“You were there that night. You’re the one who called 911,” Bridget said. “I remember the phone in your hand. And in the library… you were interested in that book about druids. You’re from Elyria, aren’t you? How did you get here?”
The ranger froze. Bridget didn’t miss the flash of surprise that lit up his eyes, like he hadn’t expected her to remember quite that much. He let out a hollow laugh. “I think you’re confused.”
Bridget shook her head. She scanned his body, trying to find any sign of who orwhathe was, but his long sleeves and pants covered almost every inch of skin. “Who are you?”
“I told you, I’m a park…”
The second she heard the lie, Bridget flung her dagger at him, aiming for his leg. It wasn’t meant to kill, just to buy her a second to run. But before it landed, the ranger lifted his hand. The blade shivered in midair with a metallic hum, as if it had struck an invisible wall. Then, yankedby an unseen thread, it snapped sideways and clattered against one of the standing stones.
Bridget launched herself at him. Her fingers caught the edge of his collar and tore the hat from his head before he sidestepped her with inhuman grace. Momentum sent her crashing to the ground. Pain bloomed across her knees and elbows as she rolled onto her back, gasping. Without his hat on, she could see arched ears peeking out of blond hair, along with a snaking, blue tattoo. Her stomach dropped.
“You’re a Shaman,” she breathed.
The man cringed. “I really hate that’s what they call us now.”
What the fuck? Bridget tried to reach for the other knife in her boot, but before her fingers grazed it, she was in the air. Her spine cracked as she hit one of the standing stones. “Who sent you?” Bridget growled, trying to move her arms and legs, but invisible ropes kept her in place.
“Stay away from the gate, Bridget,” he warned, bending to retrieve his hat from the ground before placing it on his head.
She froze. He said her name like heknewher. Impossible.Terrifying. She shoved the thought down. She couldn’t let herself feel the full weight of it.
“How do you know my name?” Bridget demanded.
He moved until he stood inches from her. Up close, she could see the power that glowed and swirled behind his pale eyes. The orbs were unreadable as they searched her face. Bridget couldn’t bring herself to look away. Instead, she flinched against the rock, hoping to movesomething, but her entire body remained frozen. Her heart pounded as she waited for his next move.
After a long moment, he finally said, “We’re out of time. For the good of all, never visit here again.”
Before she could blink, he grabbed her arm. Bridget screamed as they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
It was like Elyria, but worse. She’d forgotten the sensation of traveling with Delphine, forgotten what it felt like to have every atom and cell tornapart and put back together. Bridget screamed, and when she thought her body would disintegrate entirely, she landed on her hands and knees on a gray sidewalk.
Bridget barely caught a glimpse of the man’s dark green uniform walking away when hands started grabbing her. She tried to ignore the gasps and questions of the concerned crowd she’d fallen into in Boston. Jumping up, she ignored the blood pouring from her nose and tried to run after him, but he was nowhere to be found.
Chapter four
Cassia
“It’s a little overcooked, don’t you think?”
Cassia rolled her eyes. Every night, her father found something to complain about, whether it was the food, drink, or conversation. It had been that way as long as she could remember. Now, however, she was the sole person responsible for fixing those complaints since she was the only one who ever bothered to show up for dinner anymore. It wasn’t a fun job, but she knew ifshewere to stop coming, her father would do more than just verbally berate her.
“It’s always overcooked,” Cassia muttered, barely resisting the urge to down her entire glass of wine. “Should I go say something to the chef?”
Her father continued to roughly cut his steak. “Don’t bother. I don’t have time to hire anyone else right now. Is your brother not joining us?”
Cassia scoffed. “The last time he had dinner with us, you forced a Shaman into his head. What makes you think he’ll ever join us again?”
After throwing down his fork with a loud smack, he glared at her with steely, dark eyes. “He’ll get over it eventually. At least heseems to finally be getting over that human girl. I heard he’s throwing another party in Astraeus tonight.”
Cassia bit her tongue. If only her father knew what her brother wasreallydoing. She wasn’t quite sure how Cade was fooling him, but she did know one thing: her brother was definitely not over Bridget. She was all he and his friends seemed to talk about. Well,herfriends, too. Once upon a time. They avoided her most days.
But maybe there was something she could do to make her brother stop glaring at her every time she saw him. Casually, she suggested, “If you want Cade to come to dinner, maybe you should postpone tomorrow’s banishment. You know he still wants more time to question the other one.”
“Clever, but it’s been postponed long enough,” her father grunted. “The Andarrian girl has proved herself useless.”
“But…”
“Enough,” he hissed, “besides, any human that willingly chooses the gate instead of a release for information shouldn’t be listened to. There’s obviously something wrong with her.”
