Bloodrose

NINE

PLANS FOR RETRIEVING Eydis-the water hilt-were already in motion. The Roving Academy’s halls were buzzing with excitement. Even the threads in the walls seemed to sparkle a bit brighter, as if lit with hope after our successful retrieval of the first sword.

“Eydis is in the Yucatán.” Ren was walking beside me after dinner. “They’re setting up our staging ground with the Eydis Guide-her name is Inez. The hideout is in Tulúm. Anika thinks we all need a good night’s sleep before making the next strike. So we’re leaving tomorrow afternoon.”

“Not the morning?” I asked.

He shook his head. “She said something about the tides not being right. I didn’t quite follow.”

“So I guess you’ve become the Guardian point person for the Searchers,” I said. “Nice work, alpha.”

“Thanks.” He smiled, but caught me with a sidelong glance. “That okay with you?”

“It’s who you are,” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. “And the more Searchers that trust us, the better.”

“Agreed.”

In the space of hours we’d been back, I’d already noticed the change rippling through the Academy. Prior to the strike on Tordis most Searchers had eyed me with curiosity at best, outrage at worst. Now that outrage had become curiosity while the curiosity had grown into outright admiration. A few Searchers had even stopped me in the hall to thank me for joining them. I was a little thrown by all of it.

Ren stopped walking; I frowned at him and then realized we were standing in front of my door.

“This is you,” he said in a tight voice. I wondered how he knew where my room was. Had he just noted my lingering scent at this spot, or had he taken the time to find out where I was staying?

“Sleep, huh?” I avoided his gaze. “Well, I’m exhausted, so I’ll be happy to follow Anika’s orders.”

“Calla, I have to ask you something.”

My heart started to climb up my throat. I forced myself to look at him. “Yeah?”

He fixed me with a hard stare. “Let me come.”

“What?” I managed to choke out only that word. Come where? In the room? To sleep with me? My hands began to shake.

“Tomorrow,” he said. “Anika’s mission only has one team and she told me you’re leading it because you’re the one Shay trusts.”

“Oh!” I laughed as my stomach stopped flipping. “I guess…”

“What?” He looked puzzled when I hesitated.

It was my turn to stare him down. “I need to know if I can trust you.”

He leaned against my door. I couldn’t tell if he was hurt or angry. Or both.

“You don’t trust me.”

“With Shay,” I finished.

His jaw clenched, but he didn’t speak.

“Shay is the Scion.” I kept my voice steady. “He’s the central part of the mission. If he gets in trouble, I need to be sure…”

He pushed himself off the door, glaring at me. “You think I would intentionally let Shay get hurt? Or that I might hurt him myself?”

“You’ve threatened him before.” I could barely stop myself from shouting. When it came to Shay, all my defensive instincts kicked in with a fury. “More times than I can count!”

“That’s different, Calla.” His voice was growing louder too, gaining a few glances from Searchers passing in the hall. “That’s here. That’s about us. War has different rules. I would never-”

He stopped speaking, fists clenched, and took a deep breath. “I would never risk someone as important as the Scion in the field.” He spit the words. “I understand what’s at stake.”

I forced my temper down, swallowing its bitterness. I knew he was speaking the truth. “Fine. I believe you. You can come.”

Ren’s fists were still balled up; the veins in his forearms throbbed. I reached out, but he pulled away.

“Don’t.” He didn’t meet my eyes.

It felt like he’d punched me in the gut, and part of me wished he had. I’d rather fight with Ren than see this loss written on his face.

“Ren,” I whispered. “I’m glad you want to come. I need you tomorrow.”

He turned to look at me, and I caught a sudden flare in the darkness of his eyes. “Only tomorrow?”

I swallowed hard, not able to break from his gaze but not able to speak either.

One corner of his mouth twitched into a crooked smile. He reached up, placing his fingers under my jaw so lightly I could barely feel the touch.

“Thanks, Lily.” His fingers moved up over my chin to rest on my lips. His other hand took mine; it wasn’t until he was gazing at my fingers that I realized his thumb was circling the sapphire of the ring I wore. The ring he’d given me. “Good night.”

He turned and walked down the hall. I watched until he was out of sight, wondering where his room was and pretending I wasn’t wondering about where his room was. I leaned against my door, turning the knob, and let myself fall rather than walk into the room. These missions, this work of remaking the world, made for a weariness like nothing I’d felt before. It wasn’t just the physical strain, it was the weight of emotion that we shouldered on this path. And Shay shouldered the most weight of all. As I collapsed onto my bed, I wondered if he was okay. He’d been shuttered with Anika and Silas most of the day, reviewing the lore of the Elemental Cross. After that, he’d gone with Ethan, Connor, and Adne for more combat practice. He had one of the swords now, and they’d wasted no time getting him used to the new weapon.

Had he finished? Was he in his own room now, like me, staring up at a night sky so clouded that you couldn’t see any stars or even a hint of moonlight? A part of me wanted to go to him, to find him in his room like I had last night. Sleeping with his body curled next to mine offered a sense of comfort unlike any other, and lying in bed without him provoked an ache deep within me. I rolled out of bed, taking a few steps toward the door before growling my frustration and flinging myself back on the mattress. Twisting blankets around me like a cocoon, I dug my fingers into the coverlet. I couldn’t go to Shay now, no matter how magnetic his pull seemed. And he hadn’t come looking for me, which stung more than I wanted to admit.

My heart and mind were constantly chasing conflicting impulses. I didn’t want to seek out one or the other of the two alphas only to slink away from his bed the next morning. Last night with Shay had been selfish, and I couldn’t indulge those tendencies any longer. Especially since Ren had proven his value to the Searchers today. I hadn’t been lying to him-I needed him tomorrow. Beyond that… I couldn’t go there. Not yet.

I didn’t remember falling asleep, but I woke in a tangle of sheets that showed me how restless the night had been. Bleary-eyed and more than a little cranky, I decided the best solution was a long shower. The added possibility of an omelet overfilled with the abundance of the Searchers’ garden managed to perk me up a little.

Despite the trudge to the baths, the facilities were impressive. I stood under a wide spout that drenched me in warm water, the pressure not unlike a waterfall. Using the salt scrub I’d picked out-one of many washes and oils lined up in etched-crystal containers on slender teak shelves outside the showers-I scoured myself, trying to wash away lingering sleep. The scent of lavender and mint that infused the scrub helped; there were a variety of scents among the jars. All of which carried the freshness of flowers and herbs. Clearly the Academy gardens provided more than just food and medicinal creations for the Searchers. Bryn must have been overjoyed by this bounty-I was surprised she wasn’t in the baths all day.

Stepping out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and headed back toward the room where I’d stowed my clothes. When I stepped out of the thick steam into the open space between the baths and the changing rooms, I froze. For a moment I wondered if I was dreaming, but the water dripping from my hair onto my shoulders and collarbone told me I wasn’t.

“Hey.” My heart leapt into my throat. Ren was standing in front of me, his chest bare. He finished securing a towel low around his hips, and a pile of clothes lay folded on a chair next to him. He glanced back at the door to the baths. “Did I… uh… is this a girls’ bathroom? I was here yesterday and I didn’t see… uh…”

“There are separate dressing rooms over there.” I laughed despite the awkwardness. “I think the Searchers just share the showers.”

“How progressive of them.” Ren grinned. His eyes slid over my water-slick limbs. “You look squeaky clean, Lily.”

“Yeah.” I inched toward the dressing room door. Unfortunately that meant getting closer to Ren. I could smell the warmth of his skin, the spicy scent of his sweat mixing with the lavender-tinged oil that lingered on my skin. “I’ll get out of your way.”

“You could stay.” He caught my arm, turning me toward him. His smile curved wickedly. “Wash my back.”

I was having a hard enough time not staring at Ren’s front. Meeting his eyes didn’t make it any easier. “You know I can’t.”

“Do I?” he said, pulling me closer. “Because I’m pretty sure I don’t know that.”

“Stop.” I didn’t trust myself. There was far too much steam rising from the thermal pools and far too little fabric covering our bodies.

He released me with a sigh. The devilish smile vanished, leaving his features drawn.

“I don’t blame you for doing it,” he said, though he dropped his head back to lean against the wall, staring at the ceiling instead of looking at me. “I deserve it. After what I did to you.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“For choosing him… I don’t blame you.”

“I didn’t choose him,” I said, backing toward the dressing room door. “I told you both, I’m not making a choice while we’re at war.”

He looked straight at me, and it was like an arrow in my chest. “That’s not what I meant.”

Despite the heat of the room, my skin prickled with goose bumps. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t blame you for choosing him to be your first.” He sounded more sad than angry.

My limbs were trembling. I didn’t speak, but he pulled a question out of my gaze.

“Sabine told me.”

“She didn’t have the right-”

“You shouldn’t be mad at her,” he said, laughing darkly. “She chewed me out. Told me I’d lost you. That I was basically an arrogant moron and I deserved whatever I got. And that didn’t include you.”

I tore my gaze from him. “That’s not really about you. She’s been upset ever since-”

“Cosette,” he said. “I know. After she was done yelling at me, we ended up talking. She’s broken up about it. I can’t blame her. I wish Dax and Fey were here.”

“If it weren’t sad, it would be funny,” I said, leaning on the wall next to him.

“How’s that?”

“Fey and Dax were our strongest warriors,” I said. “But in the end they were too afraid to fight for themselves.”

Ren nodded.

“I didn’t sleep with Shay to get back at you.” I spoke so quietly I didn’t know if Ren had heard me. “I… he…”

When he didn’t answer for another minute, I was sure he hadn’t. But then he cleared his throat.

“I know you have feelings for him. That’s obvious,” he said. “But are you serious about not making a choice until the war ends?”

“I… yes.” I had to be. If I chose either Ren or Shay to be the alpha at my side, the other wolf would leave. It was the way of alphas. Once one of them won their place, the other would be exiled, unable to tolerate a subordinate position within the pack. I couldn’t afford for that to happen. It also chilled my blood to even think about either of them leaving.

“Then I need you to know something.” He suddenly turned to face me. His forearms rested against the wall on either side of my shoulders, boxing me in.

“Don’t.” I didn’t trust myself to be this close to him. I’d already slipped up with Shay, letting myself give in when I’d promised that I’d keep my distance. If I did the same with Ren, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. And part of me knew I wanted Ren to touch me now because I’d spent last night alone in a fitful half slumber, hoping Shay would knock softly at my door. But he never had. The further Shay was drawn into the Searchers’ world, the more he slipped away from me.

