Page 63 of The First Trial
‘We’re running as fast as we can, sis. See you soon.’
Suddenly, black scales darted beneath our feet until the snake Shifter dude was in front of us. Then, without missing a beat, his long body started to swell. Scales expanded, his tail extended, and his head exploded until we were tailgating the largest fucking snake I had ever seen. Towering over us with ease, his tail whipped out and grabbed a hold of Enid much in the same way those trees liked to kidnap people. She screeched, hands fumbling for her daggers, but he merely placed her on his back, whipped his tail out once again, this time grabbing me. He settled me unceremoniously behind Enid, and then Qarinah behind me, before taking off like hellhounds were nipping at his ass.
Well, that wasn’t too far off.
‘Oh, hell no,’ Enid muttered in front of me, gripping on to… I didn’t even know what, while the rest of us tried to hold on to each other. With the snake’s undulating movements, it was asteep learning curve figuring out how to stay on. I had to give it to him, though. He was really trying to keep his front half still, moving with his head elevated off the ground and only moving his back half.
And we were speeding away from the carnage and chaos with much better odds of outrunning it.
‘Thanks!’ I shouted above the noise.
A hiss was all I got in response, but that was okay. He had grown to a gargantuan version of himself, plucked us from danger, and was literally carrying us to safety. Maybe I needed to rethink my opinion of him. He didn’t have to help us, yet he did.
Other Shifters soon joined us, though they all remained a typical size. A particularly large polar bear ran beside us, keeping pace easily, and he also carried a small group of Witches and Warlocks on his back. One of them was George, Junie’s old friend who had ditched her when she wouldn’t spill all the details about our supposed ‘secret relationship.’ I was glad to see him alive, knowing it would still hurt Junie to lose him.
The polar bear seemed to be conversing with the snake before they came to some sort of decision. He glanced at us, then back towards the bloodbath we had left behind, only to fall back to flank us, keeping himself between us and the danger.
Interesting. Perhaps these Shifter guys weren’t so bad after all. They had clocked our greatest vulnerabilities and immediately jumped in to pick up our slack, likely saving our lives in the process. And I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Qarinah rested her chin on my shoulder so her lips were by my ear. ‘Can you hear her?’
I tilted my head so she could hear my response, and our noses brushed. I tried to ignore the way her breath ghosted over my lips, her pupils dilating to mirror what I was sure mine were doing in response to her proximity, and cleared my throat of the sharp stab of lust currently clogging it. ‘Hear who?’
‘Juniper.’
I frowned. ‘No. She’s too far away. Can you?’
Her dark red brows dipped slightly, crinkling in the middle. ‘No. But you can communicate telepathically, correct?’
My entire body jolted, and I went so rigid I almost fell from my tentative perch on the snake’s back. If it wasn’t for my arms around Enid and Qarinah’s strong grip keeping me in place, I would have been left in the dust.
‘What?’
‘You and your sister. You can communicate telepathically, yes?’
‘How did you…?’
‘Is that not common knowledge?’
A laugh burst from me, dry and incredulous. ‘No.’
‘But you can?’
‘Yes.’
Fuck, that felt good to admit out loud. The fact that she had figured out not only our new mental connection, but that Junie was my sister was a miracle. It was the only explanation that explained how we were able to have this conversation at all.
And Enid must not be able to hear us over the roar of the wind and the screams still reaching us from the battlefield.
‘So, can you hear her?’
My lips pursed as the reality of the situation sank in. ‘No. She’s too far away.’
She sent me a reassuring smile that was all optimism and compassion. ‘We won’t lose her, Oz.’
I returned her smile. ‘I’m not worried about her. I don’t think the trees wish her harm. I think they like her.’
‘Ah,’ she grinned, sharp canines glinting in the sun. ‘They are saving her.’
