Reclaimed (Shadow Beast Shifters, #2)(75)

You have done it before, and you will again.

It had required me to lose control of my wolf, though, and the difficulty of hauling her back after that incident still frightened me.

When we finally landed, Ixana glared at me. “Took you long enough! We don’t have time to sightsee. This is extremely important, and you’re treating the entire venture like you’re on vacation.”

My first reaction was to remind her that she needed me more than I needed her, but since I was trying out this not being a jealous hag thing, I just smiled. “Sorry about that. Midnight and I had a chat and then it took me on the scenic route. Hopefully, that few-minutes delay won’t cause too much issue.”

Ixana huffed. “I’m sure it will be fine. We’re losing daylight hours, but a few minutes is okay.”

I didn’t argue, just tightened my side-bag. In all honesty, an excited buzz had started between my wolf and me at the thought we might finally have some answers. Like, how did we control the flames? How did we control the shadow creatures? Why did we feel a bond to a land we’d never been to until now?

If there were answers here, then I wanted them. I needed them.

“Are you not bringing any guards?” Angel asked Ixana. “They can’t be happy about you venturing beyond the wall without them.”

Frustration was the defining emotion on the royal’s face. “I’m their queen. Sometimes they need a little reminder of that. Besides”—her smile grew larger, smug even—“I’m not alone. I have my true mate, and no one can protect me better than the one who was born to that position.”

It hurt. It really fucking hurt. But I didn’t snap back with something smartass. I just remained silent, my gaze outward as I examined the world we were about to step into.

Being a bigger person sucked. The end.

From above, The Grey Lands had looked barren, and down here was no better. Unlike in the lava fields, there was no current of power beneath the surface here, either. Something was sapping this particular land of its power, and eventually, it would kill the creatures. Why didn’t the royals care about that? If the creatures fell, so would their power and immortality.

Frustrated with everything I was learning, I marched forward with Midnight at my side. I didn’t bother to wait for the others, instinct driving me into this land.

When I was half a dozen steps in, I felt Shadow at my back. “Where are you going?” he asked. “You don’t know the way to the Nexus.”

“I feel it,” I said softly. “In the same place the path to this world originates within my own energy. So, yeah, I do know the way… I just don’t know why I know the way.”

My path must have been the right one because Ixana didn’t argue, falling in behind us. She tried at first to engage Shadow in conversation, but he was not in the mood. She didn’t know that about him yet, of course, but when he was like this, you might as well chat with a brick wall. All you’d get were some annoyed grunts and rumbles. The big fucker did not handle inane chatter at the best of times. Let alone when he was mulling shit over in his head.

Of course, usually I took that on as a challenge, but today, Ixana was the one with incessant questions and comments. I kept waiting for Shadow to demand she shut up, like he did with me, but that moment never came. He even fucking answered her on occasion, and once again, I was battling stupid jealousy.

After some time, I started to pray for creatures to appear, anything to break up the bonding that Shadow and his mate appeared to be doing. Despite his earlier words, if he was playing a part, he was doing it all too well.

Maybe I can call the creatures to me.

Midnight brushed over my shoulder, hearing that thought through our connection. It wasn’t exactly mind reading, but when I projected something loud enough, it traveled along our bond.

You can definitely call them. Might be a good experiment.

Drawing from the energy guiding me on this journey, I closed my eyes briefly, tugging on the power, like one would with a dog leash, pulling them closer. At first, I thought it failed, because we were still just trudging through a land without a single creature in sight, until…

“Oh, no!” Ixana exclaimed. “They’re never this close to my city. My repelling spell is designed to detract them.”

Oh, whoops.

A line of shadow creatures appeared in the distance, all the same species, and it was one I knew very well. Abervoq. One of the most dangerous creatures that could exist. Apparently.

The one I’d met on Earth had been the same height as Shadow, but the group approaching us now was more varied. All of them had the same general look, with their top halves like bulls’—horns, snouts, large eyes—and their bottom halves akin to shaggy bears. Their fur, for the most part, was dark like the abervoq from Earth, but there was a huge variation in the shades. Some falling more toward brown, and others almost blue-black.

Ixana had stopped walking, and I was fairly certain she was hiding behind Shadow. “There are too many abervoqs to best without having first gathered other creatures,” she whimpered.

Shadow didn’t answer her, but his flames had appeared, so he wasn’t completely comfortable with this, either. “Mera, get behind me,” he said.

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. I’d called these damn creatures for a reason, and while I hadn’t been aiming for the highest echelons of the creature chain here, this was what I had to deal with. Time to see if I could put my power to actual use.