Page 70 of Radiant Shadows

Whispers rose from the silence around us, instilling me with an alarming sense of being watched. We were definitely attracting the attention of other beings, though I couldn’t tell if they were friendly or menacing.

“Once more,” Gram said.

We spoke the spell a third time, and as the last word escaped my lips, a sharp tug pulled at me, stealing the air from my lungs. I slammed both hands to my chest in panic, feeling as if I was about to fall out of myself. My heart galloped in my chest, my pulse pounding in my temples, and my eyes practically bugged out of my skull as I desperately worried what the hell was going on.

Gram cupped my face in both hands, the concern on her face mirroring my emotions. “Shea, what’s wrong?”

“I–I–I don’t know,” I replied shakily. “It felt like I was being pulled out of my skin, like some hook was yanking on every part of me.” I turned wide, terrified eyes to her. “Do you think some demon is trying to possess me or something?”

The creases on her face returned to their normally wrinkled state, an expression of both understanding and what looked like awe forming. “Oh my goodness,” she breathed.

“What?!” I squealed.

“The tapestry of fate is cleverly woven, indeed,” she said.

“What the hell does that mean?” I pleaded.

“Shea, you can’t resurrect Alice because her soul resides inside you.”

We stared at each other for a long moment, my breathing steadily slowing and my heart rate settling as I registered her words with embarrassing slowness.

I can’t resurrect Alice because her soul…

Holy shit! Holy. Fucking. Shit!

“I’m… I’m Alice Le Fey reincarnated,” I said slowly, unsure myself whether I was stating it or asking it.

I was only distantly aware of Gram nodding in response as my mind replayed over dozens of things that had happened between Julian and me.

The first time he saw me, he thought I was her. He said I looked like her, that I reminded him of her. My magic felt like hers to him. I was descended from her and now was in possession of her grimoire, which was also mine. And I’d been drawn to Julian since the first time I saw him, as he had been drawn to me.

It all made sense. Wonderfully, beautifully perfect sense.

A slow, gloriously grateful smile spread my lips, and tears began to drop from my lashes.

“You love him, don’t you?” Gram surmised.

“Yes,” I said with so much joy I could barely breathe. “And now I know I don’t have to feel guilty for it. And neither does he.”

Chapter 26

Caesar

Static electricity sizzled across my wingspan as I called upon the crackling thunder high above. I leapt at the nearest vampire, my beak tearing through its neck as another was struck by a targeted bolt of lightning. The unfortunate vampire was thrown fifty feet through the air and into the Missouri River, skipping several times like a stone before submerging.

Torrents of rain pattered down, and I caused a mist to form, hoping it would decrease the visibility of my seemingly countless enemies.

A heavy weight slammed onto my back, and I angled my head swiftly, my razor-sharp beak grabbing the head of the vampire who’d jumped onto me. With the strength of my muscles surging in my neck, I pulled, separating my attacker’s head from his body in a matter of milliseconds.

The body slid off my back like the pouring rain, and I cast the head aside, launching myself into the air with my powerful wings. I had to get a better vantage point. It was this part of the simulation where Hadrian made his entrance—when he went for my parents.

Years ago, I had asked Kai to create a simulation of the attack on Framboise Island. It pained me to relive the experience in such a real way, but it also gave me the opportunity to change the outcome. On top of it all, there was a certain satisfaction that came from killing Hadrian.

Diving with a fierce shriek, I stretched my talons out at the distracted vampire leader. Rage filled my soul as my claws went for Hadrian’s shoulders. I opened my beak to kill the murderous vampire before he could get to my family again.

But before I could taste the victory of the win—something I’d done time and time again since the simulation’s creation—Hadrian disappeared, and the simulation room went white.

I tucked in my wings as I crashed hard to the floor, rolling over and over, the air taken out of my lungs. I came to a stop, dazed and in pain. Who had pulled the plug?

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