Terra crouches before me, her hands on my knees. “That is for you to decide. But whatever you choose, you won’t be alone. The Shifter Court will stand with you.”
I barely hear her. My thoughts are racing, spinning, careening in a thousand directions at once.
I need to tell Sebastian. He is this baby’s father. He deserves to know. He may even want to be a part of our child’s life, even if we are not together.
Right now, I need to come to terms with it for myself.
46
Isla
“Focus,” I tell Finn, circling him where he stands in the training yard. “You’re letting your mind wander. I can see it in the way the flame flickers.”
Finn frowns at the small ball of fire hovering above his open palm. It sputters and wavers, threatening to die out entirely. He’s eighteen summers, and arrived with Terra only yesterday, with hollow cheeks and wary eyes. Terra found him scrounging in the ruins of some deadlands village, half-starved and sleeping in an abandoned pigpen.
No wonder he agreed to come. He has literally nothing to lose.
I liked him as soon as he told me he was ready to start training immediately. Although I had hoped for some time to myself after finding out about the pregnancy, I agreed to start today. I insisted he rest all day yesterday, to find his feet and to get a couple of square meals in his belly, and here we are.
He’s stronger than he looks. And more determined than most. It seems like his magic is fire-based like mine.
“Better,” I say as the flame steadies. “Now, try to make it grow. Not too fast…just a little at a time. Feel the heat in your chest and push it outward, into your hand.”
Finn’s brow furrows with concentration. The flame swells slightly, then shrinks again.
“Don’t force it,” I say. “Magic isn’t about force. It’s about—”
A horn sounds from somewhere deep within the caves. Then another. And another.
Finn’s head whips toward the sound, and the tiny flame in his palm dies instantly.
“Eyes on me,” I say, though my own attention has wandered. “Ignore it. Whatever it is, it doesn’t concern us.”
But even as I say the words, I can hear the growing rumble of voices echoing from the main cavern. There are a few shouts, as well as the clicks and yips of shifterfae calling to one another in their beast tongues.
Something is happening.
Finn looks at me with wide eyes. “Shouldn’t we go see what—?”
“No, I’m sure that whatever it is—”
The horn blares again, longer this time. More urgent.
I sigh. “Fine. We’ll go see what all the noise is about. You’ve probably done enough for one day anyway.”
Finn nods, already moving toward the main cavern. I follow at a more measured pace, though my own curiosity has gotten the better of me. My skirts swish against my legs as I walk.
The main cavern is busy, with shifterfae running for the exits. Some rush past us, others grab their children and run deeper into the cave. A group of hy-weres lopes toward the cave entrance, their bodies weaving through the crowd. Dragons call from outside.
“What’s happening?” I grab the arm of a passing shifterfae, a young female with platinum hair.
“Someone is in our territory uninvited,” she tells me, before running with the others.
I exchange a look with Finn. “Maybe you should go to your chamber to be safe.”
He nods, looking unsure.
“I’ll let you know if there’s anything to be concerned about.”
