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Celine watched Zeke work his way through the trees, going slow, his eyes closing as he seemed to listen to something only he could hear.

She was fascinated by his gift and seeing it in action.

It wasn’t showy or obvious, but it was spectacular in its results.

She couldn’t believe the missing data he’d been able to fill in surrounding that terrible night—and even more.

The idea that the evil mage had been to their house before that night was terrifying.

She’d lived here, feeling secure that her small family had their privacy and the secret of their magical existence was safe considering that they had a private dock from which to enter and exit the water without observation by the neighbors.

That someone had known where they lived, and for how long, nearly knocked the breath out of her.

They’d been in danger long before the murders had occurred if Zeke’s information was to be believed.

He hadn’t been wrong yet, and she believed in his power.

She knew what he said was true, even though it shook the foundations of her beliefs in her previous existence.

They’d been careful, as a family, not to be observed or to act differently than their human neighbors.

Somehow, all their precautions had been for naught.

Somehow, that mage had known about them and targeted them for far longer than she’d thought.

Her grandfather kept his arm around her as they followed Zeke back toward the house.

Her friends and fellow shifters were all around, though none could be seen.

They were there for backup, should it be needed, but right now, she felt surrounded in safety with them all here.

She would remember to thank each and every one of them for their participation in today’s mission.

It meant the world to her to have their support.

And especially Zeke and his friends, though mostly Zeke.

He’d really gone above and beyond for her.

She wanted to hug him close and let him know just how special he was becoming to her, though she wasn’t sure hugging him would be appropriate.

She wasn’t sure how it worked with humans and displays of affection.

Particularly, military humans. They had so many rules and regulations that she found hard to navigate, and this was one time she definitely couldn’t ask her grandfather for clarification.

She followed behind as Zeke let go of the last of the trees he was examining. He looked at her, and her grandfather ushered her closer to Zeke for a quick conversation.

“That’s all I can get from here,” Zeke said, addressing her grandfather with the occasional glance her way. “I’m going back into the house, and I’ll try to read objects closer to the scene of the crime.”

Celine noticed the doctor of the Green Beret unit move up next to Zeke.

He’d been listening, a frown on his face, but he didn’t speak.

He just followed close behind as Zeke turned to move back into the house.

Celine went to follow, but her grandfather held her back with a gentle hand on her arm. She turned to face him.

“Maybe we should just let him do his work and get the report later,” Gramps suggested, but Celine shook her head.

“I want to watch him work and hear what he has to say without a filter,” she insisted.

She knew Gramps was only trying to protect her, but she needed to hear whatever Zeke might see and be there for him.

She had the impression from his colleagues that his gift could be dangerous to him and—silly as it might seem—she wanted to watch over him in whatever small way she could while he tried his best to help her find answers.

When she entered the house once more, her grandfather hot on her heels, she stopped short just inside, concerned by the look of pained concentration on Zeke’s face as he knelt near the sofa. She had found her parents’ bodies, and her father had been very close to where Zeke was now.

“The woman sprang out of the closet and was already casting—if that’s the right word—her magic at them.

I think she tried to freeze them in place, but they were stronger than she’d expected, and her magic didn’t fully trap them.

Both fought back and advanced on her as she rushed to meet them.

She had a black dagger in her hand. A wicked-looking thing with a curvy blade that had glowing red glyphs on the blade.

I’m not sure if the blade was made of metal or some kind of stone…

maybe?” He tilted his head, his eyes closed in concentration.

“Can you describe the glyphs?” Rick asked, taking notes as Zeke spoke.

“I can draw them,” Zeke replied, lifting his head and reached for the pad and pen Rick held out.

He did a quick sketch and handed the pad and pen back to his friend, then put his hand out to touch the floor where Celine’s father had fallen once more. His expression tightened, and his eyes shut as he immersed himself back into the echoes.

It went on like this for another half hour, each new object Zeke touched eliciting a bit more information.

Rick took notes, as did some of the military shifters, Celine realized belatedly.

They would have as complete a record as possible of the psychometric readings Zeke was doing of each object.

No recordings were being made due to the heightened security surrounding the Green Beret unit and their gifts.

Gramps had explained that to her. Everything was being done in hard copy so nobody could possibly tap into their information via electronic systems. As long as the records were only kept on paper and on the island, they were secure.

Once something was put on a computer linked to an outside system, security could not be guaranteed.

Zeke moved on to the next object. It was a lamp that had been laying on the floor, next to her mother’s body.

It hadn’t broken, so it had just been put back in place after the cleanup.

Celine never wanted to see it again. She never wanted to see any part of this room again and would likely leave it all behind once she figured out what her next step was going to be.

For now, she just left the house locked and stayed on the island with her grandfather.

She knew she couldn’t do that forever, but it worked for the time being.

When Zeke touched the lamp, he immediately recoiled, and his friend Rick stepped closer.

The tension in the room elevated as everyone turned to examine Zeke and his rather obvious reaction.

He turned to look in her direction, but his eyes didn’t meet hers.

No, he was looking at her grandfather, standing just behind her shoulder.

A nod passed from man to man, and Zeke said something in a low voice to Rick.

Unfortunately, even with her heightened shifter senses, Celine couldn’t hear what he said, but she watched as he went back to the lamp and took a more cautious approach than she’d seen him take with any of the other objects in the room.

He held out just one fingertip, at first, his eyes closing and his expression tightening.

Then, he added another finger and then a third.

His face scrunched up as if he was in serious pain, but he kept going.

A moment later, with a wrenching gesture, he tore his hand away from the lamp and shook his head as if to clear it.

He hadn’t spoken a word throughout the ordeal, but his expression was grim as he left the room without looking back. Rick followed close behind.

“What was that all about?” Celine asked her grandfather.

“I’m not sure, but I think we’d better take a closer look at that lamp, just in case,” Gramps replied.

He didn’t elaborate on what he meant. In case of what?

In case there was more information Zeke could get from it?

In order to preserve it in case the mage—or someone else—came back and trashed her empty house?

Maybe both of those. She just wasn’t sure, and she didn’t have a chance to ask further questions as her grandfather led her out of the house, after the men.

“Do we take that lamp with us?” one of the shifters asked Gramps as they were moving.

“Negative,” came the reply from one of the other shifters. Liam Kinkaid, Celine saw as she looked around to find the tall blond lion shifter who was in charge of the Navy contingent on this mission. “Doc says to leave it here and let no one else touch it.”

Well, that solved that problem. Gramps kept going, issuing a few orders to subordinates for someone to close up the house and lock everything. All the while, he was escorting her toward the waiting boat, following Zeke and Rick’s footsteps.

When they reached the dock, Zeke was already in the boat, his head thrown back and his eyes closed as he took deep breaths. Whatever he’d seen must have been intense if it affected him this badly. His friend Rick was checking him over, and Zeke had put his gloves back on, she noticed.

She got into the boat, taking a seat along one side, near Zeke.

She wanted to keep an eye on him but didn’t want to be too obvious about it both for his sake and her own.

She didn’t want her shifter kin to stick their noses into her growing feelings for Zeke.

She wasn’t entirely certain about them, herself, and didn’t need nosy friends asking probing questions.

Which they would. Shifters were just like that.

It was both reassuring and annoying, at times.