“Just listen, Calla.” His eyes wouldn’t let me go. “Do you remember when we were at Eden?”

I nodded, too uneasy to speak. I didn’t know if I’d even be able to hear my own words over the pounding of my heart. That night at Eden felt like a lifetime ago; I couldn’t imagine why Ren would bring it up now.

“You asked if I was afraid of anything,” he said.

“I remember.” I pulled my lower lip between my teeth as the memory caught in my mind. “You said one thing.”

“One thing.” He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Only one thing that I’d always been afraid of. I still am.”

My body was frozen against the wall, locked in place by his words. “What?”

His voice quaked. “That you could never love me. Not really.”

“Ren-” My hands were shaking.

“I couldn’t miss the whispers,” he said. “The way some of the Banes looked at me. The way my father… I mean, Emile… talked about my mother. She was dead, but it was like he still hated her. It was obvious, even to me, that when they were together he ruled her, but there wasn’t any love.”

My breath became shallow. I didn’t know if I could bear to hear this, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop him.

His lips were brushing my ear. “The first time I saw you, when we were promised to each other, I swore I wouldn’t force you to love me, but I would find a way to win you.”

Something inside me snapped. “If you wanted to win me, why did you spend all of high school dating other girls?”

There was more spite in my question than I’d anticipated. All that waiting, not being able to follow my own passions while I watched Ren chasing his. I resented it. It made his confession seem unfair and maybe even untrue.

He leaned his forehead against my temple. “I thought if you saw other girls wanting me, but knew that I only really wanted you, it would make a difference.”

A soft growl rose in my throat. “Sabine’s right. You are a moron.”

“Would it help if I agreed with you?” He smiled, but his eyes were hard.

I turned my face away from him, anger, hope, desire all battling within me. “You could have told me how you felt.”

“I was going to,” he said. “I wanted to tell you when I gave you the ring… but I choked.”

I looked at him, saw he was blushing, and knew everything he’d said was true.

“I…” Words wouldn’t come. What could I even say?

“All I’m asking for is a fair shot. Or maybe a fresh start, but I needed you to know where I’m coming from,” he said. “I know the odds are against me. Shay swooped in and changed your life. He saved you.”

“I saved him. And myself.”

“I just meant that he’s been the hero all along. Of course you’d want him. But the history we have, our past. Not all of it was bad.”

“I know that.”

“You can’t tell me that when we were at the house, alone, a part of you didn’t want to stay.”

I gripped the towel tighter so I wouldn’t drop it. He was right. At least partly. I was still drawn to him-the one who was so obviously my counterpart. The mate I’d thought I would spend my life with. I was afraid to let go of the past that kept us bound together. That road was familiar. I knew what life with Ren would be, where I fit into that picture, and that I cared deeply for him. The temptation to keep him close nipped at me relentlessly.

“We were always meant for each other, Calla,” he said, and I shivered, feeling as if he’d read my mind. “Let me show you what it could be like.” His lips barely touched mine. I couldn’t resist any longer and let my fingers trace the contours of his chest. He growled softly, twisting his hands in my damp hair as he kissed me. My fingers slid down, skimming his abdomen, finding the edge of the towel wrapped around his hips. He kissed me harder, urging me on.

The bathroom door swung open and Connor swaggered in, shirtless and wearing pajama pants, with a towel slung over one shoulder. He stopped whistling when he caught sight of Ren’s bare back and me pressed up against the wall.

“Oh gods! My eyes!” Connor covered his face. “My innocence!”

“Shut up, Connor,” I said, both relieved and disappointed by the interruption. I squirmed out from under Ren, pretty much leapt across the open area to the dressing room door, and flung myself inside. Pulling on my clothes in a rush before fleeing from the bathroom, I was mortified. As I hurried down the hall, past more sleepy-eyed Searchers heading for a hot shower, I tried to tell myself I couldn’t still hear Connor laughing.

TEN

MY STOMACH WAS RUMBLING, but I was still on edge from my chance encounter with Ren in the baths. I couldn’t risk running into Shay when my feelings were so scattered… and when it was likely Ren’s scent was clinging to my skin.

Damn it, Calla. Why can’t you stay away from him? From either of them?

I’d learned how powerful desire was, and love even more so, but it still frustrated me that I could lose control when my blood ran hot.

Since I’d nixed the idea of joining the Haldis team for breakfast, I headed into the courtyard in search of fresh fruit. Considering how early it was, I was surprised to find Ansel picking oranges from a small grove.

“Morning.” He smiled at me.

“Any chance I could get one of those?” I said, pointing at his half-full basket.

“Sure.” He tossed me one.

“You’re up early.” I began to peel the orange.

His shoulders tensed. “Sleeping isn’t easy.”

I chewed on a segment of the fruit, enjoying the bright burst of citrus on my tongue. The orange was juicy, perfect.

Ansel stayed quiet, pulling oranges off the branches.

“You seem better,” I said slowly.

“Do I?”

I coughed, choking a little on the orange juice. Ansel’s voice had that tinny quality that had made my bones ache when we’d first learned how the Keepers had punished him.

“You’re not… feeling okay?” I asked.

He turned to face me. While his eyes weren’t hollow, the way they’d been in Denver, they were hopeless.

“I’ll never be okay, Calla,” he said, turning an orange in his hands. “Not really.”

“But…” I stared at him, wishing he wouldn’t say things like that. Wanting to believe this was some sort of self-pity… but I knew it wasn’t. “But Bryn.”

“I love Bryn,” he said. “And I can’t stand seeing her in pain.”

I watched his face. He looked older than the little brother I knew. Older and angrier.

“You’re pretending to be okay so you don’t hurt her.”

He nodded. “She seems to think she still loves me. I tried to break it off, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“Don’t you want to be with her?” I asked.

“I’ll always love her,” Ansel said. “But I’m not a good match for her. She deserves more.”

“How can you say that?” I wanted to scream at him but with a lot of effort forced an even tone. “You’re the same person.”

“I’m not.” Ansel squeezed the orange, his fingernails digging into its peel. “Believe me. I’m not.”

“Yes, you are,” I said. “And Bryn loves you.”

“I’m not her equal, not anymore. You can’t have a match without a true partnership. You of all people should understand that.”

“Of course I do.” I frowned. “But you’re wrong about this. I already told you, Searchers and Guardians have been together in the past. They’ve had families.”

“I know.” Ansel’s smile was spiteful. “I’ve heard. From you. From Tess. Searchers and Guardians. Monroe and Corrine. Him and her, her and him.”

“So what’s the problem?” I’d crushed the rest of the orange segments in my fist. Juice leaked out between my knuckles. “It works. That was real love, real partnerships. People died for them.”

“It’s not the same,” he said, lowering his gaze.

“Why?”

“Because I wasn’t born a Searcher. I don’t have their power.” He looked at me again, gray eyes furious like a storm. “All I am is less than what I was. And I can’t ever be more. Eventually Bryn will realize that. And she’ll leave. It will be for the best.”

“What if she doesn’t?” I stared at the pulped mess of orange lying in my palm and felt like I could be staring at Ansel’s ravaged heart. “What if she wants to be with you and have a family?”

“Where I’d play dad to a pack of wolf pups?”

“That’s how it works,” I said.

“I know,” he said. “Tess explained that whole essence-of-the-mother thing. But the biology or magic or whatever it is doesn’t matter. It’s not whether Bryn and I are able to be together or make a family. It’s about whether we should be.”

“Just give it time, Ansel.” I didn’t know what else to say. I hated the desperation in his voice, the finality.

“I promise I’ll never hurt Bryn,” he said. “I won’t tell her how I really feel. I’ll be with her when she needs me, and when she wants to, I’ll let her go.”

We stood there, staring at each other. There was nothing else to say.

Ansel smiled, all emptiness, handing me another orange. “You still need to eat your breakfast. You murdered the first orange.”

“Thanks.” I managed to push the word past the thickness of my throat.

“There you are!” Bryn’s voice turned me around. She was skipping up the path, beaming. “Sorry-I took an extra-long shower. All-natural heaven! The Searchers really should find a way to market that stuff. I’m going to talk to Tess about it. Smell my skin-I’m roses and thyme!”

He turned to her and I saw it happen. The mask went up, transforming my broken brother into the Ansel we’d always known.

I couldn’t be there, not in that moment. I didn’t want my face to give anything away to Bryn. Making an excuse about having to meet with Anika, I hurried away from them, trying to distract myself by scarfing down my orange. But I’d only made it halfway across the garden when I ran into another reminder of how unsettled everything in my life had become.

Connor lounged on a stone bench next to the path. His shirt was unbuttoned. His chest, carved hard muscle, was crisscrossed by scars. Scars that I recognized.

I thought about turning around but realized I needed to clear the air or at least my own conscience with him.

“So how many Guardians do you think you’ve killed?”

“I’ve been trying to cut back,” he answered without opening his eyes. “But they’ve all been kind enough to leave me souvenirs, as you can see.” He brushed his hand across the scarred flesh.

I crouched on the bench next to him, letting sunlight warm my neck and shoulders. My pulse had set off at a gallop, but I forced myself to follow through on what I wanted to say.

“About what you saw this morning…” The gentle warmth I’d felt became a prickling heat as blood rushed into my neck and cheeks.

“Hey, no judgment,” Connor said. He folded his arms behind his head, tilting his face up so he could peer at me. “Though if we lose the Scion because you can’t keep your pants on, there’ll be hell to pay. Literally.”

When I snarled, he laughed.

“I wasn’t ever going to ask you about your steamy rendezvous, sweet cheeks,” he said. “You’re the one who brought it up.”

I wrapped my arms around my shins, resting my chin on my knees. “I just wanted you to understand.”

He sat up, one corner of his mouth crinkling. “Understand what, exactly?”

“That Shay, Ren, and I are in a complicated situation.”

“Complicated, eh?” His smile widened. “I thought it was all pretty clear. Two guys get you hot. You’re going to have to choose one.”

“That’s not all-”

Connor cut me off with a wave of his hand. “Sure, there’s always the nitty-gritty details, but it boils down to the basics. One of you, two of them. Love’s a bitch.”

“Nice.” I wished I could call him a liar, but his reduction of my life story was a little too logical.

