Reclaimed (Shadow Beast Shifters, #2)(58)

“Your energy has adapted,” he continued, “and for now, you should be able to both understand and reply in the native language of whoever you’re conversing with. Not bad work, if I do say so myself.”

Arrogant beast.

“Here’s hoping there are no weird side effects,” I said shortly, “since you just jumped right in and rearranged my brain. I already had enough problems with the weirdness in there, thank you very much, and now I have to be on alert for all its new shenanigans.”

Shadow shot me a deadpan stare. “You’ll be fine.”

Resisting the urge to punch him because I still knew there was a limit to how far I could go with Shadow, I just rolled my eyes at his not-so-subtle way of calling me a drama queen. And even if he wasn’t wrong about that, it was rude to point it out.

“Are you able to leave now?” Cat-man was done waiting, his hands on his hips, tufts of blue fur peeking through where his shirt had lifted. I had a sudden thought that maybe the beings here were furred and feathered to protect them from the icy temperatures. What we were seeing here, might all be a form of evolution.

“You will shut the fuck up and not question us again,” Shadow rumbled at the cat-man. “We’ll move when we’re ready to move.”

I heard it in English, but the lyrical words told me it was a language from the realm.

“I’ll just be over here,” Cat-man said, spinning on a furred foot and taking off toward the snowflakes castle.

It was a nice change to have Shadow’s annoyance directed elsewhere. I could get used to that, and as long as this ruler we were off to meet didn’t try to kill us, I was interested to see what we’d find when we arrived inside the castle.





28





Since I had to be careful with my translated words, I refrained from asking Shadow if the mists were close. I did reach out through the mental connection for Midnight, but there was no answer; it was too far away still for us to chat. Shadow and Inky’s bond, though, was way more established, and I really hoped he had an updated timeline for their arrival.

I’d just have to wait for a private moment to ask for an update.

Shadow whistled as he walked beside me, and I shook my head at how damn calm he looked.

Did nothing bother this dude?

I mean, since today he was on my side, I couldn’t really complain. It was a comfort to have Shadow here, not to mention Angel and the mists on the way.

Our backup. Who I really hoped we didn’t need.

The coldest section of the land so far was right at the front entrance of this palace, or at least where I thought the entrance was. There was no visible doorway, and as icy winds whipped through us, I rubbed my hands on my arms and bounced up and down to keep warm.

My wolf whined lightly in my chest, but she wasn’t pushing for freedom. She was happy to settle in and be my backup if needed.

“Follow in my exact steps,” Cat-man said and then he was moving.

I had a moment of déjà vu, remembering Kristoff saying the same thing. Kristoff, who was missing, and might have possibly been the one who’d directed this queen toward us. Was it an illusion here as well, just as it had been with Shadow’s friend?

Cat-man approached the first huge snowflake, which stood twenty feet in the air, and as he slipped around the side, I knew this place was no different. A trick of the mind, a fa?ade to cover the truth within.

When I reached the spot at which he’d disappeared, I was briefly mesmerized by the beauty of the building. The walls were so glittery and silver up close, and I loved the multifaceted pigments of their material.

By the time I tore my eyes away, it was to find myself alone, with no actual idea where the entrance was. Running my hands along the icy wall, I couldn’t feel an opening, and all I could see was a distorted view of my own reflection splashed back at me.

Speaking of, my hair actually hadn’t fared too badly considering I’d been thoroughly fucked, had washed up under a waterfall, and then had been attacked while shifting back and forth—

“Mera!”

Shadow’s head appeared, and my focus was once again back where it should have been. But for reals, anyone with even mildly curly hair would have understood. A good hair day was worth celebrating.

“Come on,” he said, reaching out for me, and when I placed my hand in his, he dragged me a few steps to the right, where I could finally see the indent of the hidden entrance.

Sneaky, but also a brilliant defense to prevent outsiders just walking into your home. It would be near impossible to find the front door unless you knew the exact spot to stand.

Shadow didn’t release my hand as he dragged me through the twisting path inside the snowflake, and my stomach swirled in a weird dance of emotions.

I paid zero attention to where we were going, my entire focus on the beast before me, thinking of how much I’d miss the tingles of his power. Tingles that were so familiar to me now, I’d almost feel empty without them.

And yeah, I’d just turned into that chick who couldn’t live without her man. But these were straight-up facts. My energy liked his, and there was no point pretending otherwise.

At the end of this maze entrance, we stepped out into a massive room, about the size of a Regency era ballroom. I had to shake off the weird sensation of being out in the open and exposed after trekking through the tight turns of the front entrance.