Page 141 of The Queen’s Shadow

I nodded with relief. That was good at least. If she stayed as a child much longer, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from murdering half The Court of Greed just for existing.

“What about these?” I asked, pointing to some of the severed red lines that drifted limp and broken in the air above her sleeping body. Meredith looked at me, clearly nervous about what my reaction was going to be.

“Just say it, I promise I won’t snap at you again.” I knew it wasn’t an apology for what had happened when I had woken up, and she deserved one, but this was close enough.

“These are her offensive lines. It’s where she draws power for her quasars and energy attacks. She must have tried to use them too many times while ordered not to. They may heal. They may not. I can’t be certain; this type of metaphysical damage is new to me.”

She had been trying to fight them off. My skin rippled under my restructium, and I felt my fangs elongate in my mouth. I snarled and forced down the great cat that prowled in my chest.

I fucking hated myself.

It had taken me so fucking long to find her. I glanced up at Raven, and suddenly my rage melted away. She looked like she was going to be sick, and a wave of fear and devastation rolled through the bond.

“Amon… he was fighting it, when…” Her dark eyes filled with tears, and I was struck suddenly, with the fact that she hadn’t once asked us to focus on getting her mate back while we had searched for Kasha. She had stood with me the entire time and I hadn’t heard one complaint from her. I hadn’t even thought about how much pain she must be in. For fuck sakes… I really was a shitty person.

“We’re getting him back.” I said abruptly, meeting her gaze. “We’re getting him back and we’re going to skin that fucking bitch alive.” I told her, stepping forward and grabbing her shoulders. She looked up at me. Devastation was written across her features, but beneath her pain, there was that flicker of determination and rage that made her, her.

Fuck. She was such a badass.

“We will.” She affirmed. “Let’s go. We need to figure out our next move, and Kasha needs to rest.” I glanced back at the little lump of blankets and made myself nod. There wasn’t a single part of me that was okay with leaving her here alone, but I pushed the irrational feelings down.

She was safe, and Raven needed me now too.

“Okay, let’s go.” I said and followed her back to the common room to meet with the others.

Raven

Now that the adrenaline had worn off, I was left feeling empty again. The brutal ache where Amon should be was throbbing, and I felt so raw without him that it was a miracle I was even able to walk.

The pain of his absence was less when he managed to visit my mind, but I hadn’t heard from him since he had left me at that fucked up clone dinner and I was starting to spiral again.

My back was sore, and I couldn’t tell if I had twisted it while fighting or slept on it weird, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong. I couldn’t even bask in my relief that Kasha was now safe. I should have felt happy, but I just felt angry.

Angry that we hadn’t been quicker.

Angry that this had happened to her at all.

On top of that, I was furious that whatever had happened to her was likely happening to my mate at that very moment, and there was nothing I could do about it. My shadows rose from the ground and filtered through the air around me as I walked, as if they were trying to comfort me. I just scowled at them. What good was all this power if I was still fucking helpless when it counted?

Rycon had been right though. I couldn’t think like that. I needed to stay focused, and just keep pressing on until I found him. Glancing over at the shifter, I couldn’t help but poke and prod at Rycon’s aura. Something was different with him. I could feel it, through our bond. There was a tightness that seemed to intensify with every step we took away from Kasha’s room, and it felt familiar. My chest had felt like that since the moment Amon had been taken away from me.

“How is shi?” Conrad asked as we entered the common room. The three of us exchanged a glance at the loaded question. Rycon’s fists clenched at his side again, and Meredith answered for him.

“As good as she can be, considering. Her shifting powers are damaged, so she’s still shaped like a child. We’re hoping she’ll be back to herself by morning.”

Conrad’s face crumpled and he looked just as devastated as I felt. I watched him glance at Rycon, taking in his tense form, and the way the shifter kept glancing back down the hallway as if he wanted to go back to her.

“Yuh ‘aight, Cat?” He asked, and Rycon’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline at the question, clearly surprised that the Obeah Man gave a shit.

“I’ve been better.” He admitted, and Conrad nodded sadly.

“Mi bet.” He replied, and they shared a quiet moment, before I spoke up.

“Where’s your ring, Conrad?” I asked suddenly, realizing his finger was bare. I had been wondering how it had been possible for Meredith and Conrad to return, considering Sofia had been pretty clear about her orders that they were to return to their Board duties.

“A long ting dat. Where Cerenah?” He asked.

“Yeah, we have a long story for you guys too. Why don’t we sit down and eat, and we can catch up with each other?” I suggested. Dossidian nodded. He snapped his fingers and the table in the pit filled with food. My mouth watered and I realized suddenly how hungry I was. I hadn’t eaten since that shitty breakfast wrap Jeremy had brought back to our room in The Court of Greed. That felt like it had been ages ago now, it was hard to believe how much had happened in just twenty-four hours.