“Look, sweetheart, I can’t cast any stones. Just callin’ it like I see it.” He pushed his chestnut hair out of his face. It was still damp from the shower. He’d already begun to tan after a few days under the Mediterranean sun. The bronze of his skin made the white zags of scar tissue appear to leap off his chest.

“You mean all your awesome pickup lines are just talk?” I grinned. “Who’d have guessed?”

He threw a sidelong glance at me but didn’t answer.

“You know what I think?”

One of his eyebrows went up.

I leaned toward him. “I think all that off-color chatter of yours is just a way to distract you from the fact that there’s only one person you’re interested in.”

“You really think I’m a one-woman kinda guy?” Connor smiled, but his eyes were hard.

I held his gaze. “I think you’re in love with Adne.”

He was the first to look away, staring at a nearby bubbling fountain.

“I made a mistake with Adne,” he said quietly, withdrawing into his own thoughts. “About a year ago.”

“A mistake?” I frowned. “Oh… you mean you slept with her.”

His answering laugh was cold. “No.”

“You didn’t sleep with her?” I couldn’t understand the mocking tilt of his smile.

“I definitely did not,” he said. “And I think that was the mistake.”

“You lost me.”

He swung his legs over the side of the bench, resting his arms on his thighs. “Adne was just a kid when I met her. I was sixteen. Cocky as hell.”

“Yeah, you’ve totally transformed since then.”

He smiled, but not at me. “She was having a rough time.”

“She told me,” I said, remembering Adne’s description of how Connor had been the friend she needed after her mother had died.

Connor was watching me, alarm rising in his eyes. “What did she tell you?”

I frowned as I saw the color drain from his cheeks. “Just that you joked around with her after she lost her mom.”

“Oh… right.” Connor returned to his casual pose.

“But you’d better be about to tell me what you thought she said.”

He shook his head, but spoke quietly. “She’s sixteen.”

“I know that.”

He glanced at me. “Last year she was fifteen… and I was twenty. We always get together around the winter solstice. Ethan, Kyle, Stuart, and I came in from the Denver outpost. Adne had a break from her classes.”

I nodded. So far none of this seemed extraordinary.

“After the celebration-big feast, lots of drinking and dancing-I was headed to my room to crash. Adne asked if she could hang out with me for a while.”

My pulse picked up speed. I could see where this was going, and I was nervous for both of them.

Connor rubbed the back of his neck. “She didn’t exactly have talking in mind. And she made a pretty strong case for what she did have in mind.”

“She tried to reel you in?” It wasn’t hard to see Adne going after what she wanted.

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

“And you said no?” That was the part I was having a hard time believing.

“She was fifteen,” he said.

“I guess.” Fifteen was young, but Adne was an old soul. I didn’t exactly think Connor would have been taking advantage. I also couldn’t see Adne being easily deterred when she decided she wanted something.

“And Monroe’s daughter.”

“Oh.” That made sense.

“When I tried to explain why I thought ‘us’ would be a bad idea, she didn’t take it well.”

“I can imagine.” I was actually imagining flying objects, breaking glass, and possibly Connor with a black eye. “So was this before or after the bet with Silas?”

He drew a quick breath. “She told you about the bet.”

“She said nothing came of it.”

“The bet was first, but only by a few hours,” he said. “What came of it was that Adne and I couldn’t dance around each other anymore. The moment I kissed her, I couldn’t…”

“You couldn’t pretend you weren’t in love with her.”

He tossed an unfriendly glance my way.

“It’s pretty obvious,” I said.

“I couldn’t pretend to myself,” he said. “But I thought it was best to keep pretending to her.”

“I think you’re wrong.” My own mind had wandered back to Ren’s confession. If I’d known how he’d really felt about me, would our lives have been different? Thoughts of Shay chased after that question. Did I want the past to be different? I couldn’t imagine Shay’s absence. My heart ached at the thought of never having fallen in love with him.

“Maybe.” Connor stood up and stretched. “It certainly hasn’t gone the way I’d hoped.”

“What did you hope for?” I asked. “Do you want to see Adne with someone else?”

The sudden stab of his glare told me that was the last thing he wanted.

I held my ground. “Then you’d better do something about it.”

“I’ll make you a deal.” He smiled slowly. “I’ll sort out me and Adne when you pick your boy.”

“That’s not fair.” I was on my feet, matching his steady gaze.

“All’s fair in love and war,” Connor replied, turning to walk up the path. I guess that meant our conversation was over.

“So what?” I called after him. “You’re doing nothing?”

“I’m following your lead, alpha.” He turned, walking backward and grinning at me.

“What does that mean?” My hands were on my hips.

“It means I’m going to win this war.” He saluted. “Romance will have to wait.”

I stared after him, frustrated by the conversation. But at least I had a little more insight into Connor and Adne’s history.

“Calla!” I turned to see Bryn waving to me with Ansel hovering at her heels, his basket of oranges full to brimming. Mason was with them.

“What is it?” I asked when I reached them.

“We’ve got to head down to the stockade,” she said.

“The stockade?” I asked. “Why?”

Mason looked at me and sighed. “Logan wants a meeting.”

ELEVEN

LOGAN’S QUARTERS bore a much closer resemblance to an actual cell than Ansel’s room had. I took more than a little pleasure at that observation, though I still bristled as we entered the small space. We’d all been quiet on the walk from the garden to the stockade. These rooms, used for prisoners, were located on the ground level of the Academy-set apart from the livelier sections of the Searchers’ institution. While Mason had assured me that Anika would be present, this meeting didn’t sit well with me. It was too familiar. Logan had something to tell his pack. We’d been summoned, just as if he were still our master. From the stiff way Mason moved down the halls, I could tell he wasn’t happy about this development either. I couldn’t blame him.

What had surprised me a little was that Ansel had insisted on coming with us.

“For moral support,” he’d said, with a glance at Mason, when I asked him why. If there was anyone who would have more reason to hate Logan-or any of the Keepers-than Mason, it was my brother.

Shay was waiting for us outside the doorway. When the four of us entered, Logan looked far too comfortable even as he lounged on a twin mattress that featured a single pillow and undyed wool blanket, propping himself up on one elbow while smoking a clove cigarette.

Ren, Sabine, and Nev were already in the room. Anika and Ethan stood just behind the three wolves, Ethan watching Logan suspiciously while Anika’s expression was more curious.

“Wonderful.” Logan smiled at us, tapping ash into an empty glass on the floor.

“Bite me,” I snarled. Logan might expect business as usual, but I wouldn’t let him. He wasn’t our master any longer and I was going to make sure he knew that.

Bryn drew a quick breath, but Mason smiled. Logan’s eyes widened momentarily, but then he recomposed his face into a placid mask.

“Calla, I don’t expect your affection, but we certainly can still be civil.”

“You’re a prisoner,” I said. “Civility is off the table. What’s this meeting for?”

He cleared his throat. “Two reasons. And thank you for coming.”

“Calla’s right,” Ren said. “Drop the show, Logan. Just talk.”

“Isn’t everyone in a temper.” Logan put out the cigarette and sighed. “My last one.”

“Good,” Mason said.

Logan glanced at him and my heart skipped a beat.

“Don’t look at him.” Nev crossed the room, shielding Mason from Logan’s view. “Don’t ever look at him again or I’ll claw your eyes out.”

“I’m fine,” Mason whispered, but he’d gone pale. Ansel shoved his hands in his pockets, staring at the floor.

For the first time, Logan’s voice lost its clear, imperious tone. “Well, that gets us to the first thing… I want to offer an apology.”

No one spoke, but everyone stared at the Keeper.

It was Shay who finally broke the silence. “An apology?”

“Despite my imprisonment, I’ve come to respect the strength, loyalty, and most of all resilience of your pack bonds. I tried to take advantage of your loyalty to the Keepers, and I’m sorry I let my inheritance go to my head.”

“Go to your head?” Nev growled, the air around him swirling, growing hot. “You think that’s all it takes to make up for what you were going to do?”

I took a step toward him. As much as we hated Logan, attacking him when he was the Searchers’ prisoner wasn’t an option.

“Of course not,” Logan continued. He threw a pleading look at Anika, who moved between the Keeper and Nev.

“Please remain calm.” She rested her hand on the sword hilt at her waist.

“You have no idea…” Nev glared at her.

“Leave it.” Mason grabbed Nev’s shoulder, drawing him back. “He’s not worth it.”

“And what about me?” I turned in surprise. Ansel was walking toward Logan slowly, his hands still hidden in his pockets. “Do I get an apology?”

Logan tilted his head, frowning. “I suppose…”

“You suppose?” Ansel began to laugh. A thin, horrible sound. “You killed my mother. You might as well have killed me for all that you left alive.”

“You look quite well to me,” Logan said. “And as for your mother, that wasn’t my-”

His words became a shriek as Ansel lunged, pulling pruning shears from his pocket and swinging his arm down with all the force he could muster. Ansel was fast, but Anika’s reflexes were even faster. She dove forward, wrapping her arms around Ansel’s waist. Thrown off balance, Ansel’s blow left a long gash along Logan’s shoulder. Unchecked, it would have pierced his throat.

“Ethan!” Anika jerked Ansel around and shoved him into Ethan’s waiting arms. “Get him out of here. Find Tess. We’ll deal with this later.”

Ethan hauled Ansel out the door. Sabine didn’t even bother to make an excuse. She simply followed Ethan without another word.

I started to go after them, but Bryn caught my arm. “I’ll help. You need to be here-something’s going on. I’m not sure what, but Logan has a bigger issue on his mind. I’ll stay with Ansel.”

Part of me wanted to argue. Ansel was a live wire, dangerous and unpredictable. I wanted to talk him down. But I also knew that Tess and Bryn were probably the better ones to soothe my brother. He still viewed me as part of the reason he was no longer a Guardian.

“I’m going too,” Mason said, taking Bryn’s hand. “I just can’t be here.”

“You want me to come?” Nev asked.

Mason shook his head. “I’ll be okay. Fill me in later.”

“Is someone going to help me?” Logan’s hand was pressed against his shoulder. “I’m bleeding!”

“It looks good on you,” Ren said.

“I’m sure Ethan will send an Elixir,” Anika said calmly. “You won’t bleed out in the meantime.”

Logan’s eyes bulged.

“What else do you have to tell us, Logan?” I asked. “Because an apology is pretty much a waste of our time. Your words don’t hold much stock with us.”

“Fine.” Logan straightened as much as he could while still cradling his injured shoulder. “I want to help you.”

