Page 73 of Solar Shadows

“Are you?” she asked, totally deadpan.

“It’s sarcasm, bitch.”

She didn’t move. Only her chest rose and fell, her violet eyes blinking now and again. A gentle breeze stirred the wisps of her hair, the snowflakes avoiding her like the clouds did with the moon.

“Why would I be behind this, Sunshine One? I don’t want to lose you.”

A grumble vibrated in my chest. “I hate how powerful you are.”

“You’re too kind,” she answered with a chuckle. “But we must rectify this folly.”

As much as I’d love to tell her to take a hike up an active volcano, I listened to glean any potentially useful information.

“Why would Marcus Kingwood attack when he wants you?” she mused. “His plans are set, his desires in your ears. There is no reason for him to break from his request.”

That was one way of putting it, although her words wrecked my soul.

By Hecate, I loathed this creature.

“There must be rebels within his ranks. Those who wish to dissent from his ideals.” She chuckled. “A lovesick man who called back his lost love. The Star. He wants to hold The Star, and there are those who want to snuff it out. Destroy the brothers, open the world to a new dawn.”

I cracked my knuckles, irritated by every passing second. “Isn’t that your endgame, too? To take us all out?”

She tutted. “Stop making this about me, Isaac Aurora. Focus on the matter in hand.”

Okay, we weren’t doing this. I got to my feet. “You brought me here, so don’t give me the fucking third degree.”

Riley appeared, followed by Drake, the Mind Sharing spell kicking in.

My brother turned on the spot, then saw me. “I guess it worked.”

The hag huffed. “I tried breaking your slippery spell, but only managed to give it a small delay. So do not fear. We are all in this together.” She found that hilarious.

Yawn. Why couldn’t she melt or something?

I dragged my brother into a hug. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“Hello, Moonlight One and Sweetvoice,” the fae woman greeted them.

Oh, fuck off!

Drake put himself in front of us protectively. “What’s going on?”

“Have you heard about The Coral?” I asked.

Riley said, “No, did something happen?”

I couldn’t believe news hadn’t reached the mansion yet. So, I explained the drama, my stomach flipping as I did.

Now Riley yanked me into a hug. “Dammit! Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay!”

“My ear, little brother.” Oof! He’d really yelled that last part.

Back in the real world, a horrible poison oozed through my veins. Took away my control, hurting every inch of my skin. Some shadow spell my body struggled to fight.

I sent some prayers for the darn stuff to exit my body as soon as possible.

“This hag thinks we were attacked by shadow witch rebels,” I added.