Page 6 of Shadowed Spirits

When I finally touch solid ground, I realize I’m in Luca’s bedroom. Smart thinking on demon eyes’ part, taking us somewhere private so we can figure out what we’re going to do. Someone put my sunshine in danger by giving that mage bozo a tool he shouldn’t have. I’m going to find out who and make sure they can’t ever hurt Izzy again. Preferably with violence. Lots of it.

Izzy is the next one to step through the rift. Her golden hair with purple and blue ends waves around her shoulders like an ethereal halo. Storm gray eyes dart around the room in confusion before landing on me. A small smile tilts up her full pink lips when she spots me, making my chest puff up in pride.

Trying and failing to resist the urge to go over to her, I close the gap between us in a few steps. When I reach her, I wrap an arm around her waist and haul her against my front. With her being so tiny compared to me, it’s easy to move her exactly where I want her. Since she doesn’t protest, I’m content to hold her like this as everyone else filters through the portal.

Once Levi steps into the room, Izzy breaks away from me to face him. “So, I take it I need to go to your realm to start figuring out this entire mess?”

Levi narrows his red and black eyes on her. “We need to go, yes.”

Izzy shakes her head before he even finishes speaking. “I can go myself.”

“You can’t go yourself.” Izzy opens her mouth to protest but closes it when she notices Levi’s cocked eyebrow. “You need my magic to get you there.”

“Fine.” Izzy throws her hands up in the air in exasperation. “Open a rift, and I’ll go through.”

“No. We’re coming with you,” Luca growls as he gets in Izzy’s face, his eyes flashing the amber of his wolf. Normally, I find it funny how much Izzy riles my older brother. Right now, I’m two hundred percent with him. There’s no way any of us will let her wander around another dimension alone. I wish my sunshine could just see how much we all care about her. “End of fucking discussion, wildcat.”

“But it’s dangerous!” Izzy’s voice breaks, so she swallows roughly a few times before looking away from Luca and continuing. “I’m not dragging the five of you to another realm to clean up a mess I created.”

The self-loathing in her voice kills me. She got the short end of the stick with her magic being outlawed, and now she’s convinced she’s the ultimate danger to everyone. But she’s not. Sure, there are people out there who want to hurt her and us, but that isn’t and has never been her fault. It certainly doesn’t mean she never deserves happiness or love or a good life. If only she’d understand that.

But I don’t know how to get her to know that.

“For fuck’s sake, Isabel.” Bishop stares Izzy down with heartbreak and fury warring for dominance on his face. He looks like he can’t decide whether to shake her or hug her. “When are you going to get it through your head that none of us give a shit about being safe without you? All we want is to be with you and keep you safe. We want to be a team, but you seem determined to fight us at every turn!”

“I can’t lose any of you.” Her lower lip trembles before she looks up at the ceiling in an attempt to gather herself. When she glances at Bishop, there’s a lone tear trailing down her pale cheek. “I can’t be responsible for someone else I care about dying. Not again.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Bishop’s face softens with understanding, his jaw no longer clenched so tightly. He uncurls his fists to snag Izzy by the hand and pull her to him. She melts against his chest as she stares up at him with uncharacteristic vulnerability. “None of us are Daniel. We’re all adults with our own magic, and you’re solidly in control of yours. What happened wasn’t your fault.”

This is the second time they’ve mentioned Daniel, and I’m burning with curiosity, wanting to know who he is. While I want to know what happened, this isn’t even remotely the time to ask. Maybe I’ll ask Bishop about it when we’re alone sometime.

“Don’t—” Izzy breaks off mid-sentence, sounding choked up. She closes her haunting gray eyes for a moment before freeing her hand from his and looking at him again. “Don’t try to minimize my responsibility. What I did to Daniel was my fault, and I’ll spend the rest of my miserable fucking life trying to make up for it.”

“I never said you didn’t do anything. I said it wasn’t your fault.” Izzy starts to argue, but Bishop just shakes his head tiredly. “I don’t want to fight with you, Izzy. Not after almost losing you today. All I want is for you to let me in.”

“I don’t want to fight with you either.” Izzy’s voice is small and unsure as she stares at Bishop with sorrow swimming in her gaze. “How do I let you in?”

Bishop gives her a small but genuine smile at her softly spoken question. “You stop trying to handle everything yourself. When you have a problem, you ask for help, from any of the numerous people who care so damn much about you. You confide in me or any of us about your struggles and triumphs, your sorrows and joys, and your wants and needs.”

“What if you or anyone else I care about gets hurt?” Izzy asks. “All I want is for everyone to be safe. That’s all I’ve been trying to do.”

“I know, Iz, but nothing in life is a guarantee. I could be killed tomorrow by a freak accident that has nothing to do with you.” Izzy lets out a pained little whimper at the thought of her mage dying, and it shreds my heart that I thought was long cold and dead. “I’m not saying that will happen, sweetheart. All I’m saying is that pushing us away won’t keep us safe. We’re always going to be safer if we work together.”

Izzy’s gaze flicks between Bishop’s eyes for a long moment, like she’s looking for the lie in his words. She won’t find it, because everything the mage has said is true.

“I don’t know how,” she admits quietly.

Bishop cups the back of her neck and tilts her face up to his. “Then we’ll help you learn. A good start is letting us go with you to Levi’s realm.” Love for Izzy is plain as day on his face, but I’m almost positive she doesn’t see it.

Izzy blows out a harsh breath before nodding slightly. “Okay. I can do that.” Bishop rewards her with a huge grin and squeezes her to him.

“Too. Tight,” Izzy manages to squeak out from the mage’s arms. He lets her go with a sheepish look.

“Are we leaving now?” Cain asks quietly. I’m never not going to find it hilarious that Izzy thinks Cain is sweet and sensitive. Just because he’s normally a silent shadow who observes everyone without a word doesn’t mean he’s gentle. No, he’s a certified psychopath who has a massive soft sport for my sunshine, apparently. I can’t blame him, because she definitely brings out the best in me.

Levi shakes his head. “I have to arrange for mine and Izzy’s absence at WHU first. I should be ready in an hour or two.”

“I’m good with that if everyone else is.” Izzy glances around the room at all of us. She waits until she gets a nod from everyone. “I guess we can meet back up here. Do we need to pack anything?”

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