“Help us how?” Shay asked.

“I’m more interested in the why than the how,” Ren said.

Logan smiled, regaining some of his confidence. “Like I said before, I’ve come to respect your skills, and I’ve learned quite a bit about the Searchers.”

“Have you?” Anika folded her arms across her chest.

“Only by accident,” Logan said. “The entire building has been buzzing with news of your last mission.”

He looked at Shay, his eyes wandering up to the sword strapped across Shay’s back. “Congratulations.”

Shay shifted on his feet, regarding Logan warily.

“This turn of events has forced me to consider my own position,” Logan continued. “I’m a betting man, and I’d wager that your side will win this war.”

Though I didn’t want to, I gasped. That was the last thing I’d expected Logan to say.

“You’re hardly a man,” Nev spat, unaffected by the gravity of Logan’s statement. “You’re a spoiled, arrogant boy and now you’re afraid. That’s all.”

“That’s true,” Logan said. “Well-the part about being afraid. I’m going to ignore the rest of what you said… for civility’s sake.”

“You’re afraid?” I asked, not quite able to keep the smile off my face. A Keeper afraid of Guardians. That might have been the best thing I’d ever heard.

“Of course I am.” Logan met my eyes and I knew he wasn’t lying. “The writing is on the wall. It probably was the moment you stopped Shay’s sacrifice at Samhain. He has one of the swords. He’ll soon wield the Elemental Cross.”

“And the Keepers will be no more,” Anika said.

Logan shrugged. “The odds seem to be stacking in your favor.”

“You don’t seem too upset at your impending doom.” Ren’s laughter was cold.

“That’s because I’m hoping to alter my own fate,” Logan said.

“And how would you do that?” Shay asked. “Your legacy isn’t working for you.”

“Actually…” Logan smiled slowly. “I believe it will.”

Anika was standing directly over Logan, staring down at him. “What are you offering?”

“In the final battle when you face Bosque,” Logan said. “It needs to be at the Rift’s current location. Correct?”

Anika nodded.

“I know where it is.”

“We can simply force you to tell us that,” Anika said.

“But you know that’s not enough.” Logan was smiling now. “Don’t you?”

Anika didn’t reply, but her eyes narrowed.

“The location you could probably figure out for yourself. Even if it took longer than you’d like,” Logan continued. “It’s at Rowan Estate, after all.”

“We suspected it might be,” Anika said, but the Guardians were exchanging puzzled glances.

“What is the Rift?” Ren asked.

“The gateway by which the Harbinger and his minions entered this world,” Anika replied. “It was opened at the turn of the fifteenth century, but the beast moved it at his pleasure, so we were never certain where its current location might be.”

“And the gateway has to be closed,” Shay said slowly. “That’s how you win the war.”

Anika smiled at him grimly. “That is part of how we win.”

“It’s also how you get your parents back,” Logan added.

“What?” Shay whirled, staring at him.

“The Rift can only remain open by way of a ritual sacrifice,” Logan said. “That sacrifice, for the time being, was your parents.”

Shay’s jaw clenched. “You said my parents were alive.”

“They are.” Logan glanced at Anika. “I don’t suppose you could get me some more cigarettes?”

“That depends on what else you have to say,” Anika said. She put a hand on Shay’s shoulder, pulling him back from Logan. “How are Tristan and Sarah Doran alive if they were sacrificed to open the Rift?”

“Bosque Mar is very creative when it comes to torment,” Logan said. Shay winced and I wanted to go to him, but now was neither the place nor the time.

“We’re aware of that,” Anika said.

Logan paused, lifting his hand to check his wound. The gash was no longer bleeding. He gingerly leaned back against the pillow. “He wanted Tristan to suffer for his betrayal, so he concocted a punishment that would force Tristan to perpetually suffer while watching that which he’d risked everything for be destroyed.”

“You mean his child.” Anika turned away from the bed to pace across the room.

Shay frowned. “How could he see anything that was happening to me?”

My mind was racing as the temperature of my blood plunged. “Shay… I think I-”

Logan cut me off. “Where is the only place you’ve seen your parents?”

“Seen them?” Shay gazed at him. “I don’t know… my dreams. Memories.”

“Think harder.” Logan was on the verge of laughter.

“Stop.” I leapt forward, landing on the bed and crouching in front of Logan with my fist balled up. “Don’t you dare play with him.”

“Calla!” Anika was coming toward me when Shay stopped her with a sharp glance. He slowly turned to stare at Logan.

“The portrait,” he said. He moved his eyes from Logan to me. “The portrait in the library.”

I nodded, sliding off the bed to stand close to him. I didn’t dare touch him. The moment was live with raw emotion that I couldn’t risk provoking.

“Does that mean…,” Shay whispered. “They’re alive, but… are they those… things?”

“What things?” Logan asked.

“He means the Fallen,” Anika said. “Is he right? Are Tristan and Sarah Fallen?”

“No,” Logan said. “They are not Fallen. The Fallen are carrion, little more than animated corpses. Bosque wanted Tristan and Sarah sentient. They’re being held in stasis, imprisoned in that painting.”

“How is that different than the other paintings?” Shay asked.

“The Fallen are prisoners we use to feed the wraiths,” Logan replied, cringing when Ren snarled. “The paintings are a liminal space-a holding cell of sorts. Bosque enjoys observing what he calls his own ‘art of war.’ He can see through the dimensional wall to watch the wraiths feeding. The prisoners remain there until they have nothing left to offer the wraiths. Then they are discarded.”

“But my parents haven’t been given to the wraiths?” Shay asked. “You’re sure?”

“You’ve seen it with your own eyes, Shay,” Logan said. “When you looked at their portrait, how did they appear?”

“Sad,” Shay murmured.

“But unharmed,” Logan said. Shay nodded.

“When you close the Rift, it will free Tristan and Sarah,” Logan said. “They’ll have aged, just as any human being would. But they will otherwise be as you knew them.”

“I never knew them,” Shay said.

“I did,” Anika said quietly. “Many of us did. We counted your parents as friends.”

Shay looked at her, surprised. She didn’t meet his gaze, lost in her own thoughts. “We failed them. We should have kept them safe, kept you hidden, but we couldn’t.”

The room fell quiet until Logan cleared his throat.

“I trust that information is worth something to you.”

“Perhaps,” Anika said.

“I’ll do whatever I can to prove myself of value,” Logan said. “I can help you win.”

Anika nodded, but she was looking at a woman who had appeared in the doorway.

“Ethan said you needed a healer.” The woman glanced around the room, eyes searching for her patient.

“Nothing serious,” Anika said. “The prisoner has a cut that needs tending. Disinfection, but I don’t think stitches will be necessary.”

The healer nodded and went to the bed.

“We’ll have more to discuss,” Anika said to Logan.

“Of course.” He winced when the healer peeled his shirt back. “If you won’t get me cigarettes, could I have something for the pain?”

Anika smiled. “I think you can bear it.”

TWELVE

“CAN WE TRUST HIM?” I watched Adne move, gleaming threads spiraling out from her skeans as she wove the door that would lead us to Eydis’s resting place in Tulúm. The writing is on the wall, Logan had said. Was he right? We had one sword; we were about to take the first step in getting the second.

Nev shrugged. “As much as I hate to say it, yeah. Logan would stab himself in the back if he thought it would get him something he wanted.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Mason had rejoined us in Haldis Tactical but couldn’t seem to shake his somber mood. “None of it matters.”

“Would you stop?” Nev bared teeth at him. “It’s okay to be angry. You should be angry.”

Mason looked away. “If he can help us win, that’s what matters.”

“Look.” Nev’s features softened. He rested his forehead against Mason’s. “We’ll win, then we’ll kill him. Deal?”

Mason tried to pull back, but Nev gripped his shoulders. He began to laugh. “Okay, deal.”

I regarded Nev thoughtfully. “Why didn’t you?”

“What?” he asked, keeping Mason wrapped in his arms.

“Kill Logan,” I said. “When he came through the portal with us. You stayed human. You were strangling him. Why didn’t you shift and rip his throat out?”

It was an appealing idea-and one I was certain had crossed Nev’s mind more than once.

He offered me a thin smile. “I wanted him to know it was me who killed him. The Keepers have never been good at knowing who we are when we’re wolves.”

I nodded. “Fair enough.”

“It’s time.” Anika gestured to the now-open portal. All I could see through the shimmering door were jewel tones. Sapphire blue. Emerald green. Colors so vivid, they were both alluring and ominous.

Shay fell in step beside me. “Tell me again why he’s here?”

I didn’t need to ask who Shay meant by “he.” “You know why. The pack needs him. And the Searchers trust him.”

Ren was already moving through the portal, in wolf form, trotting beside Sabine and Ethan.

“Fine,” Shay said. I was a little surprised when he also shifted, bounding past Adne and into the gem-like hues of the door.

Mason laughed. “He’s a wolf, all right.”

“And he doesn’t want Ren to forget it,” Nev finished. Grinning at each other, they both shifted and took off after Shay.

I heard Connor laughing behind me.

“Your mess,” he said when I glared at him.

“Don’t forget that I know about your housekeeping issues too, Searcher.” I flashed fangs at him before shifting. That wiped the smile off his face. I barked my satisfaction before chasing the others.

The colors were so bright it took me a minute to realize I’d reached our destination. The environment around me was full, too full. Thick leaves bent down, surrounding us, the jade nets of the forest canopy only occasionally pierced by spears of sunlight. It was the mixture of odors that gave me a sense of place… and change. While the air of Cinque Terre whispered of sea salt and lemons, it was crisp and dry. This air was heavy, rain-drenched. It poured into my lungs almost like water. I caught the scent of ocean salt and knew it was nearby. But even the sea smell had changed, gained a dark, rich scent of kelp and brine that invoked the vastness of waves and endless shorelines.

“All accounted for?” Silas straightened his vest and pulled out his omnipresent pen and notepad.

I really wish he wasn’t coming with us. Mason’s voice sounded in my head.

You won’t get any argument here, Shay replied, wagging his tail.

“Oh, wait, I forgot my sunscreen,” Connor said. “Silas, be a dear and run back to the Academy to get some. We’ll just wait. Right, guys?”

“Shut up,” Silas said, but he patted his vest and I knew he was double checking to make sure he’d brought his sunscreen.

“Come on.” Ethan waved for us to follow him down a game trail I could barely make out in the dense foliage. “They’ll be waiting for us.”

