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“Like I got hit by a burning hot sledgehammer. Actually, though, I’m a lot better. And . . .” My thoughts went back to the image of Chrysandra, lying there, burned to a crisp and still alive. “I’m fine. I just need a little rest, but I’m fine.”
Shade wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me to him, my head resting on his shoulder. “I know. I know. Sometimes, you see something that never leaves you. Sometimes, there’s no way to erase a horror from your memory.”
“She was in so much agony. She hurt so fucking bad and they couldn’t do anything to stop it. The healers were just going to let her linger, mired in the pain, until she finally died. We couldn’t let that happen.” I began to cry, the tears finally coming as I leaned into his arms. “I wanted to take her soul, right there. But I couldn’t use my powers—Greta would have had my hide. I wanted to shift and let Panther rip out her throat—make it quick and easy.”
“You wanted to give her release.” Shade held me as the tears trailed down my cheeks. “I know. But healers have certain rules . . . they live by a code.”
“There comes a time when death is healing in itself.” I looked into his eyes. “Menolly killed her, and the healer let her do it. He knew. He knew that it would be a blessing. She had to finish what the arsonist started.”
“We do what we have to. Every rule has an exception. Nothing in this world is black and white—not even Shadow Wing. There’s always another side to the story, always another perspective. So, you know it was arson?”
“Not officially, not yet. But we know.” I told him about the letter and the phone calls. “We have no clue what’s going on. But somebody torched the place. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
“Fuck. Then we find who did it and we take care of them.” Shade gently placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back to stare in my face. “I have something to tell you. Perhaps this isn’t the best time, but I want you to be prepared.”
Nothing good ever came from the words “I want you to be prepared.” But Shade was stubborn and if he wanted to tell me whatever news it was, he would do just that.
“Okay . . . let’s have it. But I’m too tired to steel myself so if it’s really bad, be ready for me to go to pieces.” I waited.
“My sister is coming to visit next week. Her name is Lash. She wants to meet you.” The way he said it told me exactly what was going down. His family had heard about me and they were sending a scout to find out just who the hell I was.
Once again, my stomach lurched. I cleared my throat. “So . . . this is news, all right. Is she like you? Half shadow dragon, half shadow walker? Kind of helpful to know who my judge and jury is going to be.” I still had no clue what the Stradolans—the shadow walkers—were, Shade had always evaded my questions, but I wanted to know just who was going to be giving me the once-over.
Shade knew when I was being sarcastic and he bopped me gently on the nose with one finger. “Lash isn’t that bad. She’s not coming here to . . .” He stopped, then laughed. “All right, yes, she’s coming here to look you over, but I think you’ll like her. And I think she’ll like you. And yes, she is both shadow walker and shadow dragon. Though I came from an earlier clutch, so technically I’m her older brother.”
I kept my mouth shut, but inside, my stomach was a fluttering lek of butterflies. If she’d only showed up a week ago, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But now? With everything that had just gone down in the past day? Not so good. But I said nothing. I didn’t want to make Shade feel bad. Instead, I adjusted myself against the pillows and rested my arm on the back of the sofa. The wound hurt like hell, but it would heal. Best to just let this little blip alone till I was actually facing it. Or rather, her, as the case was.
“I hope she likes chaos. If she’s going to stay here, she’s going to be subject to a whole lot of it.”
Roz reappeared. “Nerissa took Menolly downstairs. I think she’s going to apply a little touch therapy, if you know what I mean. Menolly seemed a bit calmer by the time they headed to her lair.”
Just then, Camille dashed in. “Baby number one is here! Iris just had a little girl and everything looks lovely. I’ll be back as soon as baby number two arrives.” She vanished before we could say a word.
I looked up at Shade and, for the first time today, I laughed. “Go Iris!” A wave of relief washed over me as I realized that at least one thing was going right.
“For such a little thing, she has the strength of many men.” Shade broke out in a smile and I realized that I hadn’t been the only one worried about our Iris. Birthing twins—especially for first babies—was a rather daunting thought. But it was half over, and so far, so good.
“Iris is going to be such a mama bear to those babies. She’s scarier than all of us put together when she’s pissed.” And Iris also had some pretty incredible powers. We’d seen her turn someone inside out before with her magic. And while it wasn’t something she could do at the drop of a hat, she was not just any Finnish house sprite. She was also a high priestess of Undutar, with the tattoos and the scars—both physical and emotional—to prove it.
I scooted up, so I was resting half against the pillows, half against the back of the sofa, and took Shade’s hand. I was starting to feel sleepy, and as he caressed my fingers in silence, the idea of a quickie crossed my mind. But before I could say anything, weariness took over, and the toll of the wound hit me. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
• • •
The next thing I knew, I was blinking to a thin stream of sunlight flickering through the curtains. As I shifted position, trying to cover my eyes, I realized that Shade had carried me up to our bedroom. He had arranged me on the bed so I wouldn’t have a crick in my neck or lie on my injured hand or something that would have left me hurting when I woke up. I squinted against the glow, shaking my head as I yawned and rolled up to a sitting position.
Shade was in the recliner, his feet propped up, a soft smile playing around his lips as he watched me. He was wearing a black turtleneck, khaki cargo pants, and a golden hoop in one ear. A hunger in my belly woke up—it had been a couple days since we’d had a chance for sex. As I pushed back the blankets, my tank top brushed against my breasts, and I caught my breath. He noticed, and the soft smile turned seductive.
“Morning, pussycat.” And with that, he was sitting next to me, his arm around my waist. “Mmm, you’re all tousled and warm and soft.” His breath tickled against my ear and I turned so he could kiss me with those thick, gentle lips. As he pulled me to him, pressing me back against the tangled pile of covers and pillows, I wanted nothing more than to slip out of the pajama bottoms and draw him between my legs.
As I lingered in his kiss, a sudden thought struck me and I gently pushed him away. “Iris—how is she? Did she—”
“Have her other baby? Yes.” Shade laughed and helped me stand up. “And after you’ve had a shower and we’ve dressed your wound, you can go see the little mother and her twins. Those two have healthy lungs on them, that’s for sure. You must have been exhausted, to sleep through all of the racket we had after the boy came.”
“What did she name them?”
“I’ll let her tell you that. I don’t want to spoil her fun.” Shade disappeared into the bathroom. A moment later he returned with a plastic bag. “We’ll tape this around your hand. You don’t want to get that wound wet, except for when we clean it. We’re going to have to irrigate it. Camille gave me the instructions for your aftercare that the healers provided on your release.”
I hadn’t remembered that I’d been officially released. Too much had gone down with Chrysandra’s death, and Menolly’s meltdown. Shrugging out of my PJ bottoms and tank top, I padded toward the bathroom. As a rule, I took as quick showers as I could, and I never took baths. I detested water. The tabby cat side of me equated baths with punishments, but I also liked being clean and, except for the times when I was Tabby, I couldn’t very well groom myself with my tongue.
