Reclaimed (Shadow Beast Shifters, #2)(99)

“I can’t see,” she choked out. “Why can’t I see? My stone. Where is my stone?”

The loss of power would be hitting her now, too much for her brain to handle after so many years tied to the stone.

Shadow reached for her. “You’re done, Ixana,” he said softly. “Where is the bloodstone?”

She was rattled enough not to fight, turning one of her coat buttons, clearly an illusion, into the ruby red stone. It fell into Shadow’s palm, and I waited with bated breath, wondering if it was another trick.

The beast’s head dropped back, a howl spilling from his lips as the power settled in his bones.

“Shadow,” I said hesitantly.

His head snapped toward me. “Mine,” he rumbled.

Was he talking about the stone or me? His friends converged on the scene before I could ask him to clarify. Reece went straight for Ixana, securing her with bindings that looked like they’d come right from the desert themselves, as a barbed cactus-type plant twisted around her.

“Shadow’s mother should not have been able to do that,” Len said, staring up at the spot where his stone had been. “That stone is too powerful.”

There was no sign of Dannie at all. No feel of her power. No sense of what had happened to her.

“Let’s get the creatures back and then we can search for her,” I suggested, knowing Shadow would not rest until he found his mom. Or learned of her fate.

I felt the same way. She’d saved us when I’d had not a clue what to do. We owed Dannie a lot. I would not let her down.

Shadow, seemingly adapted to the new influx of power from his stone, stepped forward, just as Reece asked him if he was okay.

“Yes,” the beast rumbled. “It’ll be easier when the bonding ceremony is complete, but for now, we’re meshing our energy without too much issue.”

“Can you help me return the creatures?” I asked. “Before the Nexus falls completely without Dannie’s energy.”

“How did she leave it in the first place?” Angel asked.

Shadow’s flaming irises met mine. “Sunshine called her. She’s connected to Mera.”

“She knew we were in trouble,” I said sadly. “But before we can deal with that, we have to save the world.”

Everyone nodded, falling into a circle around me as I drew the creatures toward me, before directing them to cross toward the exit. Shadow dropped his hand on my shoulder.

“I have a quicker way.”

His energy surged up, and I blinked at how strong it was. The stone was already making a huge difference to his base power. A portal formed, The Grey Lands visible on the other side. “Thanks, Shadow,” I said softly, sending my creatures through the six-feet-wide opening.

It was clearly going to take a few hours to get them all through, so I shooed the others away. “I’ll stay here and make sure they get back safely,” I said. “You all need to deal with the fallout upstairs.”

Angel gave me a hug as she left, as did the other guys. Reece bound Ixana to him, dragging her up the stairs, since she was clearly their new prisoner, and would be dealt with later.

Shadow, the last to leave, hesitated. His eyes burned as his new stronger power hit me like a lightning bolt. One huge hand wrapped around the back of my head, and he lifted me so our lips could meet.

Desperation had me pulling him closer, and the fear I’d been holding deep inside during the entire battle turned up the intensity of the kiss. “We need to talk, Sunshine,” he told me.

I nodded, my head spinning. “Yes, talk. Yes.”

His laugh was a low, deep rumble. “Flustered Sunshine is one of my favorites.”

He released me.

“Go,” I whispered, not really meaning it. “You’re the Supreme Being and you need to sort out the world of royals, guards, and freilds. Save your people.”

He kissed me again, one more hard, perfect press of our lips. “I’ll send any creatures I find down here,” he murmured against my mouth. “Keeping my promise to you.”

He brushed his fingers across my face, leaving behind a spark of power that had my knees buckling. I caught myself, possibly drooling a little as he left the room, his broad shoulders and perfect ass the last thing I saw before he disappeared up the stairs.





49





A sense of accomplishment settled deep in my chest as my creatures found their freedom. More joined the ones who had been down here, stolen from the royals above, and sent into my protective embrace by Shadow and our friends.

He was absolutely honoring his promise to me.

As the adrenaline wore off, I expected to feel exhausted, but I didn’t. Whatever Ixana had been doing, draining the energy from the mists and land, had been hurting me. Hurting every being here.

But now I had a new lease on life. A new surge of energy.

Angel popped her head in a few times to check on me, and apparently, it was going well upstairs. It was going well down here as well, and when the last of the creatures had finally filed through Shadow’s doorway some hours later, I knew my work was only beginning.

Shadow Realm had been screwed over for thousands of years, and it would take more than a minute to fix that.

Knowing his doorway would remain open until Shadow was done, I decided to step through myself, following the last of the tiny grekins, their chattering comforting now, when it had at one time been terrifying.