We walked a quarter mile. With each step a crashing sound grew louder. Ethan turned a sharp corner on the trail; when I reached the same spot, I stopped in my tracks.

It was as if someone had suddenly drawn the shades in a dark room. Blinding sun washed over us as the jungle dropped away, revealing miles and miles of beach with sand so white it resembled snow. The thunder of rolling surf stirred my blood, its sound both an invitation and a warning. I didn’t want to admit it, but the ocean was unsettling. Wolves didn’t belong in the water. Still, the mystery and beauty of endless waves tugged at something inside me. Maybe its very strangeness gave it an inexplicable appeal.

“You going for a swim, Calla?” Connor nudged me with his elbow. I’d been staring at the ocean so long I’d fallen behind. The others were heading for a ramshackle house that looked like it was on the verge of tumbling from the forest line onto the beach in a heap of wood planks and shingles. A long dock stretched from the deck of the house out into the ocean, where three boats bobbed up and down, moored to the rickety structure. I could make out the shape of a man in one of the boats. He didn’t look up at us, too busy with his own tasks to note our arrival.

A woman with long, dark hair stood on the deck, waving to us. When Ethan reached her, he wrapped her in a fierce embrace. She grinned at him but quickly turned her eyes on the gathering wolves. Shay paused in front of her, returning to his human form.

“It’s good to see you again, Scion.” She smiled, and I realized she’d been one of the Guides who had been meeting with Shay and Anika without the rest of us. Her eyes moved to the sword on his back. “And very good to see that.

“Bienvenido, lobos,” she said, gazing at me and my packmates. “I am the Eydis Guide, Inez. Please tell me you don’t bite.”

Ren shifted forms. “Since you asked so nicely, we’ll make an exception.”

The rest of the pack followed Ren’s lead. I wanted to laugh as I watched my friends attempt to look nice instead of menacing as we introduced ourselves.

“Guardians have a sense of humor. Who could have guessed?” She laughed, a belly-deep, genuine sound that made me smile.

“They’re full of surprises,” Ethan said, but went red in the ears when Sabine arched an eyebrow at him.

“Indeed.” Inez threw Sabine a surprised glance. “Come inside. We’ve prepared you some food. We’ll go over the mission parameters while you eat.”

“I love Eydis,” Connor said, throwing his arm around the woman. “Inez never disappoints.”

“We make the most of what we have.” She smiled at him and gazed inquiringly at Silas. “Anika informed me you’d be coming. It’s rare to have a Scribe among us.”

“I merely do what history requires,” Silas said.

Connor shoved Silas toward the door to the house. “Please get to the table so you can eat instead of talk.”

Like the Haldis outpost in Denver, this hideout was built for function-though that function caught me off guard.

“Is this a dive shop?” Shay turned in a circle to look at the masks, fins, and tanks that lined the walls.

“We don’t get a lot of business, but it’s a good cover.” A young man with curly black hair and sparkling eyes answered. “Look at that sword! You must be him.”

“Nothing gets past you, does it, Miguel?” Connor, laughing, hugged the new arrival. “Good to see you, friend.”

“And you, amigo,” Miguel answered before greeting Ethan. “How’s Grumpy?”

“I’ve been worse.” Ethan grinned.

“Can we cut the class reunion short?” Adne’s hands were on her hips. “I’m starving and the clock’s ticking.”

“Class reunion?” I asked.

Adne gestured to three men, who were huddled together, whispering and laughing. “The Three Amigos over there were in the same Academy class. They had quite the reputation.”

“Had?” Connor looked up. “When did our reputation become past tense?”

Adne rolled her eyes, but Inez put an arm around the girl’s shoulders and led her into the next room, beckoning us to follow.

After our Italian meals I expected all future food to be a disappointment. I couldn’t have been more wrong. A feast of sopas, pa-nuchos, and delicately seasoned, unbelievably fresh fish was spread before us. Every bite was heaven. I wanted to gorge myself on the food-which was unlike anything I’d ever tasted-but my mind quickly fixed on the battle ahead. Inez, seated at the head of the table, spoke to us as we ate.

“Once you’ve finished, we’ll head out,” she said. “Gabriel is making preparations now.”

“What kind of resistance are we expecting?” I asked. “More Guardians?”

“There are Guardians here,” Miguel said. “Yaguares.”

“Yaguares?” Nev asked. “You mean like panthers?”

Inez nodded. Ren and Nev exchanged a glance.

“I was kind of hoping for more bears,” Nev said. “Cats are gonna suck.”

“We’re fighting cats?” Mason’s face squished up. “Yuck. They taste terrible.”

“You ate a cat?” Shay asked. My stomach twisted. I could imagine little more disgusting than cat meat.

“Not ate,” Mason said. “Bit… and killed.”

We all stared at him.

“Hey-” He held his hands up defensively. “It attacked me. Crazy feline.”

“If all goes well, you will not face las sombras,” Inez said. “Our plan is to avoid them. It is never easy to fight in the jungle, and it is where las sombras are deadliest.”

“Las sombras favor the trees,” Miguel said. “They drop from above.”

“How many?” Ren asked.

“Like the bears, they prefer solitude,” he replied. “But still, they are deadly.”

“So what do we do?” I asked. “Same as Tordis? You lure the kitties away while we head into the cave?”

Miguel shook his head. “It is no cave. Es un cenoté.”

“Oh, man.” Shay shuddered. “Seriously?”

Miguel nodded.

“What’s a si-note-ay?” Mason fumbled with the word.

Shay had gone slightly green. “It’s where the Mayans made sacrifices to their gods-deep sinkholes that run for miles beneath the surface. Sometimes they lead into networks of underwater caves. They’re all over this region, right?”

“Sí.” Miguel’s face was grim.

“The Spanish called them sagrados,” Silas said. “Wells of sacrifice.”

“Wells of sacrifice?” Sabine’s eyes widened.

“They threw people in,” Shay said.

“And Eydis is inside one of these sacrifice wells?” I asked.

“Yes,” Silas said.

“Does that mean we have to climb down into a sinkhole?” Sabine asked. “’Cause that doesn’t sound like fun.”

“Las sombras watch from the branches,” Miguel said. “We would not have time to rappel into the cave before they attacked.”

“What about that thingy Adne can do?” Mason asked. “Can’t she open a portal down inside the cave? Like in Eden?”

“Sorry. No can do.” Adne shook her head. “We don’t have any idea what’s down there. We’d be in serious trouble if I ended up accidentally opening a portal underwater. Or on the wrong side of a sheer drop. We don’t have any descriptions to go on. In Eden, I had Ansel’s experience working for me. I used his story to open the door.”

“Then what’s the plan?” Shay asked.

“Gabriel found another entrance,” Ethan said, though he didn’t look too happy about it.

Inez’s mouth had an equally grim set. “He’s been scouting it for the past three days. It is our best option.”

“Another entrance?” Mason asked. “But won’t the panthers be guarding that one too?”

“No,” Miguel replied, meeting Ethan’s stony gaze.

“They won’t?” Shay frowned.

“No.” Connor rolled his shoulders back. “Because cats hate water.”

My skin prickled at Connor’s words. Wolves didn’t exactly hate water, but we weren’t dolphins either.

He winked at me. “That’s right, sweetheart. We’re all going for a nice, long swim.”

“How long?” Shay asked.

“We’re going in at low tide,” Ethan said. “Hopefully we won’t need the scuba gear for long, but you’re all getting a crash course in it. Just in case.”

“Awesome.” Shay grinned. The rest of the wolves glared at him. “What?” He glanced around the pack, giving us wide, too-innocent eyes. “I like trying new things.”

“Chosen One shows an aptitude for adventure and risk taking,” Silas murmured as he wrote. He hadn’t touched a thing on his plate.

“Can’t you stay here?” Connor asked him. “You can’t write underwater.”

Silas drew himself up. “I shall commit each event to memory and transfer it to paper upon our return.”

“Of course you will,” Connor said, pushing himself away from the table. He looked at Inez. “We’re not swimming for at least an hour, right? ’Cause I don’t want to get a cramp.”

THIRTEEN

GABRIEL, IT TURNED OUT, had been the man working in the boat. The boat we were all now boarding. He smiled, despite having to coax six reluctant wolves off dry land. With a mess of sun-streaked hair, Gabriel looked more like a surf god than a Searcher. From the way he tossed around scuba gear-tanks, regulators, buoyancy vests, lead weights, masks, fins, wet suits, and flashlights-with efficient care, I guessed that he’d been assigned the task of instructing us in the ways of water too.

As I scrambled toward a seat, the boat lurched over a wave and I wondered if eating all those sopas had been such a great idea after all.

The outboard gurgled to life and Miguel navigated us away from the docks while Inez waved her farewell.

“The Eydis Strikers, except Miguel, are keeping an eye on the cenoté topside,” Gabriel shouted over the roar of the outboard engine. He watched us, his grin widening as we flopped around the floor of the boat like fish out of water, struggling into our wet suits.

“I thought we weren’t attacking the Guardians,” Shay said.

“No attack, just watching in case we have any surprises,” Gabriel said. He picked up a tank. “Listen up-we only get one shot here, so pay attention.”

It was hard to pay attention when it felt like championship Ping-Pong was taking place in your stomach, but drowning didn’t hold any appeal either, so I clenched my teeth and did my best to focus. The wet suit didn’t help matters, as it fit like a tight, thick second skin that I desperately wanted to claw off.

“We can make it almost all the way to the cenoté without being submerged,” Gabriel said. “But the last ten yards are a tunnel and we will have to swim it.”

“We’re going into an underwater tunnel?” Mason already looked green, and this news made him clutch his stomach.

Gabriel nodded. “And the tunnel narrows just before you can access the cenoté. When you hit that gap, you’ll have to take off your vest and tank and push them through.”

Nev laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Gabriel’s expression wasn’t a kidding one.

Mason leaned over the side of the boat and retched.

“You can’t fit through the opening wearing your tank,” Gabriel said. “But it will only take you a minute to push the tank and then yourself through. Don’t overthink it.”

“You’re assuming it’s just us down there,” I said. “What if we have to fight our way in? Did anyone tell you about the spider?”

“No spiders down there, preciosa,” Gabriel said. “I swam the tunnel twice already-it’s a clear passage. The Keepers are only watching the top.”

His smile was warm and reassuring, but I felt uneasy.

