25
Are you okay?
Midnight’s voice was loud and clear in my head again, so whatever Shadow had been doing to block us, he’d dropped it in the face of the danger around us.
Royal spy, I shot back quickly. It was a relief to know our mists were close.
“What is it?” I asked Shadow, trying to peer around him, but he kept shifting his position, stubbornly blocking me from view.
We’re on our way,Midnight said in a rush.
Best news ever.We’re kind of naked out near the waterfall.
They’re spinning energy around the place, and we’re attempting to get through. They may be planning something huge. Be on guard.
With that ominous statement, Midnight cut off from me, and while I was panicked, I also loved that we had mists on our side. I’d seen the look on Kristoff’s face when he’d learned they were bonded to us, and since he appeared to be both ancient and powerful in his own right, that told me it was a big deal.
A threat many wouldn’t see coming. Maybe the threat that saved us.
Can you see if it’s royal spies or something else?
There was a long pause, and if I hadn’t been able to feel the bond to Midnight, I might have worried that we’d been cut off again.
Three beings that are cloaked in darkness, adept at camouflage and subterfuge. Kristoff has disappeared as well. No idea what happened to him.
Wow, that sounded a lot like a James Bond movie, and that could only mean one thing: It was my time to Bond girl the situation and sort this shit out.
Placing my hand on Shadow’s back, I wasn’t surprised to find his skin boiling hot, despite the chilled water still pouring over us. “Midnight said that Kristoff is gone. Do you think he betrayed us?”
Shadow was furious, if the flames licking across his body were any indication. “A lot could have changed in the past two thousand years. So maybe.”
“Are they shadow creatures?” I wondered, mostly to myself. “I could try to command them,” I added louder.
His muscles rippled under my palm. “They’re not like anything I’ve ever seen before, but their power is different from a regular creature’s. I won’t risk you.”
Midnight had said the same thing about them being odd, or outside its knowledge, but I still thought it was worth trying my ability to call and control them.
“Get inside. Now!” Shadow snapped. “I will take care of them.”
I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see me.
“Sunshine, you will get your fucking ass inside, or the next time I have you naked, the punishment will be so much worse.”
Punishment?I hadn’t even realized I’d been punished, but maybe he meant when I was pinned spread-eagle against the wall while he’d eaten me out? Did I maybewant to find out what the next punishment would be? I mean… for research purposes, of course.
“Don’t push me,” he growled.
“I’m not leaving you to battle alone,” I said stubbornly. “At least not until the mists arrive.”
“They’re not going to make it in time,” he said quietly. Then he launched forward, leaving me squinting through the waterfall, trying to assess the situation.
For fuck’s sake. Shadow was off the edge of the cliff, wrestling withMr. Invisiblein the air. Pushing myself as far forward as I could on the outdoor deck, I tried to figure out a way to help. For all my talk about not leaving him alone, I was literally useless when I couldn’t fly out into the middle of an open space.
If I stepped off, I’d plummet straight into the water below.
I briefly considered if it would be worth doing that, simply to distract them and give Shadow a chance… The water looked hectic, but I’d survive. That could be Plan B.
I just needed an A now.
