This was the first time I’d ever seen a shifter in action, and I was both fascinated and horrified as his bones cracked, his body transforming into a golden, furred beast that was as big as a damn horse. The seat collapsed under his weight while bits of clothing littered the car. His roar just about busted my eardrums, as he ripped off the door and leaped from the moving vehicle. Ilia spun the car in a one-eighty turn as I screamed.
“What are you doing?” I shouted.
She gritted her teeth, wrestling the wheel. “It’s not me. They hit us with a spell.”
The road between the school and the town was a single lane, ice and snow along the edges. The moment our tires slipped off the asphalt and clipped the slush, Ilia lost all control.
“Shit,” she spat, easing her foot off the accelerator. “Prepare for a fight, girl. Stay close to me.”
“I don’t know how to fight,” I gasped, clutching my seat belt, shopping bags pelting me as we finally came to a stop. “Especially not with magic.”
It was my first week; I was still learning how to create a mage light.
What was I going to do? Shine the way to make it easier for them?
When the car stopped moving, an echoing silence reverberated through my ears. I jumped when Ilia pushed her door open and sprang free. Shoving bags and boxes off me, I pushed at my door too. It didn’t move. It was jammed somehow, and I slammed it with my boot and then my shoulder, trying to get it unstuck.
Suddenly it was wrenched so hard that I almost tumbled out.
One of the leather-clad assholes was standing on the other side, and for a brief moment he examined me. I was assuming a male judging by the build, but it could have been a very muscled female as well.
“Are you Macilintaof the Sonaris people?” a heavily accented voice asked me. So heavy that I couldn’t even be sure I heard that correctly.
I gasped before shaking my head. “My name is Maddison.”
He reached in to yank me out and I threw myself back, out of his reach. I scrambled into the front and dove out the opening from the door Josh tore off. Hitting the cold ground was not the most fun I’d had today, but it was more fun than having some weird leather-wearing asshole rip my limbs from my body.
I was up and running, natural athleticism kicking in. On the other side of the road, a freaking lion was pouncing on a few of the leather-clad guys. The thought hit me hard: Josh turned into an animal. A lion.
How is this my life?
Ilia’s red curls caught my eye. She was fighting three … no, four of our pursuers, and she was doing a wicked good job at it. Sparks flew from her hands as she spun and twirled in what looked like a complicated dance. She shouted words that I recognized as the fey language, and I could not imagine ever being that confident and skilled.
“Maddi!” she shouted. “Watch out!”
I heard his footsteps a moment before I was tackled to the ground. Bucking, I fought as hard as I could, managing to turn over. I took us both by surprise when my knee collided with his chin, knocking him back just enough that I could scramble to my feet.
My limbs ached as I started to hobble away. Who the hell were thesemuthafucking rat bastards? And why were they attacking us? None of this made sense. It was clearly a case of mistaken identity.
“We need you to help save the world, Macilinta,” he shouted in that same heavy accent.
Turning so I could see him better, I started to back up. “You’ve got the wrong person. My name is Maddison.”
Staring directly at him now, I noticed how full and pink his lips were, and the perfect white teeth he flashed when he spoke. Why I noticed that was a mystery, but apparently my brain acted even odder during crisis situations.
“You have blood of the royals,” he said slowly.
My foot scuffed a few rocks as I continued to back up, hoping that at least I could get closer to Ilia while I kept this crazy dude talking. I risked a quick glance over my shoulder, gasping as Ilia finally went down, a bunch of assholes pushing forward to finish her off.
I had to help her, but how? I looked around, and the guy who was pursuing me paused and tilted his head. “Your energy called to us, but … your hair. It’s pink.”
Probably not a good time to tell him I dyed it.
“And right now I feel nothing from you.”
Also not a good time to tell him that my energy appeared and disappeared at will.
“So it stands to reason I might not be her, right?” I pointed out the obvious.
