Page 55 of Shifting Hearts

NINE

Blood in the Water

Emilia

L ucian’s breathing is even now. Steady.

I brush a lock of hair from his forehead, letting my fingers linger a moment too long. He’s asleep on the couch, bandaged and bruised, shirtless beneath a thin ass blanket, looking a little less like a killer and a little more like a man.

A man who nearly died for me. Again.

I wish that made me feel better. Instead, it makes the fear curl tighter in my stomach. Because if this thing hunting us wants him dead and it’s using me as bait, it means I’ve underestimated how deep this magic goes. And just how far back it reaches.

I slip out of the little ranger station, onto the back porch with a mug of coffee and my pack of cards. My fingers tremble as I shuffle. They always do when death’s nearby.

The cards fall too easily, like they want to speak. And that alone is enough to raise the hair on my arms. I lay the first one flat on the little outdoor table.

The Tower.

Danger, crises, sudden change. Well…that tracks. I add the next card.

The Moon.

Hidden truths, illusions, magic gone wrong. The final card flips itself.

The Devil.

I freeze. It’s not reversed. No, this bastard is upright and burning. It’s not about lust or addiction this time. But chains and the one who forged them.

“Emilia.”

Lucian’s voice startles me. He’s standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Shirtless and pale but alive.

“You shouldn’t be up,” I say, slipping the cards back into the velvet pouch.

“Something woke me.”

I nod. “You felt it too.”

“Yeah.” His eyes narrow, scanning the tree line. “Something moved.”

“I can’t explain it, but... the earth’s wrong. Like something was pulled through it.”

He steps down the stairs before sitting beside me with a wince. “You’re not going out alone.”

“I’m not arguing.” I say with a chuckle.

Slowly, we stand and head into the woods. The path where the creature attacked us last night is already sealed with moss and fallen pine needles, like the forest is trying to forget.

But something lingers. A hum, a scent. Magic and rot.

We find it moments later. A body that isn’t whole. What’s left of it is twisted, charred to bone, jaw open like it screamed until it couldn’t anymore.

Lucian kneels beside it, nostrils flaring. “This one was a shifter.”

“Not anymore.” I say softly, sadness at the violent loss of life. No one deserves to die this way.

“It wasn’t the creature that killed him.”

“No. It was a summoner.” I crouch beside him, placing my hand near the blackened ribcage. My magic flares in response.

“The creature was bound. This... this was the offering.”

Lucian stiffens. “You’re saying someone sacrificed a wolf to control that thing?”

I nod. “And I think I know who.”

He looks at me sharply. “Who?”

I hesitate because the name that comes to mind doesn’t belong to an enemy. It belongs to my mother.

“I need to go back into town,” I say, not answering his question.

Lucian doesn’t argue. “I’m going with you.”

I shake my head. “No. You’re not well enough. You can’t even walk without flinching.”

“I don’t care.”

“Well, I do.” My voice softens. “I can take care of myself.”

He looks like he wants to argue again. Then he steps forward and cups my face in his hands.

“Come back,” he murmurs before kissing me softly, sweetly.

“I will,” I whisper back.

“I mean it. Don’t make me hunt you down.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I say with a smile.

But the fear in his eyes isn’t just about me leaving. It’s about losing control. Of himself, the situation, and the damned bond.

I walk into the forest and leave him behind because I have to know. I need to find out who is summoning death through the trees of Crystal Falls, and if my blood has more to do with it than I ever dared believe.

And deep down, I know I won’t like the answer. Because if I’m right… I’m not just part of this. I’m the reason it started.