“Yes. It takes a lot of energy,” Cas said, then scolded her. “You can’t push yourself like that while you’re recovering.”
“I don’t even know what shadow walkingis!” she wailed, her gray eyes filling with tears.
I jolted in surprise at that, and I could see the same shock reflected on my brothers’ faces.
“Darling,” Zane said slowly, “how did you get over to Koa so fast?”
“What do you mean?” She blinked, clearly taken aback by the question. “I just ran, I guess.”
Cas hesitated, then turned the golf cart around so we could see the area we’d just left.
“You were standing with me, then you appeared next to Ko. In the blink of an eye.” He pointed his finger to one spot, then drew a line of at least forty feet to where she’d shoved Gregory into the lake. “From that shadow there, to that shadow there.”
“I didn’t… I don’t know, Simmy.” She swallowed hard. “I just wanted to get to Koko.”
I felt a pang ofsomethingat her words. I didn’t know what it was, but I could see it in Casimir’s eyes, too.
“You wanted to protect him,” he suggested quietly.
“I didn’t like what Mr. Storms was doing,” she admitted with a pout. “I don’t want anyone touching him like that. And Koko looked unhappy. What if Mr. Storms hurt him?”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” I told her.
“But what if someone tries to hurt you?” Her gray eyes searched my face.
“We can take care of ourselves.” I smiled to reassure her. “But we appreciate your concern.”
Cas, however, was still frowning.
“This changes things,” he said, his voice thoughtful. “If you can shadow walk and didn’t know it? We need to figure out the full extent of your powers.”
“So whatisshadow walking? You never answered, Simmy.”
“Just what the name says. You travel through shadows from one place to another.” He gave her a tiny smile, pride in his eyes. “It’s not something anyone can do.”
“Only the special ones,” Zane added for him, nudging his arm and receiving a confused look in return.
Should have kept Gregory around as a flirting tutor, I thought dryly.Cas sure as hell needs one.
“But.” She shook her head. “But I didn’tmeanto. I didn’t even know Icould. Everything I know of magic, Mama and Papa helped me figure out. Neither of them were lunar witches and…”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” I tightened my hold on her, feeling the way her body trembled. “It’s just something you’re capable of. Somethingpowerful.”
Her breath hitched, and she buried her face in my chest again.
“I don’t like it,” she mumbled. “It feels like I’m losing control.”
Zane reached back, ruffling her hair gently.
“You’re not losing control, buttercup. You’re just figuring yourself out. We’ll help you, yeah?”
“You’re safe, Seri,” Cas told her. “And we’ll make sure you understand your abilities. But for now, let’s just focus on getting you back to the house.”
“And cake?” she croaked out.
“And cake,” we chorused.
I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, my heart aching at everything she’d been through. But there was also a flicker of pride, She was stronger than she knew, and I couldn’t wait to see her realize that.
