Page 108 of Shadowblood Souls: The Complete Series

We tramp out of the private jet into a field of close-cropped grass surrounded by nothing but trees. There are no buildings in sight, but the two helicopters Rollick mentioned are waiting at the far end of the field.

The demon turns to us. “All right, let’s get on with your essence trick. Who’s doing the honors?”

“I will,” Jacob says without missing a beat.

Riva shakes her head. “I think we all should. We all went through something a little different. If we’re all focusing together… we can go by wherever the most essence flows. That should give us the clearest picture.”

Her suggestion makes sense to me. I will my wolfish claws from my fingertips.

Riva gives Jake one last pointed glance. “We shouldn’t need very much from each of us.”

He offers a crooked grin in response. “I won’t cut too deep this time, Wildcat.”

Jacob extends his spines. Andreas and Dominic retrieve the knives they’ve armed themselves with from their pockets.

Without speaking, we slice thin scratches across our forearms at the same time.

A streak of blood seeps across my skin—and a puff of dark smoke wavers up into the fresh, foresty air. I watch it for a moment and then close my eyes.

Remember the halls and the training rooms. The little bedroom where the guardians shut me away every night.

The blades they sliced into me.

The prod they jolted me with.

All the things, inanimate and living, they made me smash with tests of my strength and will.

Are there other shadowbloods like me trapped in their facilities now? Being tormented in the same ways?

I want to find them. I want to reach out to them so we can pull them out of that nightmare.

So we can all live free together.

Rollick lets out a soft chuckle. “Well, I’d say that’s fairly definitive.”

My eyes snap open. My breath stops at the sight of the smoke trails streaming out in front of us.

All five wafts of essence have converged into one larger current. A few little trickles veer off in a variety of directions, but by far the most floats away from us to my right, toward the sun that’s dipping toward the western horizon.

“One of the locations we had our eye on is a couple hundred miles in exactly that direction,” the demon says with the slightest hint of awe. “The other two are nowhere near it. I suppose we know where we’re going now.”

As we lower our arms, he swipes his hands together in a brisk gesture.

“Which means you’d better get going. I’ve left tablets and phones in the helicopters along with the rest of the equipment we discussed—I’ll be sending your pilots flight plans and you all the details I have so far on that specific possible facility.

You can look them over on the way there and discuss how you want to proceed. And please keep me in the loop.”

“Where are you going to be?” I ask.

He motions to the jet. “I’ll take a more direct route, as close as I can get, and make sure our ground support is in place.”

Andreas has moved to join me. Riva turns toward the two of us, a flicker of worry crossing her face.

She darts to Drey, and he catches her in his arms. I avert my gaze as they collide with a kiss so potent my skin prickles with my awareness of it.

“We’ll see you soon, Tink,” he promises, a little hoarsely.

As Riva eases back from him, her gaze slides to me. My body balks, but the images from the facility are still floating in the back of my mind.

What if I never get another chance to do anything at all?

I step forward and tentatively wrap my arms around her. Riva hugs me back with all the strength that’s wound through her slim form.

My pulse hiccups, but I find the determination to lower my head and press a kiss to her hair.

My stomach twists itself into a dozen knots. I can feel the other guys watching me, wary and concerned.

On my behalf, or hers?

None of that really matters, though. Not when she releases me and I see the brilliant smile that’s lighting up her face, just for me.

“Stay safe, Shrimp,” I tell her, as if I’m not worried at all.

Our two groups veer apart as we hustle over to the choppers. I clamber on board, ignoring the nervous tension coiling around my gut as well as I can.

Our pilot materializes out of the shadows into the cockpit. “Your equipment’s in the bag there,” she says, and starts the motor whirring.

Andreas yanks the door shut and drops into the seat next to me. He glances over, his gray eyes a little darker than usual.

“You’ve got to tell her, you know.”

He doesn’t need to spell out what he’s talking about. My body goes rigid.

I push through it, reaching for the duffel bag on the floor. “Did you tell her how it was for you ?”

Drey sinks into the seat with the lurch of the chopper taking off. “Yeah. She didn’t blame me for it. She knows none of that shit was our choice.”

My hands ball, my claws prickling at my fingertips again.

What he told her isn’t half as bad as my own story. It’s not even in the same ballpark.

“You could figure something out with her if she knew what you’re dealing with,” Andreas adds in a gentler tone.

My voice comes out gruff. “We’ll see. We’ve got bigger things to worry about right now.”

We’re about to break back into one of the facilities. The last place on Earth I’d ever have wanted to go.

And I’ve got to make sure every one of my friends and the woman I love make it back out again with me.