AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shadows weren’t the most forgiving magical creatures.
The shade would have ripped Amy’s throat out if Gia hadn’t stopped her.
It had all been a trap.
Gia had expected it, and had been watching. It had hurt all the same. If it hadn’t been for those gut-deep instincts, she didn’t know if she’d have been able to save herself.
But she’d trusted her instincts her whole life. So when something had whispered she watch Amy, that was what she’d done.
The plan had been for Amy to signal those in the compound so Gia could be grabbed. Amy was unaware of just how complex Gia’s magic, hadn’t realized Gia had suspected her...nor had she realized Gia might save the boy.
Once the shade whispered of a boy child, everything had changed.
Gia didn’t know what to do with the woman but she wouldn’t leave a child behind, and she couldn’t find in herself to leave Amy behind to those who’d kidnapped a child to use against his mother, either.
“Something’s coming,” he said in a high, clear voice. There was no intonation—his affect was flat in way Gia had never witnessed in a child.
Behind her, Amy was suddenly scrambling, wrenching at the grip Gia’s shadow held on her as she tried to get her eyes on her son.
“Wyn? You feel something?”
“Yes.”
Gia’s shadow tightened her grasp. “Tell her to stop fighting before I break one of her bones.”
“Don’t,”Gia told her shade, turning to look at them both, her focus sharpening on Amy.
The shade didn’t hesitate or question, simply going still and Amy sucked in a couple of deep breaths before focusing on Gia, her face pale and tight.
“You have to listen to him,” Amy said, her voice urgent. “His father had Fae blood. Didn’t let him do much, but he had that inner eye some people talk about. Wyn has it, too. That’s one of the reasons they’ve kept him alive. He’s like their early warning system.”
Wyn stared out into the night.
Hunkering by him, Gia touched Wyn’s shoulder. “Wyn?”
He swung his gaze around to meet hers. “What?”
“You said something’s coming. Is it...” She hesitated, not sure what to call the people who’d held him captive. He’d been locked inside a small internal room, caged, but there had been a couple of toys, a video game system, a television. His clothes were clean and it was obvious they’d been feeding him.
Wyn cocked his head, his dark blue eyes glinting in the night. For a moment, they took on a reflective cast, almost like a cat’s.
“It’s not them.” He blinked and looked back over his shoulder. “It’s big. Whatever it is. I’ve never felt anything like it. No. He. Not it. He. He’ll scare the others away.”
Well, that’s not exactly reassuring. Gia slanted a look at her shadow. The shade had moved to the very edge of the trail, staring down the steep cliff face.
Amy had set Gia up. Returning to her vehicle hadn’t been an option, but Gia was tougher than any human in the compound, even with a human and a small hybrid in her care.
The only concern would be the monster hiding in the midst of humans, but she had dealt with worse.
She could carry Wyn and her shade could move far faster with Amy than anybody could imagine. Amy wouldn’t enjoy the lift, but they could put plenty of distance between themselves and human pursuers.
But the way Wyn kept looking over his shoulder at the sky...
Gia rose and held out her hands to Wyn. He came to her without question, even wrapping his arms around her neck. Amy opened her mouth, then closed it, blinking away what might have been tears.
Not letting that affect her, Gia looked at her shadow and nodded.
A second later, Amy’s entire form was obscured by the shade.
