd revolt if they had to go back to carrying buckets for bath water!" He chuckled softly.
Fascinating!
The Empire said that the Isle was backwards, deadly, and primitive. Yet this place had amenities that few in the Empire enjoyed.
I walked up and pressed my hand to the warm metal. "It's heated?"
He nodded. "That was trickier. But I think we found the right temperature now. It just means managing the pumps and heaters, but with the growth of the pack, that hasn't been as hard as I feared. Though the pups aren't always excited about helping me out." He ran a hand over his hair. "I don't blame them, though. It's hard work."