“Listen,” he continued. “I’m serious about not overthinking this dive. Below the surface, the mixture of nitrogen and oxygen in the tanks can play tricks on your mind. At worst, hallucinations, panic attacks-and if you start to freak, it will be hard to turn it off. Comprende?”

Mason wiped his mouth and nodded.

“Besides,” Adne added, “it’s a one-way trip. No use getting all worked up.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Ren gave her a weary smile.

She punched him on the arm. “Not that kind of one way. I just mean once Shay has Eydis, I’ll weave a door and we’ll be back to Inez in time for dinner.”

“Fish tacos?” Connor brightened.

Gabriel shrugged. “Likely.”

The trip along the coast took an hour, during which we skirted a dark and unfriendly limestone coastline. The jungle hung over the water, its vines appearing to writhe just above the swells. By the time Miguel lowered the anchor, everyone but the Searchers and Shay had been sick at least once. Apparently wolves can’t find their sea legs.

I rinsed my mouth out with salt water as Gabriel gave final instructions on scuba safety procedures. “Remember, if you get into trouble, the person with a functioning tank is in charge. That’s how buddy breathing works. Got it?”

We all gave him a thumbs-up.

Gabriel pointed to the tangle of jade leaves and thick branches. “That’s where we’re headed.”

I peered at the shore and could just make out a sliver of darkness cutting through the glistening green.

“I will wait here for an hour,” Miguel said as he settled into one of the seats. “In case any of the lobos can’t handle the dive. None of you seem to have sea legs.”

Mason threw him an unfriendly smile, taking a deep breath before he and Nev put on their masks and fins, placed their regulators in their mouths, and jumped into the water.

“You okay?” Shay held my tank while I slipped my arms into my buoyancy vest and secured the safety belts.

I nodded. Bile was sloshing in my stomach again. I didn’t think talking would help.

“You’ll do fine,” Ren added, handing me a mask.

“I’ve got this,” Shay said. “Get your own equipment on.”

“I can help her too,” Ren growled. “Back off.”

“Don’t start,” I said, swallowing hard. “And I don’t need help from either of you. Just get in the water.”

They were both still glaring at each other, so I jabbed them away with my elbows, closed my eyes, and did a back roll into the sea.

Other than the way my blood roared in my ears as I sank beneath the surface, my world had gone quiet. Nearly silent.

Slowly, I adjusted to my surroundings. I wasn’t quite floating, but I wasn’t sinking either. The air in the vest kept me buoyant while I gently kicked my fins. I equalized the pressure in my ears by holding my nose and applying a bit of pressure until they popped and cleared, just as Gabriel had promised. The fins propelled me forward much more quickly than I’d expected. An adrenaline spike sent shivers through my limbs. I twisted in the water, graceful, unencumbered by weight. Maybe wolves were dolphins in another life.

Mason and Nev had also gotten comfortable breathing underwater and were now chasing a sea turtle, circling it the way they would a rabbit. I giggled and bubbles spouted up around me.

Four booms, like miniature explosions, came from above. I looked up to see that Shay, Ren, Adne, and Connor had entered the water. One final boom signaled Gabriel’s arrival. He immediately took off toward the shoreline, moving through the water lithe as a sea lion, with only a quick wave to indicate that we should follow.

Having just gotten comfortable with my new underwater surroundings, I didn’t feel ready to leave the open sea for the confinement of the cave, but I didn’t have a choice.

The tunnel loomed ahead, an absolute darkness in contrast to the aquamarine sea we were leaving behind. As we approached the black maw carved in the shoreline, the surge of excitement I’d felt earlier gave way to gnawing anxiety.

Gabriel surfaced just inside the mouth of the cave and pulled off his mask. I looked past him, trying to judge the distance between the water’s surface and the cave’s ceiling. Four feet, maybe five, but my flashlight’s beam showed that the ceiling sloped down farther into an ever-narrowing tunnel.

“I’ve already placed a guideline in the corridor where we’ll be submerged,” Gabriel said. “If you start to lose your sense of direction, just focus on the line. And remember, don’t overthink it. Just breathe, clear your ears as you descend, and everything will be fine.”

“Is this really the best plan?” Silas asked. For the first time, his arrogance was overridden by fear. “Cave diving requires special certification. Perhaps-”

“I teach that certification,” Gabriel cut him off. “I know what I’m doing. We wouldn’t be doing this if there was any other option.”

He shook his head. My heart had begun to pound as I wondered about the degree of danger we were on the verge of confronting.

“It’s the only way.” Gabriel turned on the light at his wrist. “And we’re wasting time discussing it.”

Silas had begun to tremble, and I didn’t think it was from anger at Gabriel. I felt a little sorry for the Scribe.

He might be an ass, but he doesn’t have to be here. He only came because he believes in what he’s doing.

I swam over to him, keeping my voice low. “I’ll watch out for you.”

His eyes widened, but he managed a nod. I gestured for him to swim in our single-file line just behind Shay and before me. If he needed help, it was my guess that other than Gabriel, Shay and I would be his best shot. Shay seemed to take to any new hobby that caught his fancy-and I was just too stubborn to suck at anything I considered a challenge.

Gabriel led us forward at a slow and steady swim. The farther we moved into the cavern, the narrower the passage became. I tried to keep my breaths slow, but I couldn’t do anything about my amped-up pulse. The tunnel was closing around us, becoming ever tighter. The sunlight, which had pierced the cave’s mouth, now faded, leaving us only with the lights strapped to our wrists to guide us.

Gabriel stopped. He didn’t turn around, but his voice bounced over the surface of the water and the tunnel walls.

“We’re going under now,” he said. “Follow the diver in front of you and the guideline. It will take about five minutes before we hit the gap where you’ll have to take off your vest and tank. I’ll be on the other side; you’ll push them through the opening and I’ll light the way with my flashlight.”

One by one we submerged. Unlike the glittering vastness of the open ocean, diving in the tunnel plunged us into a choking darkness. As we swam forward, the passage became less of a channel and more of a craggy, cave-like enclosure with sharp ridges in its walls and stalactites through which we had to weave our way.

Five minutes. Five minutes. Five minutes.

So little time. But the swim seemed to be taking so much longer. We passed other tunnels, offshoots of the path we followed. The current kept shifting around me, pushing and pulling me away from the line of divers. Blood thrummed in my head. I was starting to feel dizzy. Words floated through my mind, a mesmerizing but deadly chant.

Drown. Crush. Lost.

Silas stopped moving forward and the voices in my head began to shriek.

Lost! Lost! Lost!

Why weren’t we moving? What was wrong?

Blood screamed through my veins. I started to turn around. If I could just swim back-get out of this cave. Find my way out, out, out. It was too tight. Too dark.

Silas began to move again. His slow, easy kicks broke through my panic. After a few feet, he paused again. I remained still, watching him, trying to remember what I should be doing.

Behind me, Ren gently tugged the tip of one of my fins. I craned my neck to stare at him. He tilted his head, giving me a puzzled look, motioning for me to go forward, and I understood.

The gap. We’d reached the gap. Of course we’d stop while waiting for each diver to pass through.

My heart was still slamming inside my chest, but my head had cleared enough to stop me short of a full-on freak-out.

But it didn’t do anything to make the wait less agonizing. As our group moved forward, one by one, I couldn’t stop the fearful images that played in my mind’s eye. Getting stuck. Being crushed. Drowning in this darkness.

I gripped the regulator hose with one hand. Right now, it felt like the only connection I had to the outside world-to the light, and earth, and air where I belonged.

Silas was unbuckling his buoyancy vest, wriggling out of it one arm at a time and pushing it and the tank through an opening that I could barely make out. A gap that looked impossibly narrow. Next, the Scribe kicked his fins and slid into the dark hole, his body blocking the flashlight’s beam as it disappeared in the tunnel’s walls. When the tips of his fins were no longer visible, I thought my heart would stop.

A hand reached through the hole and Gabriel’s face appeared. He was waiting, beckoning to me. My mind screamed at me as I separated myself from my vest and tank and guided them into Gabriel’s hands. He’d been right-any type of thinking would work against me, fueling the fear that could kill me.

I forced my mind to go blank, willing my legs to kick slowly, mechanically. Stretching my body, I propelled myself through the narrow gap like a torpedo shot out of its tube.

I didn’t know that I’d made it to the other side until Gabriel gripped my arm tight, helping me through.

He was shaking his head, forcing me to slow to a stop. He held up my vest as I slipped it on. The crinkling around his eyes told me he was smiling. Shay was beside him, waiting for me and smiling as well.

When my vest and tank were in place and the buckles secured, Shay took my hand and we swam to the surface. I ripped off my mask, gulping air and shuddering. Shay pulled off his mask and spit out his mouthpiece, grinning at me.

“What?” I asked.

“You were supposed to go through the gap slowly, Calla,” he said. “You caught Gabriel so off guard you almost knocked the regulator out of his mouth.”

“I just wanted to get it over with,” I said, feeling defensive. That swim ranked high on my list of things I never wanted to do again. When Adne surfaced, I wanted to kiss her. Thank God it’s a one-way trip.

Shay splashed me, still laughing.

Ren surfaced beside us. “Man, it’s good to be able to see again.”

With drowning no longer a threat, I gazed around the cavern. Ren was right. The light was dim, but we didn’t need our flashlights.

“That must be the opening of the cenoté,” Shay said, pointing at the ceiling.

Far, far above us-at least a hundred feet up-was an opening in the cave through which jungle-filtered sunlight spilled into the darkness, flickering only with occasional movement near the opening, a fluttering of birds that nested inside the cavern.

“You guys like swimming that much?” Mason called. He and Nev were sitting a few feet away with Ethan and Sabine. “Dry-okay, not dry, but damp, solid land right here.”

“I knew there was a reason I liked you.” Ren laughed as we swam to the spot where slippery stones of the cenoté floor were lapped by salt water.

I hauled myself out of the water. Only a sense of dignity kept me from sprawling on the stone, pressing my cheek lovingly to the earth. The air was still too heavy, thick with brine and decaying fish, but at least it was real air.

“Everyone okay?” Gabriel asked.

“I’m a little dizzy,” Adne said, squeezing water out of her hair.

“That’s normal,” he replied. “But tell me if it gets any worse.”

“Thanks,” she said drily.

“You all did great,” Gabriel said. “Let’s get what we came for.”

“Where are we headed?” Shay asked.

“An alcove.” Gabriel started walking. “You can see it from here.”

