Page 49 of In Your Light

Hadeom went very still. “Did they see you?”

“No. I was careful.”

“Where?”

“Where the old bridge washed away. It was probably nothing, but I need to let the guys know.”

He nodded slowly. “Yes. And Fyn?”

“Yes?”

“Be careful. Humans are...”

“Humans are what?”

“The worst kind of monsters.” His eyes were sharp and dark, imploring. He stepped in closer, taking Fyn’s arm. “You must be careful, Fyn,” he repeated. “Don’t go back there, please.”

Then Hadeom shivered, something dark glimmering under the surface before he dropped Fyn’s arm. He took a step back. He’d gone pale, his eyes squinting shut.

“Hadeom,” Fyn whispered, trying to hide his excitement. This was wonderful! This is what he’d been trying to remember. “You almost morphed. Your true form. You almost did it!”

He made a pained sound. “Fyn.”

“But—”

Hadeom winced again, this time as if in agony. He took another step back, rolled his shoulders, and shuddered again, keeping his eyes on the ground. “You should go.”

Fyn didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay. He wanted to touch him, to tell him it was okay. To help him morph and to be there for him.

But Hadeom obviously needed some space, some time. He was fighting it because Fyn was there, and he didn’t want him to see....

So Fyn took a step back too. “Okay. I’ll go. I’ll go now so you’ll stay. Please don’t leave here. Not without telling me goodbye; I... I want you to stay. I want to be here for you, when you’re ready. I wish I’d moved into the hut with you instead. I like you, Hadeom, more than I should. And I will like you no matter what your true form is.”

Hadeom turned away, hiding his face, and Fyn knew he’d said too much. Fyn always said too much. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and he shouldn’t have said this much.

So without another word, he turned and sprinted for Tenebrae Cove.

And somewhere behind him, somewhere far away and deep in the forest, came the sad and solitary cry of a bird of prey.

If Fyn hadn’t been running so fast, if his heart wasn’t so heavy and close to breaking, he might have realised it was a bird call he’d never heard before.

A bird call that didn’t rightly belong in this forest.

Chapter

Twelve

SAWYER

“Here, this one is done,” Sawyer said, sticking the label onto the box. “Marked as fulfilled and taken off your inventory.”

Ciaran slid another box onto the counter and smiled at Sawyer. “Thank you. You really don’t have to help me.”

Sawyer shrugged. “It’s not like I have anything else to do.”

“No word for Hadeom?”

“Nope. None.”