Shadow made her way to the kitchen after Nik left, already missing him.
Soft laughter echoed in her mind. I can hear your thoughts, agápi. I’ll be back before you know it, and I’ll make it up to you.
Can’t wait. She huffed out a laugh. She loved this connection between them, feeling his warmth inside her, his amusement. She didn’t feel so lonely anymore.
Shadow walked into the spacious but rowdy kitchen, rich with the aroma of coffee and the evening meal. All the women were there except for Ely.
Darci set her cup down and rose from the table. “I’ve got a few things to do. Michael’s gotten some old scrolls he wants cataloged and put away. I’ll see you later.”
“We’ll join you.” Kira glanced up. “Shadow!” she cried, jumping and hurrying over. “When did you get back?”
Smiling, Shadow shut the door behind herself. “A little while ago.”
“C’mon, sit.” Kira practically dragged her to a chair and parked herself on the seat next to Shadow. “What happened with you and Nik? Tell us, tell us!”
“I’m so sorry about her,” Echo said, plonking herself on Shadow’s other side. “She can’t help herself. She’s soooo nosy.” Her mismatched eyes sparkled. “Now tell us what happened when you got to Romania.”
“Yes, do.” Darci grinned, sitting again.
And just like that, the lingering tension, the frustration, the sense of helplessness faded. Shadow burst out laughing. She missed the affinity she found with the girls, their easy banter.
“Was Nik mad?” Shae asked from across the table.
Hedori, who’d just walked into the kitchen, smiled in greeting. “Would you like something to eat?”
“Yes, please,” she answered him, and to the girls, she said, “Nik told me to leave.”
Mouths dropped open, then snapped shut.
Kira waved it off. “But you didn’t. It’s been two days.”
Shadow set her new cell phone on the table. “I wasn’t going to let him tell me what to do.”
“Good for you.” Echo nodded.
“Well, long story short, I can now do this.” She summoned her obsidian dagger because it was so pretty, and it didn’t make her skin itch like her iron blade did, and she loved it. Moreover, the weapon said everything, so she didn’t have to go into the whole story. They would know.
The moment the obsidian took form in her hand, shrieks of excitement erupted.
“Our numbers grow. Soon we’ll no longer be the minority,” Shae said with a warm smile.
Hedori set a plated meal in front of her. A chicken breast oozing with some kind of herb, bacon, and cheese stuffing, and a side of mixed veggies.
Shadow left the dagger on the table. As she ate, she filled the girls in about Tolvi, about him marking her, but she left out Nik’s confession about his past, and ended with the hellhound hunting them.
“And you sliced that thing’s belly?” Darci asked, eyes wide, all thoughts of cataloging scrolls apparently forgotten. “Wow, you are brave.”
“No, I wasn’t when facing the creature.” Shadow grimaced, eating another bite of chicken. “After it tossed Race and Nik aside, it was me or it. So, I attacked.”
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Kira said, then she scrunched her face. “I hate fighting of any sort.”
Shadow smiled. “I don’t mind—”
“Great,” both Echo and Shae said in unison, then laughed. “We’re always looking for sparring partners,” Echo added.
As Shadow finished her meal, a surge of heat swamped her, as if she had a fever. Sweat beaded her brow and chest. Crap. Now what? The sensation just grew. She set her cutlery down and stood. “Excuse me.”
“Is everything okay?” Kira asked, her gaze skimming over her.
Darn, she didn’t want to worry them. She forced a smile and nodded. “I need to make a call.”
Cell in hand, Shadow hurried out through the open French doors and into the soothing, crisp night. Inhaling deep gulps of air, she rubbed her chest, then her throat, trying to calm down. This sense of asphyxiation gripping her wasn’t good. She scrubbed the goosebumps from her arms, then blinked.
In the dark, a faint glimmer shimmered beneath her skin. How odd. She rubbed the glow, but it remained. Another anomaly? Was it because she’d finally nourished her symbionts to full strength instead of just stolen bits of feeding? As the heat within her subsided, thankfully, the glow dissipated.
Shadow pushed her cell in her skirt pocket and glanced about her. Eerie amber eyes stared unwaveringly at her from between the potted herbs on the kitchen terrace.
“Hey, there,” she whispered, going on her haunches and holding out her hand to Bob. After a moment’s hesitation, the huge, furry gray coon cat with the ginger ruff slowly prowled over, only to stop a short distance from her. Then, giving Shadow an insultingly wide berth, he waddled off into the kitchen. Man, even the animals didn’t trust her with the demon blood inside—
Rage shimmered through her, so chillingly icy in its intensity, she shot to her feet, her heart careening in her chest. Something was wrong—Nik?
Nik! she yelled through their telepathic link. Please, please talk to me…
Nik trawled the underground tunnels with Aethan, scouting for demon activity, the drip-drip-plink of water resounding in the dense silence.
“We’re doing this blind, with nothing except for Shadow’s descriptions of Tolvi,” Aethan said.
Nik stopped dead. Dammit. How could he forget? He must be losing his mind.
Dag, I need your help, he telepathed the warrior as he whipped out his cell and shot a message to Hedori. Do you have Shadow’s ruined shirt from when she got hurt?
Yes, Hedori texted.
Thank fuck Hedori hadn’t tossed it out. Bring it to me.
A moment later, Dagan materialized, and Aethan cocked a brow.
“Dagan will probably get a better clue about the demon,” Nik explained. “The blood on Shadow’s shirt from when Tolvi hurt her will help. Hedori’s bringing her top to us.”
Nik was glad he didn’t have to do this at the castle, sparing Shadow from reliving her torture under the demon’s hand.
Hedori took form a moment later and handed Nik the shirt.
“Thanks. See if you can pick up anything from this, where exactly his lair is.” Nik passed the top to Dagan.
The warrior’s abilities were unparalleled in picking up past deeds when he held a related item.
“It’ll be through her thoughts and sight, unless he touched her,” he warned.
Jaw hard, Nik gave a stilted nod.
Dagan moved the material around in his hand then stroked the torn edges. Seconds passed…
“Best I get back,” Hedori murmured. “I left Lore watching over the castle for a bit, much to Echo’s excitement. She calls it a siesta from the Grim Reaper. Lore wasn’t amused.”
Aethan snorted, and with a smile, Hedori dematerialized.
Nik didn’t expect anything else. Hedori was as protective over all their mates as they were.
He glanced around the underbelly of the city that Shadow had called home, grateful she would no longer traipse around in this place, then back at his friend. “Anything?”