Page 14 of Shifter’s Promise (Devourer of Magic)

Leona chuckled, her warm eyes crinkling with her grin. “By then, I felt I owed Jeremiah,” she explained. “He’d taken me in for nothing, trained me and then asked me to protect his sons.”

“Oh.”

“I always assumed that once he saw my strength, he decided to hone it,” Leona continued. “I was stronger than his boys, eventually even stronger than his guard. And that was only after a year.”

My chest swelled with pride for the mate I barely knew. “So he sent you to train in Ransa?” I guessed.

She nodded, smiling. “Yes. I trained under my master for almost six years before Jeremiah summoned me back.”

Six years? My eyes widened in shock. “That’s a long time outside Auroi.”

I’d never imagined leaving the Beast Kingdom willingly, especially not for that length of time. This was my home. My family was here, my people. I couldn’t leave without them .

“It was,” Leona agreed. “But I enjoyed it.” Her genuine, sweet smile told me as much, but still, I found it hard to believe. I’d spent ten years captive, trying to make it home. The idea of leaving Auroi had never even crossed my mind.

“Is that where you learned to wield your sword?” The very sword that had cleaved a man in two. The memory of it sent a thrill through me.

“It was.” Leona beamed and my heart stuttered.

“You really enjoy sword fighting, huh?” My whole body warmed with those eyes on me.

“I love it,” she admitted. Her fingers skated across my belly before she gripped my sides gingerly. Her calloused palms grazed my injuries, but didn’t press into them. “I was trained in hand-to-hand combat as well, but the sword. There’s nothing like it.”

I smiled despite the nerves racing through me at her touch. Just like there’s no one out there quite like you . The words froze on my tongue, my lips unable to form them.

“Now that you know how I wound up where I am, may I ask you something?” Leona’s voice rose an octave.

Was she nervous? Whatever she wanted to ask, I braced myself for it.

“Sure.”

“How did you end up… where you were?” Enslaved .

She said it without saying it. For that, I appreciated her all the more.

Though I wasn’t fond of the reminder, it was something I would have to tell everyone tomorrow.

If they were going to help take down the slave trade, they’d have to know all the ins and outs.

I swallowed thickly, taking a deep breath to collect myself. “I was taken while out shopping with my mom. We were looking for plums for my sister, Kara.” I shrugged, pinning a fake smile to my face like armor. “It’s not much of a story, really.”

And still, Leona’s face fell into the sadness I’d been dreading. “They just plucked you from the street?” After they killed my mother.

I nodded grimly. “Yeah. It was that easy.”

Leona’s grip on my waist tightened. “Did you scream and fight and?—”

My smile fled for a deepening frown. “Of course.”

“And no one… assisted you? Were there others around?”

I nodded, the same grim set to my lips remaining. “It was early morning when the vendors were just setting up. I passed several that morning, saying hello and waving. They knew me well at that market.”

“And none of them came for you?” I could see Leona’s heart cracking in her very eyes. She couldn’t imagine people being so cruel.

“I don’t know, truthfully,” I said. “I didn’t hear anyone come for me, but they knocked me out pretty fast after they killed my mom.”

Leona’s breathing had steadily increased throughout our conversation until the point she was nearly hyperventilating. Now, it stopped.

“Off the fucking street,” she gasped. “Your mother…” Her voice trailed off.

She was shaking, I realized. Her grip might be firm but her hands trembled. Unsure if it was okay to touch her too, I slowly raised my hand, giving her every opportunity to stop me. When she didn’t, I laid my palm on her cheek.

“That’s what I was trying to explain earlier in the living room. They can take those who can’t fight back anywhere, at any time.”

Fire lit in those orange eyes, a seething hatred for the scum that had wounded me. A kindled rage over the injustice of both my capture and all the others. My body melted forward until I leaned against my mate.

“This is why we need to do something. I can’t do this alone.”

Leona drew me to her, arms wrapping around my waist until we were flush against one another.

“You won’t have to. You’re not alone anymore.”

My breath caught in my throat. For so long, I’d wanted to hear those words. All the days I’d been forced into a cage, beaten bloody and tormented for the smallest mistakes. I’d been so utterly alone—and then I’d found her .

Then Gina was gone and I was more alone than ever.

“I know.” I smiled despite the water stinging my eyes.

Leona’s fingers wound into my hair. Gently, she drew me against her shoulder where she stroked my head and hummed softly in my ear.

“You’ll never be alone again, Twinlin. Not while I’m around.”

Her lips pressed firmly against the crown of my head, and just for a moment, I closed my eyes, hoping with all of my heart that she was right.