Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 131364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
“Malia’s not scared at being in an enclosed space?” Eleri asked, thinking of Hendricks’s bunker.
“No, I was worried about that, but she seems to barely remember it. She was drugged most of the time so the memories are fuzzy, then you were there, so she didn’t get scared alone.” A teary smile. “Thank you for being there for my baby, Eleri. I’ll never forget it.”
“She helped me, too. I fought harder because of her—and she ran to get help with a broken arm while a predator was nearby. That took incredible courage.”
“I’ll tell her you said that. She’ll be proud.”
Then, while Eleri went through a slow routine designed to stretch stiff muscles, Saoirse brought her up to speed on the parallel scientific approaches being taken on Project El-Shield.
The two leads—Ashaya and Saoirse—were talking to each other about cave discoveries but were being scrupulous in not discussing what they believed each discovery to mean.
A stir in the other tent, Bram stepping out not long afterward. One side of his face bore deep sleep creases. After raising a hand in greeting, he stumbled off toward the black box.
“Bram woke before?” Eleri asked.
A nod. “He was in better shape than you—never got to total shield failure, though he was within a hairbreadth.” A glance over at Bram’s tent. “You should talk to him. Adam got some news this morning—you were still asleep, but Bram was up.”
Eleri’s stomach twisted at the innocuous statement. She knew something was wrong well before a freshly showered Bram nudged his head for her to join him in his tent.
“Which one?” she asked the instant she was seated. “Saffy or Yúzé? Are they alive?”
Bram rubbed both hands over his face as he sat with his knees raised, arms braced over them. “Yes—and on their way here, but in bad condition.”
Cold in her veins. “How? Adam told me that Sophie and Max were going to handle that.”
“They did, and brought in empathic help afterward. It wasn’t enough. You were gone from the PsyNet and my mind went into lockdown. They’re more fragile than even I realized. Saffy had a full-on psychotic break in the midst of working with an E, which triggered Yúzé.”
Panic studded Eleri’s chest; she’d known the two were the most vulnerable members of the Cartel but had hoped the safety net Adam had put in place would protect them. “Where were they taken?”
“Psych department of the same J unit you were in—Sophia made sure of that. But no one can get Saffron to calm down, while Yúzé’s fallen into near-catatonia.”
“We can get through to them,” Eleri said, because she had to believe the breaks in their minds weren’t final. “Soon as they arrive, we’re all over them.” Touch mattered. Hugs mattered. Smiles mattered.
Bram gave her an assessing look. “I didn’t think Adam would want two psychotic Psy so close to his clan.”
“You’re my family. All of you. Family is everything to changelings.” She’d never understood the depth of that until she’d lived inside WindHaven for a single unforgettable day, seen how they were with each other. “And Adam…Adam is mine.” In a way no one else had ever been hers, his place in her life solid and rooted and forever, mating bond or no mating bond.
She didn’t know if that would ever form, or if the damage done to her would forever block it, but that didn’t matter. She’d known who Adam was to her from the first day they met—and he’d known the same. “So,” she said in an effort to distract herself from her worry about Saffron and Yúzé, “you and Dahlia?”
Bram dropped his head, rubbed both hands over his skull. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Eleri.” The words were a rough confession. “When I thought I was dying, it was easy.” Ice-blue eyes met her own. “I fell into Dahlia, and I don’t want to climb back out.”
Eleri tilted her head to the side. “You’ve always been in control, Bram. Always trying to look after us, make things better.” She held out her hand. “It’s okay to surrender when the person to whom you’re surrendering is worthy of that trust.”
Bram wove his fingers through hers. “She stayed with me.” A deep breath in, a shaky exhale. “When I asked. She stayed. And before she left today, she promised she’d come back after she’d finished her duties.”
Eleri thought of the woman she’d met, the fierceness and joy of her. “Dahlia isn’t the kind of person who does things she doesn’t want. And, Bram?”
She clenched her hand tighter on his. “You’re a good man. You’ve been the best big brother I could ever have. You know how to take care of your people. You understand family. You’re the perfect mate for a changeling.”
Bram’s eyes were shining.
He looked away, but he didn’t break their handclasp, and there they sat, two dented and damaged Psy who’d somehow managed to find their people.