“The light,” Shay murmured.

I followed his gaze. One corner of the cenoté gleamed with the marbled sapphire and emerald tones of the sea that contrasted with the sheer sunlight in the rest of the cave.

Our group began to head after Gabriel, except Silas, who was squinting at the ceiling.

Nev glanced at him. “Yeah, I think our arrival made the birdies unhappy.”

Looking up, I saw what he meant. The flutter of wings above had increased; shadows darted back and forth across the cave’s opening. A tittering sound swelled, echoing in the chamber.

“I don’t think those are birds,” Silas said.

“What?” Nev frowned.

The noise grew louder; sunlight from above winked in and out, at times fully blocked off by the movement above us.

“What is that?” I asked.

Silas whispered something, but I couldn’t quite hear him. The cenoté amplified sound, transforming the fluttering of wings into a rush of wind.

It was too late when I understood he’d said, “Get back in the water. Now!”

FOURTEEN

THE CEILING WAS MOVING, every inch of it.

“Cave-in!” Mason shouted, running for cover.

Gabriel had already leapt from shore, donned his gear, and submerged.

How would getting in the water protect us from falling stone?

Mason hesitated, looking up like the rest of us. The movement above wasn’t a deadly shower of rock; it was swooping, swirling mobs of shadow. For a moment I thought it was wraiths, but wraiths didn’t have wings. And they made no sound.

“Move it!” Ethan shoved me as Sabine dove into the pool. I stumbled backward, falling into the water without my mask on or the first stage of my regulator in my mouth. I came up coughing, struggling to see and to breathe.

Connor and Adne were in the water, like me struggling with their gear.

Gabriel surfaced, ripped his regulator out of his mouth, and shouted, “What the hell are you waiting for!”

Mason, Nev, and Silas were still onshore.

“What’s that?” Nev and Mason both stared at the dark, living cloud-moving slowly toward the water.

“Gabriel’s right-get underwater!” Silas waved at them frantically, even as he fumbled to pull on his own vest and tank. “You can’t stay there!”

His furious movements caught the attention of the swarm above. Suddenly, the cloud of beating wings with its shrill, chirping chorus plunged down. Silas cried out, falling to his knees as it surrounded him.

I could no longer see him, only make out the shape of a body beneath the pulsing mob of tiny furred bodies, leathery wings, and enormous ears that dwarfed their heads.

“Oh God.” Mason grabbed Nev’s hand, dragging him toward the water.

“We have to help him.” I started to swim toward shore, but Gabriel, who was much faster in the water, cut me off.

“He’s already dead.”

“No, he’s not.” I fought Gabriel off only to find both Shay and Ren in my way.

I snarled at them. “What are you doing?”

“Look,” Ren said, jerking his head toward shore.

The cloud had lifted from Silas’s body, which wasn’t moving. The skin I could see was ghastly pale, the rest of it covered with tiny red incisions. Even his wet suit had been cut to ribbons.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Ren said.

“I said I’d watch out for him.” My voice shook. “I said…”

“There wasn’t any way for you to know.” Shay glanced at the swarm, which now hovered above us.

I was shivering in the water. It felt as though my bones rattled beneath my skin.

“They’ll dive at us, even out here.” Gabriel watched the swooping mass of fur and wings. “We’ll need to submerge and resurface. That will throw them off.”

I didn’t want to go underwater again. Breathing was already hard enough, and what had happened to Silas had been so sudden, and so horrible.

After we dove down, I heard hundreds of pings on the surface like it had begun to rain. Gabriel led us to the far edge of the cavern. He kept us close, huddled together, arms linked as we waited. At his signal we surfaced.

“Keep your voices low,” he whispered. “And don’t make any loud splashes or sudden movements. The water keeps them at bay, but they’ll still hunt us.”

He gestured to the area from which we’d come. Small winged carcasses floated on the surface. Bats that had tried to get to us, become sodden, and, unable to fly again, eventually drowned.

“Bats?” Mason asked. “Bats can do that?”

“Vampire bats,” Gabriel said.

“But vampire bats don’t kill people,” Nev said. “Right? That’s just a myth.”

“Vampire bats don’t hunt in swarms either.” Gabriel gazed up at the ceiling. “These have been changed. They’re like piranhas.”

“More Keeper tricks,” Shay said.

Connor was gazing at the shore where Silas’s body lay. “Damn it. I knew he shouldn’t have come.”

Guilt tightened my chest again. Why hadn’t I helped him? I could have grabbed him and pulled him in the water.

“What now?” Adne asked.

Ethan looked at the shoreline. “We need to buy Shay time.”

Connor laughed. “You mean draw fire?”

“Exactly.” Ethan smiled grimly.

“Buy me time for what?” Shay asked. “I won’t leave you to fight without me.”

“It’s only temporary, kid,” Connor said. “I don’t find this cave any cozier than you do. I’m itching to say adios to this place. But you need that hilt and you can’t get it without us.”

Shay nodded slowly. “So you’ll distract the bats…”

“And you run for that alcove,” Ethan finished. “It’s set far enough in the corner that if the bats are already distracted, they won’t notice you heading there.”

“You need to let us lure the bats,” Sabine said.

“I don’t think so.” Ethan glared at her.

“I’m a big girl.” She bared her teeth. “And wolves are faster than Searchers. We can jump in and out of the water. And the group of us running around will confuse them.”

“She’s right,” Ren said. “Let the pack handle this.”

“Yes,” I said, knowing I’d snatch a few bats out of the air in the process. There was no way I was going to let that happen to Silas and not get a little payback.

Connor shrugged. “As long as you’ve all had your rabies shots.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” Sabine growled. “But only because Ethan likes you.”

“Jumping in and out of the water, huh?” Mason smiled. “I hope you’re prepared to accept how bad wet fur smells.”

“We’ll manage,” Adne said. I noticed she was shivering too and there were streaks of water on her cheeks that I didn’t think were from the dive. “Can we just do this? I can’t look at Silas lying there anymore.”

Connor nodded. “Okay, Scion, you run back here as soon as you have Eydis so Adne can weave a door and get us out.”

Shay shrugged off his tank, pushing it toward Gabriel. “I’ll be faster without it.”

“Ready?” Ren was looking at me. As alphas we’d lead this strike.

“As ever,” I snarled, drawing on my anger to push away any fear.

I’m sorry, Silas. I’ll try to make it up to you.

One by one our pack submerged, swimming away from Shay and the others. We stayed beneath the surface as long as we could. When the water was too shallow, Ren and I shifted forms in sync, two wolves bursting from the water. The ceiling came to life. Mason was running at my flank, while Nev and Sabine stayed close to Ren. The swarm of bats dove; I could feel the wind stirred up by hundreds of tiny wings brushing across my fur.

Now. I sent the thought to the pack.

We scattered.

A horrible shrieking echoed in the cavern. I leapt up at intervals, snapping at the air. Sometimes my jaws ripped apart a wing or crushed a small body. At others I bit nothing, the swarm having moved on to pursue one of my packmates.

A yelp jerked me around and I saw a dozen or more bats clinging to Nev’s shoulders. His muscles bunched and he jumped off the shoreline, crashing into the water, sending some of the bats careening through the air while others were sucked beneath the surface when Nev shifted forms and fully submerged again.

It was working. The bats couldn’t track so many of us, moving so quickly. And when the swarm did fix its hunt on one of our number, we were fast enough to get into the water before they could do too much damage.

Another splash echoed through the cavern. Sabine was in the water, taking bats with her-a lot more of the creatures clung to her than had to Nev. They were getting better at focusing on one of us at a time. I felt the rush of wind again. I didn’t have to look over my shoulder to know the swarm had targeted me. The first bat landed on my spine; its teeth cutting across my back was light as a pinprick, but the feeling of its tiny tongue lapping up my blood almost made me stumble. Another bat clung to me. Then another.

Calla! Ren’s shout filled my head. There are too many on you; get in the water now!

I didn’t want to know how many was too many. But I could feel their weight on my back and my blood leaking from dozens of minuscule cuts. I wheeled and flung myself into the water. The force of my leap slammed my chest hard into the surface, knocking the breath from my lungs. The bats struggled to free themselves from my fur and take flight before the water captured them. I shifted forms, trying to put in my mouthpiece and get air. My heart was pounding, but I forced myself to be still, drinking in the silence of submersion. Beneath the surface everything was dark, though my eyes were open. I felt as if I were floating in empty space rather than underwater. I was desperate to get back into the fight, but I had to be steady first. When I was sure I had my breath back, I swam to the shore, shifting, and burst back into the fray.

But there was no fray. The rest of my pack stood still, ears flicking back and forth, watching the ceiling.

The bats had vanished.

What happened? I padded to Ren’s side.

They left. He pawed the ground in agitation. The cavern shook and they all flew out of the opening to the cave.

The cavern shook? I hadn’t felt anything underwater.

Just a little. Sabine was licking a cut on Nev’s shoulder.

Mason and I exchanged a look. His tongue lolled out in a wolf grin. He’s got it. Shay found Eydis.

How do you know? Ren’s ears flicked back and forth when he turned toward Mason.

The cave shook in Switzerland. I nipped at Mason’s shoulder playfully. Go, Shay!

Right. Ren remained tense. But why would that make the bats leave?

I bristled. Let’s get back to the others.

We had started toward the alcove when the cavern rumbled again. The earth rolled under my paws, throwing me onto my side. The water’s surface began to stir, spilling over the edge of the shore. Soon it looked like a boiling cauldron.

What’s happening? Mason called to us.

I could hear the Searchers shouting, but I couldn’t make out their words over the roar of water pouring into the cavern. Scrambling to my feet, I started to run toward their voices. My paws were splashing through ankle-deep water. It should have been impossible. Water coming through that tiny cleft in the rock we’d had to worm through couldn’t be this forceful. But somehow it was. Water that had been at my knees was already at my waist and rising, forcing me to swim. The cave shuddered again. Slabs of stone dropped from the ceiling.

I could see Connor waving to us. Adne was beside him, fumbling with her scuba gear while Gabriel tried to help her. Ethan began swimming toward us.

Where was Shay? I couldn’t spot him among them.

“We have to get out of here!” Connor shouted.

The water was at my neck, but I’d almost reached them. A deafening roar filled the cave and then the ocean was crashing around us, roiling, hitting us with the force of a tidal wave. We were thrown apart.

