Page 49 of Wings and Shadowthief

At least, he’d have Tris and the rest of the Drakes.

And apparently, a son. A wife.

“What’s the catch?”

There was always a catch.

“You’re diverging from your destiny,” said the child.

“You’ve been tricked.” The seductive, thinFate closed in.

“Captured.”The crone shook her imperious head. "An abomination claims you, and steals your future."

"Kill it."

"Kill it.

"Kill her."

The voices of the three Fates melded into one heady chant, a spell turning around his mind, encircling it.

Kill it. Kill it. Kill the monster. Kill the abomination. Kill the thief.

Jack could feel the weight of their magic closing in on him. They spoke of his future, but in the same breath they were trying to dictate it.

Aware as he was of their utter bullshit, Jack couldn't do a thing against the magic of the three primordial gods, whirling around him like beautiful dancers with the sharp teeth of feral wolves.

He couldn't resist. He had no control, no agency, no power.

Because Jack was inherently weak, cut off from the magic at his core.

Jack was the victim, the prey. The true shadowthief of Hunter's body and soul.

He did the one thing he could think of to retain his freedom.

He let go.

The Island

“He was here a fucking second ago. What happened?” Tris looked to Gwen for answers, but she had no clue. She’d just activated the portal; she hadn’t been in charge of anything else.

Before she could point it out, Seth stepped forward. “We don’t have time for this.” He waved to the city in the distance. “They will have felt a transport come in, and there are guards on their way to greet us. Keep it together. Gwen, Tris, there’s a creek a mile east.” He tilted his head left. “That way. You'll find a littoral cave under the cliffs. You’ll need to swim, or at least walk in the water so that your footsteps aren’t followed. We’ll come to you when we’re done, as planned.”

His stern voice did nothing to ease Gwen’s raising panic. “What about Jack? He could…”

“We can panic for him here, and the mission’s over. Or we can trust him to be a competent huntsman and take care of himself. He knows the plan. He’ll come when he can.” After a pause, Seth added, “Unless he’s dead. Either way, let’s move now.”

Gwen didn't think she'd ever hated anyone as much as she hated Seth in that moment. Mostly because he was right.

She turned to the glittering surface of the water, wondering if Jack was lost beneath its waves.

But that was silly. He was fine. She could feel that he was fine.

"Let's go." Tris tugged on her hand, directing her toward the waves.

With a last glance at their friends, departing for the glimmering city in the distance, she started to walk, her feet in the cold water.

"He's fine," Tris assured her. "My cousin's a survivor. The one thing we can do for him is to take care of ourselves."

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