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“I’m not crying.” I sniff again and look around.

Josh is nibbling on his lower lip, a sure sign he’s worried, so I put a big smile on my face. “See? I’m all good.” Nobody says anything. It’s clearly up to me. “Right, let’s get moving. Time to go.”

Zayne raises an eyebrow, then hoists the backpack onto his shoulder. I spin around and head off toward the gap between the twin towers of rock—the gap where Fury disappeared.

For a few seconds, I can’t help wondering whether he’ll ever come back. I keep thinking I see glimpses of intelligence in his feral eyes, but is that just wishful thinking? Maybe he’ll race off into the wilds and never return. I wouldn’t blame him.

I come to a halt in the space between the two great pillars of rock, looking around at the surrounding countryside. It’s green grassland as far as the eye can see. I scan the area nearby, and if I remember correctly, I know exactly where I left Stella’s saddle and bridle.

Stella had carried me here from Hecate’s all those weeks ago, when I’d come searching for the mirror to take me to Astrali. I’d known there was no way Stella could go with me, but I’d hoped that I would be back here within hours. Obviously, it hadn’t happened that way. But the tack’s still here, stashed in a sheltered spot in the rocks to keep it out of the weather. Josh is drooping, and I’m thinking maybe he can ride Stella on the journey. It’s not that far, but it might feel a long way for a tired eight-year-old.

Stella nickers as I place the saddle on her back, but she takes the bridle willingly. She’s such a good girl.

“Amber,” Zayne mutters, “your boyfriend’s on his way.”

I glance across the grassy plain and see a black dot racing toward us. Relief floods me. He’s coming back. He must be functioning on some level as a human—or whatever he is. My gaze is fixed on him as he approaches, loping across the grass. And I almost don’t notice when the headache starts. The pressure grows inside my skull, filling me with dread, because I know what this means. The shadowguard are close.

Not now.

I just want to reach Hecate. I want a hug, a warm bed, and a hot meal. And someone to tell me it’s all going to be all right. Only it doesn’t look like it’s going to be that easy.

I scan the area behind Fury, and I see them—a black shadow on the land. I sidle over to where Zayne is standing. “Shadowguard,” I say softly. I don’t want to panic Josh; to be honest though, he has no clue what a shadowguard is. Maybe he’s the only one of us who won’t panic.

I can see Fury clearly now. His muzzle is covered in blood. He must have found his own food. One good thing.

I look behind him. The shadowguard are still just an amorphous mass, but I’m guessing there must be at least ten or twelve of them. For a moment, panic wells up inside me. I have to protect Josh. I have to protect them all. This is my fault—they’re here because of me.

I reach for my sword, but Zayne stops me with a hand on my arm.

“Don’t worry,” he says. “I’ve got this.”

What does he mean, he’s got this?

Before I can say anything, though, he steps away from me. Magic shivers in the air, and I know what he’s about to do. I sometimes forget just what Zayne is.

“Are you sure?” I say. “Can you do this?”

He nods.

“You’ve never killed anything before.”

“I can kill these fuckers,” he says. “No problem. Just watch me.”

And then he’s gone.

I hear a little squeak from Josh beside me, and I hurry over, wrapping my arm around his bony shoulder and hugging him close.

“Don’t be scared,” I say. “Just look at him. That’s Zayne, your brother. Isn’t he amazing?”

Zayne is a basilisk shifter. Twelve feet tall, with a sleek, serpentine body covered in iridescent scales, shifting from emerald-green to sapphire-blue. A crown of spines runs down his back, and he has a tail with a barbed point that’s lashing from side to side. He’s impatient to go. But the coolest thing about him is his wings—a twenty-foot span of bone and membrane, deep blue fading to almost translucent at the tips.

My breath catches.

At that moment, Fury screeches to a halt. Behind me Stella snorts and stamps her hooves. I don’t think she feels entirely safe around the wolf. I don’t blame her. Fury ignores her. He looks between me and Zayne.

“Shadowguard,” I say.

I definitely see a spark of intelligence in his feral eyes. He growls and turns to look back the way he came.