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Glancing at him over my shoulder, I smile and give him a decisive nod. “I’m ready.”
Silas scrapes a hand through his hair and grimaces before asking, “So—uh—just out of curiosity, but is—” He hesitates, turns to Vae, and whispers, “What do I call it?”
Vae shrugs. “Your Highness?”
Daxen throws back his head and laughs. “It’s a Panther; it can’t understand you.”
Shade’s growl is low and menacing, and his golden eyes narrow on Dax.
“You know what?” Silas’s voice is higher than normal. “I’m gonna call him ‘Master’ just to play it safe.”
“His name is Shade,” I correct him.
Silas nods quickly. “Right, right. Shade, Master, Your Eminence. I’ll call him Daddy if he wants,” his laugh is strangled. “What I’m trying to ask is, is he coming with us, or…”
I rest my hand on top of Shade’s head. “No, he’s staying here.”
I crouch down to his eye level and run my fingers through his fur. “I’ve got to go somewhere. It’s important. But I’ll be back soon,” I tell him, confident he understands everything I’m saying. Caelan’s right; for reasons we don’t yet understand, ‘normal’ no longer applies.
“Why don’t you hunt in the forest for a while? Catch something good to eat while I’m gone.”
Shade blinks once, long and slow, then leans in and runs his prickly tongue up the side of my face, making me laugh. He butts his head against mine affectionately, then turns and takes off, loping gracefully toward the forest.
Once he’s about twenty yards away, he slows down long enough to glance back at me over his shoulder before breaking into a sprint and disappearing into the trees so quickly it’s almost like the shadows themselves swallow him whole.
I stand, swiping my palms across my thighs before taking Caelan’s extended hand and letting him pull me along behind him.
“I can’t believe we haven’t even left HQ yet and this is already the most eventful mission I’ve ever been on,” Vae mutters to Dax as they follow behind us toward one of the SUVs.
“Yeah,” Dax replies, but he doesn’t sound suspicious or mean. He almost sounds thoughtful.
Soren appears, falling into step beside me, and his hand lands on the back of my neck. Like I’ve been programmed to respond to the pressure of his fingers curling around my throat, I melt into the comfort of his touch.
One by one we all climb into the SUV, all except Daxen, who waits for the rest of us to pack in, filling every seat but the passenger seat in the front.
Once we’re all buckled in, Daxen rounds the front of the vehicle, opens the passenger door, and climbs in. When he reaches back for his seat belt, his eyes meet mine. It only lasts a few seconds, but for the whole ride to our destination, I can’t stop analyzing the genuine confusion and surprise I saw looking back at me. Almost like he was trying to shuffle around puzzle pieces, each one representing all the things about me he thinks he knows.
If Daxen’s starting to realize that the picture he’s painted of me in his head no longer aligns with reality, then I wish him luck in his search for answers. I may be trying to discover what and who I am as well, but I certainly won’t be going out of my way to provide him with the answers when I find them.
He’ll just have to be surprised like the rest of us.
Chapter 20
Idril
The stars are beautiful out here, away from everything. I can hear the ocean some distance away and smell the brine and salt of the sea. It’s been years since I’ve visited the ocean, despite living only an hour away.
“Alright?” Soren’s hand engulfs mine, and he gives it a gentle squeeze.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I reply, hoping he’ll do me the favor of ignoring the slight tremble in my voice.
“I want everyone to keep their eyes and ears open.” Gavran’s voice cuts through the dark night, and everyone stops what they’re doing to give him their attention. Another SUV pulls in behind ours, and I watch curiously as five males I’ve never met climb out.
I always forget that the compound houses more Bastards than just the seven who live at HQ.
“We’ll have three Bastards watching the perimeter. Two more stationed at the entrance to prevent anything from sneaking up on us. The rest will keep watch while the rest of us head toward the basement. Do not deviate from the plan we set at HQ. It’s straightforward, so no one should have any trouble sticking to the plan. Any questions?”
Silence.
