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Leo’s steps faltered, but when he looked down at me, the pity in his eyes stung. “Whatever happens, don’t let that thing get that pendant.”
I shoved him again, and this time he did back up a step. “That’s my brother, Leo.”
“No, it’s not.”
With both hands firmly planted on him, I dared a glance over my shoulder. Matty was slumped on the shitty old dresser we used as an entertainment stand, with the busted TV wedged between his back and the wall.
He wasn’t moving.If he was some powerful demonic shadow, wouldn’t he be putting up more of a fight?
“Yes, it is.” I pushed, putting a decent amount of strength into it, trying to drive Leo back. “I get that Petra’s shadow is vying for the driver’s seat, but you’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’ll let you hurt him. And what the fuck is so goddamned special about the necklace anyway?”
“It holds the power of—”
“Lily.” Leo’s voice dipped low in warning. “Watch what you say.”
She glared at him, moving around to take up a position on the other side of Matty.
I shoved him again, and this time he did back up a step. “If she knows what it is, why wouldn’t she tell me? Better yet, why won’tyoutell me?”
His gaze seared into me. “It’s not for you to know.”
I turned my hopes on Lily. She might look like a stranger, but everything about her presence felt familiar. It created an unsettling conflict in my brain. “Come on.”
Instead of answering me, she narrowed her eyes at Leo. “Why can’t she know?”
“Lil, I need you to trust me on this.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake! I just dragged three of the four of us into my living room from another realm with this damned thing.” I yanked the chain free of my pocket and held it up. “What, do you want it for yourself? Do you think you can make it work better?”
The immature, petty part of me wanted to hurl that stone at him. To smash it to pieces. But I didn’t. If the shadow wanted it, that meant it still had power. Maybe, just maybe, it could do more than occasionally transport unsuspecting souls to a magical realm.
Oh, and functioning as a barely passable flashlight when it felt like it.
Leo opened his mouth to answer, but anything he might have said was lost to the pain that tore through me. It started in my low back and radiated deep into my middle. I stumbled forward, barely holding onto the necklace. A growl and a crash filled the space around me, and the look on Leo’s face turned positively violent.
He caught me by the upper arms before shoving me behind him. Another deafening crash rent the air, but I barely noticed. All my attention was focused on the thing sticking out of my back.
I reached behind me, almost blacking out from the pain that accompanied twisting around.Is that... my dagger?
My knees tried to give out, but I caught the edge of the couch and managed to keep myself mostly upright. The pain was no joke, but the way the thing felt wiggling inside me damned near made me sick.
I had enough sense to jam the pendant back into my pocket before I clenched my jaw, grabbed the handle of the knife, and pulled it free. A half-grunt/half-whimper slipped through my aching teeth.
I’d never been stabbed with my own knife before.One point to Petra’s shadow, I thought darkly.
I pressed my free hand to the wound, the contact and pressure sending a wave of fire radiating through me from the spot. The blade, now slick with my blood, slipped from shaky fingers, falling silently to the carpet.
Somewhere close, a body slammed into something solid, but I couldn’t tell what. My mind was still trying to process everything, only it was failing miserably thanks to the haze of pain clouding my thoughts.
Three different voices growled and snarled, and when I finally peeled my eyes open, I caught a glimpse of Lily sailing through the air.
Holy shit. She can fly, too?
That thought lasted the heartbeat it took for her to slam into the refrigerator and slump to the floor. “Nope,” I whispered to myself, swallowing against the broken, insane part of me that wanted to laugh.
Is this what shock feels like?The muddy thoughts, the inappropriate humor. It fit.
Blood leaked down my back and leg in a thick, hot stream.
