Page 25 of Wings and Shadowthief

He hadn’t killed a human. There was that. Of course, there was a long list of things he didn’t want to hunt down either. Fledglings. Godlings. Bunnies.

“We’ve solved the blood issue,” his father said, surprising Jack.

Why wasn’t he told anything, dammit?

“The reason we asked for an appointment was more about where we can go from here, with his condition.”

Condition.

A nice way of saying part of him was fucking crazy.

Tris tightened her hold.

Terra looked at him directly. “Your case is complex. From what the Drakes and your parents report, you aren’t possessed.”

She paused, giving him a moment to confirm it. He nodded, though carefully.

“Right, in that case, the thing inside you is part of you. Putting a leash on it could be a mistake. Especially given the evidence that it’s trying to help you.”

Jack’s jaw was set. “I woke up covered in blood on another continent. Something has to give.”

Terra nodded. “Well, there are spells that could help, depending on what your goal is. If it’s a matter of remembering what occurs when it takes over, that’s child’s play. We can have a vision potion brewed—we use it to recall our own dreams. If you’d like to stop it from emerging, that’s something else entirely.” She smiled. “Especially considering the fact that the thing has, from all evidence, helped keep you alive. Alternatively, there could be ways to keep you awake, giving you a chance to control your alter ego’s actions. An amulet would work. But you’ll never be able to sleep until you remove it. And simple as it sounds, it requires a potent infusion of elemental energy—hence why we don’t make use of it.”

Jack pondered the words.

Becca didn’t need time to think. “We’ll take all three. Let’s talk payment.”

A Day of Fools

1stof April, 2158

Gwen was fairly certain she’d been this gross at some point in her life, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember when. “I think I hate you.”

She’d spent the morning practicing water magic with Blair, a fire witch.

When it came to actual spells, Gwen won against Blair every single time. But the other witch didn’t play nicely. Just when she’d been ready to send a water orb, Blair sidestepped and made the tiniest of sparks bounce off Gwen’s boot. Losing both her concentration and her balance, Gwen dropped the orb, drenching the earth under their feet, and fell face first into the muddy ground.

“I’m so sorry.” Only, Blair didn’t sound sorry because she was laughing her ass off.

She’d been concerned, at first, but thanks to the protection shields they always built around themselves before practicing, Gwen hadn’t hurt herself. Her pride was the only thing that had taken a hit.

At least there had been no one to witness her humiliation. They usually trained up in Skyhall because no place in Oldcrest rivalled the Eirikrson manor when it came to training space—especially now that the rest of Night Hill had been burned down. They were slowly rebuilding a few of the houses, but it would be months before they were anywhere close to habitable. Vampires didn’t have subtle tastes.

Over the last couple of weeks, Gwen had taken to training in the woods of Cosnoc. If they were to use Skyhall, Chloe would want to join in, or at least come to watch, and that wasn’t going to fly with any of the vampires of Cosnoc.

Chloe was over six months pregnant. Vampire pregnancies lasted twenty-seven weeks, which meant that she was ready to pop any day, and her mate was going insane. Literally. He didn’t want Chloe to walk, stand, or even lift her fingers. His slayers were hardly any better. Mikar, Bash, and Sylvain, patrolled around the manor night and day, flashing their fangs at anyone who dared approach. And even Alexius, generally detached from, well, anything, was concocting potions to make sure Chloe’s energy stayed “optimal.”

Thus smothered, Chloe spent most of her time shouting at the men to leave her alone. The females, Diana, Avani and Cat, took her side, threatening their mates if they dared displease the pregnant lady.

While amusing, the hill had become a bit of a minefield. Gwen visited almost daily, but she wasn’t about to tempt the devil.

On the other hand, if they’d moved their training to Skyhall, she wouldn’t be covered in mud from head to toe.

But all other matters aside, Gwen had limited her time in the presence of her pregnant friend since that day in the cafeteria.

Herconditionhad remained under control, but Eirikr’s warnings were never far from her mind. If he was right, if she was that soulless thing he described, then the shift had just been the beginning.

She’d deal with it when she could. For now, the one thing she could do was practice her newfound powers.

---