I shudder. “They’re hunters. Humans who know about shadowkind and have figured out how to capture us and kill us. I can’t tell whether they’re happy the whole world knows what they’ve been fighting or annoyed that now they have so much more competition for being the biggest jerks to us.”
Gracie lets out a small snort. “Maybe some of both.” She takes a deep breath. “Anyway, I also… Because of people like that—even if I didn’t know they existed until now—and also people like my dad, I feel bad that I never did anything to make this world safer for you and your friends.”
I gape at her. “What do you mean? Yousavedme and all the other beings your dad had locked up.”
“I know. But after that… I went on with my life as if you didn’t exist. As if everything was normal. While you still had to worry that some other sorcerer might come along, or these hunter guys, or whoever.”
Gracie squares her shoulders. “There are a lot of voices talking about shadowkind now, some who think you deserve a chance, some who want you gone. I know what kinds of things you’ve had to endure to survive while still trying to help everyone. I knowyou. We need you so we can get through this mess, don’t we, Peri?”
A strange sensation sweeps through me, as if I’m brightening up and cringing at the same time. She sees me as the hero here. That’s a real honor.
But some tiny part of me was holding out hope that she was going to charge in and save the day one more time.
Nope. Looks like it’s still up to me.
“Yeah,” I say. “It seems that way. And I’m still not sure how I’m going to manage it. The progress I’ve made doesn’t feel like enough.”
Gracie holds out her hand. I let go of my tentativeness enough to walk the rest of the way over and wrap my fingers around hers.
She smiles at me with all the fondness and determination of the teenage girl who promised she’d get me out from behind those bars of silver and iron as soon as she had the chance. “Then this is where I should be. Here with you, figuring it out, pitching in however I can. We aren’t going to let the shadows beat us, are we?”
“Of course not!”
I put a surge of enthusiasm into the words automatically, but deep inside, my gut has twisted.
I have one more person relying on me—a person who matters a lot to me.
One more person I might let down if I can’t stop this rift and the others like it from belching more awfulness over both our realms.
Are there enough rainbows in all the world to put a bright side on that?
23
Mirage
As I stare up at the small rift, my skin twitches as if it wants to jump in the opposite direction.
I can’t really blame it. Most of the rest of me would like to jump that way too.
I glance back at Peri and the rest of our little family, who’ve come along with Rollick to see me off. Mostly I focus on my shiny mate, who isn’t all that shiny at the moment. “I don’t need to do this. If you’d rather I stayed here, so you have nothing to fear…”
The rhyme touches a little too closely to my own mood for comfort, but Peri’s grip on my arm calms my nerves a little. “I’llbe fine. I didn’t feel any strain at all when we tested out how far you could go in the shadow realm—I don’t think our bonds are restricting us anywhere near as much as they used to. And if anyone can help the beings caught up in this disaster, it’s you. You know how to guide the way. But ifyou’rehaving second thoughts?—”
I shake my head quickly. The determination that prompted me to agree to this plan in the first place expands inside me, buoying my resolve.
I’ve seen how hard my Rainbow has worked to help so many beings already. I’m not sure how much I’ve really contributed to the rescue efforts so far.
Long ago, when the humans with their scalpels and syringes held me in their cold metal cells, they tormented me into using my mind-altering magic to draw other shadowkind in. Remembering those days still leaves my stomach churning.
Now I have the chance to draw shadowkind who are in just as much danger to someplace safer, like I did for the humans days ago to get them out of the city. How can I refuse that opportunity just because I want to stay by my mate’s side?
If we can’t stop the destruction soon, we might be torn apart no matter what I do.
I give her and then Rollick a jaunty salute, drawing my body up straight like I’m one of those grouchy soldiers who are always marching around the evacuee camp. “I’m still on the team, prepared to do my duty. Let’s see what this fox can fix!”
Peri’s smile at my wordplay sets off a warmer glow inside me, echoing the affection that wafts through our bond. It’s a sensation that’s going to disappear the moment I slip into the rift, but I’m not going to let myself think about that fact.
She bobs up on her toes to offer a quick but sweet-as-ever kiss. “Don’t get too close to the warped areas, and don’t push yourself too hard. Come back as soon as you start feeling tired.”
