Page 55 of Shadowed Spirits

Rocking back on his heels, he assesses me quietly for long enough that I start to fidget. One corner of his mouth tips up in satisfaction at getting to me. “How do you know who she is, then?”

With how much these shifters seem to dislike Lua, I don’t really want to out Levi as her son, so I give them a half-truth. “We’ve been toInfernus. Apparently, she was supposed to be locked up in Tartarus, but she got free. So, we’re now on a super fun mission to stop her.” Hopefully, by the time we actually find her, I’ll have figured out how.

There’s a collective gasp from the shifters, as they stare at us wide-eyed. The lead guy asks, “You’ve been toInfernus?”

I’m surprised they know what that is. “Um. Yeah. After I almost got arrested by the mage council, we had to go toInfernusto get some answers.”

It’s crazy that it hasn’t even been a week since everything has happened. I’ve been arrested, traveled to another realm, learned I’m partcura, found out my grandma has been pretending to besomeone else, almost gotten killed by Doyle, and turned twenty-two in the span of only a few days. It’s insane. If the universe is taking requests, I’d like it to slow its roll. Please and thank you.

The guy snorts. “You seem like the type to stir up trouble. Why’d you get arrested?”

I would be offended, but he’s totally right. “In my defense, it wasn’t even my fault this time. It was because I’m a spirit mage.”

His eyes widen, and he assesses me with a sharper gaze. “Shit. I guess that answers how you’d rip out our souls.”

“Technically, that’s not why, but I’d rather not get into it right now.” I wave my hand like being halfcuraisn’t a huge deal. If I pretend it’s no biggie, then it’ll eventually feel like that… right? “So, if you’re not here to kill us and we don’t want to kill you, is it cool if we continue looking around? We are on a deadline here and still have one more place to hit up today.”

“Mm, the jury’s still out on whether we’ll kill you, little spirit mage.” While his tone is light, there’s a dark undertone that makes me think he wouldn’t have a problem killing all of us. Not that he could, though.

I roll my eyes at him. “You’re welcome to try, my dude.” If he’s trying to be scary, he needs to try harder. Hades and the hellhounds have him beat on the terrifying scale by a mile. Not that I’d ever tell Hades that. He doesn’t need me feeding his oversized ego.

His eyes crinkle in the corners in amusement at my response. Running his hand through his hair, he shakes his head before asking, “What is it you’re hoping to find here?”

“In an ideal world, some way to stop Lua.” I would love to find a detailed instructional manual on how to kill her, with pictures and everything, so there’s no way I can mess it up. Since I highly doubt that’s going to happen, I’ll settle for locating her. “Realistically, we’re just trying to figure out which of the six meeting places she’s going to be at in a little over a week.”

“You want to stop her?” His deep brown eyes bounce between mine as he waits for an answer.

I give him a short nod. “Yep. She’s planning to destroy this world and probably other realms, so don’t most people want to stop her?”

He clenches his jaw. “Do you think you actually can stop her?” His voice is lined with a guarded hope that feels like it sucks all the oxygen from the room. People shouldn’t be putting their faith in me. I’m as likely to screw this up as I am to actually stop her.

“I don’t know,” I admit in a whisper. “But we have the best chance of throwing a wrench in her plans, so I have to try.”

The main guy stares at me for a heartbeat longer before sighing. “I’m probably going to regret this, but come with me. We might have something that can help you locate her.”

“Mateo, are you sure?” the man behind him questions sharply. He has curly light brown hair that is cut close to his scalp and hazel eyes that are currently clouded with distrust.

“I’m sure, Tomas.” Mateo’s tone is hard and brooks no argument. Tomas dips his head but continues to glare at us. The rest of the shifters seem unsure how to feel about us, but a few give me tentative smiles when I look their way.

When Mateo spins on his heel and starts down another narrow passage behind him, I make a move to follow him. Luca grabs me by my hood. “Not a chance, wildcat.”

I growl at him because I’m sick of being yanked around by my hood like a rag doll. Cerberus follows my lead and snarls at Luca, which is a lot more intimidating than my pathetic growl. Luca doesn’t seem phased as he lets go of my hood and strides ahead of me. I have to run to catch up with him. “You’re a controlling jerk taco, just so you know,” I inform him when I reach him.

He chuckles. “I know. It’s not changing anytime soon, because your safety is my priority.”

I cross my arms defiantly. “What about what I want?”

Luca looks down at me, his teal eyes swimming with a confusing mix of anger, regret, protectiveness, and something that looks too much like love for my comfort. “I want to make you happy, wildcat. But if I have to choose between your momentary happiness and you getting hurt, I willalwayschoose your safety. I’ll deal with your anger if it means you’re safe and whole.”

A lump forms in my throat at how much he cares. Luca and I clash all the time, his alpha nature conflicting with my innate need for independence. But I know part of why we get into arguments is because he’s doing everything that he can to take care of me the only way he knows how. Unsure what to do with all my feelings, I grumble, “Stop being sweet when I’m peeved at you.”

Luca’s mouth tips up on one side, and he bends down to kiss my forehead, taking me by surprise. He’s not normally as affectionate with me as Bishop and Archer are. Before Luca can say anything, Mateo drops back to walk slightly in front of us. “So, you’re all mates.”

I give him a jerky nod that he doesn’t see because his back is to me. “Unfortunately for them, yep, they’re my mates.” It’s hard to miss the bitterness in my tone, and Mateo turns around with his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Stop that, little raven,” Levi chides from behind me. “We’re the luckiest men in the realms that you’re our mate.”

While I want to argue with him, I know now isn’t the right time. Instead of arguing, I clamp my lips shut and try to think of a way to move the conversation to a new topic. Mateo saves me from having to come up with anything when he swings his gaze to Levi. “And what are you?”

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