“I need to tell you everything.”
Her shoulders tense slightly.
“Then start talking,” she says.
I nod once.
“Inside,” I add. “This isn’t the place for it.”
She hesitates, glancing toward the alley where the fight just happened. Then back at me.
“Fine.”
She steps back, holding the door open. I follow her in, my senses still stretched thin, scanning for any lingering threat. None. For now. The door closes behind us with a quiet click.
And just like that?—
There’s no more distance. No more hiding. Only the truth. And whatever comes after it.
I stop just inside the bookstore, the familiar scent of paper and ink grounding me slightly.
She turns to face me, arms crossed again, waiting.
“You said you were going to tell me everything,” she reminds me.
“I am.”
I take a breath. Let it out. And prepare to change her world. Because that’s exactly what this is going to do. Change everything. For both of us.
15
TESSA
Istare at him. At the man who just… wasn’t human.
“Okay,” I say faintly. “This should be good.”
He doesn’t smile. Doesn’t soften it.
“Shifters exist,” he says. “And most of Redwood Crossing is part of that world.”
I blink. Then laugh.
A short, disbelieving sound. “Right. Of course. And I’m secretly a witch, too?”
“I’m not joking.”
Something in his voice makes the laughter die in my throat. My mind races—Archer’s strength, his speed, the way that man moved?—
The way Delilah talked about guardians. The way this townfeels.
“Oh my God,” I whisper.
“You’ve already seen enough,” he says quietly.
“Then show me.”
The words surprise even me.