I slammed into the cavern wall. My instincts screamed at me to swim up and find a way to surface, but whatever rational cells were left in my body stopped me. There wasn’t a way to surface, not anymore. The cavern was flooding with a speed that could only be credited to magic. Was it a final trap left by the Keepers or just a result of Shay claiming the water hilt? Whatever the cause, I knew my salvation lay in working with the water, not against it.

I shifted forms and shoved my mouthpiece in, knowing that I had to find Shay. He’d left his tank behind when he went after Eydis. He’d drown without an air source. I struggled against the new currents that swirled through the water, grabbing a single fin before it could float past me. Even the help of one fin would be better than trying to swim without them.

I worked my way toward the gleaming tones of the alcove, which wavered now that they were submerged. A flicker above me drew my gaze. I saw kicking feet. Shay was pushing himself toward the surface. Without a tank he had no other options. My fin gave me extra speed as I went after him.

When I grabbed his ankle, he jerked around, ready to strike at me. I pulled him down, taking my mouthpiece out and pushing it onto his lips. I held his shoulders, trying to remember Gabriel’s instructions. I had the tank, so I was in charge of the breaths. Keeping my eyes on Shay’s lungs, I counted: one breath, two breaths. He nodded at me. I took the mouthpiece from him and took my two breaths. We began to swim slowly toward the spot where I’d last seen the Searchers.

Shay pointed ahead. A light shimmered in the water-golden against the turquoise currents-a tall, narrow slab of light.

Adne’s door. She’d opened a door underwater. Shay squeezed my arm and we swam faster. Adne was hovering near the portal. She had her tank and mask on, and when she caught sight of us, she began waving frantically. But she wasn’t waving at us, she was pointing to something behind us. I flipped around and though I didn’t have a mouthpiece in, or air to waste, I screamed.

Gabriel was swimming toward us and the portal, but he wasn’t alone. He was dragging something with him. The limp body of a wolf.

Nev wasn’t struggling to swim or free himself from Gabriel’s arms. He wasn’t moving at all.

Shay shoved the mouthpiece between my lips with a shake of his head. Gabriel swam past us, dragging Nev with him into the portal. We swam after him, pushing through the shimmering passage and landing in a muddy puddle on the jungle floor.

“No!” Mason was kneeling over Nev. “Please, Nev!”

“Get out of the way!” Gabriel pushed Mason aside.

Mason snarled. He shifted forms, ready to lunge at Gabriel. Connor jumped between them.

“Wait!” Connor shouted. “Give him a minute. He’s a dive instructor, remember? He’s certified in CPR.”

Mason stalked back and forth whining as Gabriel pushed on Nev’s chest and breathed into his muzzle.

Breathe, Nev. Breathe.

Someone took my hand. I leaned into Ren, beyond grateful that he was here and alive. But when I looked up at him, I saw how pale he was as he watched Gabriel trying to bring Nev back to us.

Adne fell onto the ground beside me. “Tell me we saved him,” she gasped.

Even as she spoke, Nev’s jaws opened and water spewed out of his mouth. He coughed and shook his head, rolling onto his stomach with a whimper.

Mason yelped, scrambling close to Nev and covering his face and muzzle with licks. They both shifted to human form, clinging to each other fiercely.

Sabine sobbed while Ethan held her. Ren squeezed my hand before going to Nev and hugging him.

“Thank God,” Connor murmured. “Nice work, Gabriel.”

“A wolf.” Gabriel grinned. “CPR on a wolf. That’s a first for me.”

“All I can taste is fish.” Nev groaned, coughing up yet more water. “I will never eat fish for as long as I live.”

“Shut up,” Mason said. “Just shut up.” And he kissed Nev again.

FIFTEEN

WE TRUDGED THROUGH the jungle, sodden and dripping. The joy of saving Nev and retrieving Eydis were muted by losing Silas. As we came around the bend in the trail where the forest dropped down toward the sea, the dive shop peeked out through the cover of branches.

“There’s Inez waiting on the deck,” Gabriel said. “She’s got those mother-hen instincts big-time.”

Inez’s back was to us; she was lounging on a deck chair. Miguel was sitting in the shadow cast by the dive shop’s eaves. Two more chairs were pulled up between Miguel and Inez. A woman in a bikini stretched languidly in one. Next to her, a man in an open linen shirt and khaki shorts laughed, threading his fingers through hers.

“Who are they?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Gabriel said. “I didn’t think we had any dive groups scheduled for today.”

He picked up his pace, not running, but taking swift strides toward the figures on the deck. The woman in the bikini saw him and began to wave. Her companion stood up, pushing back his sunglasses.

Ren’s nose crinkled up. “Hang on… Do you smell that?”

“Yeah… shit,” Nev snarled, glancing at the thick jungle that surrounded us.

“You smell shit?” Ethan asked. “Thanks for sharing.”

“No,” Nev said. “We smell cats.”

I sniffed the air. They were right. It was subtle but definitely there. An acrid scent like burning silk and dried sage. A growl rose in my throat.

Gabriel’s eyes widened. “Las sombras… no!”

“Gabriel, wait!” Ethan shouted. But the other man was bolting toward the hideout, yelling.

“Inez! Miguel!” Neither of the Searchers on the deck moved.

It happened in the space of a blink. Gabriel had just reached the deck and it dropped onto him-a shape descending like an ebony cloak. The panther screamed as it leapt from its hiding place on the other side of the roof. Then it was on Gabriel, who was screaming when the cat’s claws sank into his shoulders. His cry cut off abruptly when its jaws locked around his neck and twisted sharply, breaking the bones.

“Damn it!” Ethan glared as the panther darted off the deck and into the jungle’s shadows.

I waited for the woman on the deck to scream. But she rolled over, laughing. Her oiled, golden skin blurred into a sleek coat. The man beside her took two huge bounds and leapt, hitting the roof in cat form. They vanished into the dark vines just as the other panther had. Hisses and wicked purring filled the branches above us, drowning the air with their menacing sounds.

How many are up there?

The Guardians had all shifted form. Our pack huddled up, glancing into the forest canopy. But the cats seemed to be invisible, slinking among the branches, remaining out of sight.

“We’ve got to get out from under them,” Connor said. “Stay close. Head for the house. We need a defensible position we can hold while Adne weaves a door.”

Ethan took point, Sabine and Nev beside him, while Mason, Shay, and Ren stayed closed to Adne. I hung back with Connor, watching the trees as our group slowly moved forward.

We were ready when the next panther leapt. Its scream became a grunt when Ethan hurled his tank at it, catching the beast fully in the chest. It hit the ground, struggling to catch its breath. Mason and Ren took advantage of its momentary disorientation, charging the cat. It lashed out at them with its claws, but Mason held its attention while Ren tore at its flank with his teeth. When it finally turned to scream at Ren, Mason went for the kill, lunging at the cat’s throat and crushing its windpipe.

The trees came alive with rage-filled screams, and las sombras rained down on us in a torrent of sleek midnight fur and razor-sharp claws.

“Run!” Connor shouted.

Ethan took off toward the house with wolves at his heels. Connor cried out as a panther sprang on him, knocking him to his knees. I snarled and threw myself at the cat, forcing it to release Connor for the sake of fighting me. The force of my blow sent us rolling onto the beach. Our bodies were twisted around each other as we wrestled in the sand. I yelped when the panther’s claws sank into my back but answered immediately with my own ferocious bites into its chest. The cat screamed, rolling away from me. I scrambled to my feet, squaring off against it as I tried to brace myself in the soft sand. It hissed at me, bright green eyes filled with rage… and intelligence.

My heart skipped a beat. A Guardian-the cats were like us, slaves to the Keepers. For a moment I wanted to reach out, to see if I could somehow make a connection to this unwanted enemy. But such a thought belonged only to me. The cat bunched up and leapt at me. I went flat, rolling over on my back so the panther sailed past me. I kept tumbling until I was right-side up and without hesitation lunged at the cat’s unprotected back, tearing into its flesh. The cat screamed and bucked, trying to get away from my ripping teeth. But I was unrelenting; its blood-invisible against its black coat-stained the beach sand crimson. Desperate, the cat reared up and tipped over backward. I leapt off before it could crash down on top of me. Free of attack, the panther didn’t turn to face me again. Instead it bolted for the cover of the jungle.

“Calla!” Connor was waving at me. The others had made it to the deck. I shook sand from my coat and ran for the hideout.

You okay? Ren came to meet me. You’re bleeding.

The cuts aren’t deep. I nipped at his flank. We’ll deal with it once we’re out of here.

Ethan was at the door, flinging it open. Sabine and Nev bolted inside. I looked over my shoulder as I ran toward the house. The jungle had become still. No cats pursued us.

They aren’t giving chase. Ren snarled, sharing my anxiety.

I know. I bared my teeth at him. That can’t be good.

Connor swore as we passed the still forms of Inez and Miguel on the deck. They’d been propped up, throats torn out, and they stared at us with unseeing eyes.

“I swear I’m getting payback for this,” Connor said, slamming the door behind us. The Guardians stalked around the Searchers, bristling and snarling. Something was very, very wrong.

“Start weaving, Adne,” Connor said quietly. “As fast as you can.”

She nodded, moving toward the entrance to the kitchen to give herself more space. She had just pulled out her skeans when I caught the scent. It wasn’t las sombras but another, even more acrid odor. Like that of the panthers, it was burning and too sharp, but the cats had smelled unusual, new. This scent was old. One I knew all too well. A raw scent of boiling pitch and singed hair.

I was already moving when I saw the inky, formless creature looming behind Adne.

Calla! Shay’s cry of alarm sounded in my mind, but I had no choice. I couldn’t think or Adne would die. If she died, everyone died.

“Adne, run!” I’d shifted forms, barreling toward her with all the speed I had.

She turned to face me, startled. Confusion locked her in place.

“Connor! Ethan!” I kept running. “Get everyone away from here. Run now!”

I stretched out my arms, grabbing Adne at the waist. As I pivoted around, I threw her across the room, hoping Connor would be ready to catch her.

“No!” I heard Shay’s desperate yell at the same moment Ren howled.

I closed my eyes and let the wraith engulf me.

Pain.

As the darkness rolled over my skin, it felt like a thousand small, white-hot hooks had lodged in my flesh. They slowly began to pull, tearing skin from muscle. I was screaming, but I couldn’t hear anything. Not even the sound of my own agony. I was being torn apart. I was on fire.

And then there was nothing.