Page 15 of Wings and Shadowthief

Jack had trained with those six warriors as a teen, because his father had soon seen that Jack’s skills exceeded his own, and he’d wanted to keep him challenged. That didn’t mean that the knights wouldn’t have killed him if they’d suspected he was a danger to them.

“My phone’s dead, and I figured the family would be here for the anniversary. I have to talk to my mother urgently.”

The youngest of the guards, a disturbingly silent, lean, and muscular man who belonged on the cover of a magazine, extended his hand as an invitation to walk inside the building.

Jack pointed to the set of magically enhanced cuffs at his belt. “I’m going to need you to put these on me first.”

In the Mirror

Gwen had felt out of sorts since waking up from that disturbing—and disturbingly hot—dream, and things weren't getting better. Her stomach felt tight, on edge. Her magic was brewing under the surface, as if ready to lash out at an enemy anytime. Only there was no enemy, and no obvious reason for being quite so annoyed. It was a sunny day, rare this time of the year as winter and spring battled for dominion. Generally, in Scotland, winter won, at least until May or June. Not today.

Perhaps her allergies were playing up again. Even though she tried to rationalize her uneasiness, she could tell it was bigger than the pollen’s annual attempt to murder her.

At lunch time, she let her gaze drift to the long table the huntsmen typically shared. They had the same lunch on Thursdays, and unless they were racing around the territory, they usually sat together, though Tris had taken to joining her.

She frowned, taking in each face.

They were obviously in agreement with her: today sucked. All of them seemed thoroughly beaten down, their shoulders slumped, their heads low. The huntsmen were a loud bunch, typically laughing and half-shouting. Today, they ate in silence.

Andhewasn’t here.

She hadn’t bumped into him at the dorm, or in Adairford, or anywhere in the Institute all day. Normally, she at least saw him across the courtyard, training his men.

Jack didn’t always eat with the rest of the huntsmen. His duties spanned further than the confines of Oldcrest. he was always on the move, negotiating with a faction, smoothing things over between warring clans, and what not. His absence wasn’t anything to be worried about, per se.

But somethingwaswrong.

Gwen bit her lip, wishing she had her phone on her. She could have headed out of the gates and called Tris to check.

“Looking for someone?” Chloe asked, following Gwen’s gaze to the huntsmen’s table.

Gwen forced her eyes away from the other table with an indifferent shrug. “They look down. I was wondering why.”

“Didn’t you hear?” Blair asked.

The fire witch was Chloe’s mentor at the Institute—a job she took very seriously. She always made sure to eat lunch with them and check daily whether Chloe needed help.

Cat Stormhale and Bash Venari occupied the rest of the table. Until then, they’d been whispering sweet nothings to each other, ignoring the rest of them, but Bash shot Blair a warning glance. “Don’t talk about huntsmen business here, please.”

It was easy to forget that the newborn vampire had been a huntsman mere months ago, before getting bitten by a feral. He’d only survived the change thanks to Chloe’s blood. Now, Bash had entirely embraced his nature. His eyes shone red with magic and lust half the time, but he didn’t seem to mind anymore.

Though she was dying to know what the whole mystery was about, Gwen assured him, “I don’t want to gossip.”

Bash smiled at her. “I don’t meanyoucan’t hear what’s going on, but there are too many ears in this room.”

She nodded, hiding the fact that she felt, once again, out of the loop. All her friends were aware of something—something big, by the looks of it—and no one had thought to mention it to her until now. Tris would have reached out, but Tris was on another continent, an ocean away.

The unwelcome reminder that she wasn't truly part of the core friendship between the Night Hill inhabitants, or the huntsmen, or anyone else, didn't sting as much as it did on other days. She was too concerned to feel piqued today. What was wrong, and what did it have to do with Jack?

She wasn't worried about him. Jack could take care of himself, and besides, he wasn't anyone to her. He'd be fine. Hewasfine.

Blair reached out, placing her palm over Gwen's. "Are you okay?"

Gwen lifted her eyes to her friend, surprised to see Blair, always bubbly and smiling, looking so alert. Almost fearful.

"Sure, why?"

No one answered for a moment, though Gwen felt all eyes around the table fixed on her. She wasn't used to being the center of attention, and she didn't like it one bit.

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