Cian's revelation sank in with all the finesse of a boulder falling into a pond, and I sank back into my seat with a sick feeling spreading through my body. This Shard inside of me wasn't a piece of some magical artifact—it was part of a soul, and no wonder my ancestors gained power from carrying them around. Of course, he could be lying, but—I pinched the bridge of nose and made a raspberry with my lips—for some reason, I believed him. What did that say about this fucked up situation that I believed him more than anyone else?

"Who?"

Cian didn't acknowledge me in words, but from the corner of my eye, I saw him tense and shift slightly. Anyone else might have dismissed it. He could just be getting comfortable, but my years of training made me especially adept at reading body language. That question was unwelcome, and I put less than 50/50 odds on getting a useful answer.

"Who?" I asked again when the silence stretching between us proved me right.

"That's not important."

"I'm literally carrying a piece of someone inside of me. I think I have a right to know who."

"Does it change anything?" I glowered at him. "That's what I thought."

Switching directions, I said, "If they locked you out of your country, what makes you think it's a good idea to go back? You're more likely going to be killed."

"That's a real possibility," he admitted, rolling to a stop at a stop sign. No one was behind us, so he put the car in park and looked at me. "But it's m—our—duty to go back and try to help the people who got stuck there."

"They've been there five hundred years."

"In your time. In Andarie, time moves differently, and our lives are long. We have to go home." He put the car in drive and pulled through the intersection.

"So, you were never going to consider any other way but this one?"

"Bria. I'm sorry."

"Then what was that back there?" This question caught him off guard, but it made him almost as uncomfortable as the one about whose soul was inside me. "Guess you're just an opportunist."

"That isn't what happened."

"No? If Kohl hadn't banged on that door, we both know you would've been banging me."

"I didn't see you complaining."

"Of course not," I snapped. "I was fulfilling my end of a deal."

The scream of tires skidding across asphalt was choked off by the crunching of gravel as the car came to a stop on the shoulder of the road, teetering dangerously over a ditch. Cian slammed the car into park and cut the engine, his eyes a stormy shade of blue that terrified and aroused me. Because I was clearly a sick, sick girl.

"Is that what you were doing back there? Really?"

Nodding, I picked at a cuticle. "Yep."

"And the way you screamed when you came, that was just you paying your dues?"

"Hey," I flicked the dead skin at him and then poked his shoulder. "I won't lie and say you didn't make my toes curl. I'll consider that a bonus to add to the not dying part."

He made a dangerous sound in his throat and leaned over the console, forcing me to scoot until my back was against the passenger door. Not once had I ever been unaware of how big the Andarien was, but he seemed to grow larger, filling the space until breathing became difficult.

Refusing to cower, I lifted my chin. "I know what I thought I was getting out of it, but there's only one thing you were getting. Guess you're not so different from your buddies Fynn and Kohl after all."

"Fine. You want to hear the truth. From the moment I first saw you, I've been consumed with thoughts of you. It's been centuries since a woman has stirred my interest, and then you come along. My cock has stayed hard, and in a moment of weakness, I was looking forward to finally getting some relief."

Heat pooled between my thighs, and his nostrils flared, scenting my arousal. If only I could find some of that relief he was talking about... I inched closer to him. His breath was warm on my face.

"If Kohl hadn't arrived, we would probably still be in that bedroom, rutting like animals, but thank the gods he arrived and saved me from that mistake."

Cian retreated to his space, and the chill in the car was palpable. Part of me wanted to find something sharp and stab him. The other part wished he would just end me now rather than taking me to the Synod. Spending three days alone with him while I wallowed in utter embarrassment seemed far more cruel than a swift death.

"You're an asshole," I hissed, looking out the window and wiping at a tear that came from nowhere. Seriously. Crying felt like the ultimate betrayal by my body—right next to its pesky inability to not be turned on by this man.

"I never said I wasn't."

"I never said I wasn't," I mocked him like a child. Then, I screamed. "Cian, drive!"

Rocks flew into the brush as our tires searched for purpose, just barely moving the car forward before the fire ball I spied racing toward us struck the exact spot we'd been parked. Grabbing the handle on the roof, I fought back the urge to scream as we sped down the winding road at speeds far above the limit signs and far above what was safe on these curves.

"What the hell?" I gasped as a pine tree's trunk burst into fiery splinters behind us. Remembering the fire balls from Cian's fight with Kohl, I asked, "Is it an Andarian? Is it Kohl?"

"No," he bit out, swerving to avoid another hit. "It's your amouri's people. The Coalition."

Jac. I pushed down the elation that surged inside of my chest. If he was back there, he sure as hell wouldn't be letting them take fire like that, and even if June had already told him I was alive, there was no way he could have found me so quickly.

"Are you sure?" He spared me a hard look. "I'm only asking because it doesn't seem like killing the last carrier of the Shard is a good idea seeing as they're team keep the door locked and all."

"Fuck," he stomped the brakes as an explosion in front of us ripped a hole in the road. "Jay wasn't there to hide you, Bria. He was there to transfer the Shard."

And with no further explanation, Cian jumped out of the car with a roar, giant silver wings bursting from his back and lifting him in the air. Lightning cracked across the sky, blue streaks breaking off and filling his outstretched palms. His skin shimmered with every strike until he glowed so bright white that the only thing left of him I could see through the shine was pulsing blue eyes.

Awe held me captive for ten more seconds—long enough to watch him launch a bolt toward our attackers. Then I shook it off and realized this was my chance to slip away. The Coalition wasn't exactly the safer option if they found me. I didn't know what Cian meant about transferring the Shard, but it sounded a hell of a lot less dangerous than being killed by the Synod.

I opened the door and darted into the bushes. Charred wood and earth perfumed the air, and for a moment, I was back in that house, trapped by the flames, but I drew in a deep breath of fresh air and calmed enough to focus on getting somewhere safer.

Thunder boomed and someone screamed. I didn't look over my shoulder, sneaking through the prickly bushes and overgrown grasses damp from a recent shower. Once I reached the forest line, I broke into a sprint, weaving around towering trees and praying I didn't step in a hole and snap my ankle.

It felt like hours had passed when I finally stopped. Falling to my knees, I dragged in lungfuls of air and shut my eyes, willing the world to stop spinning. That was it. The moment I settled somewhere, I was going to sign up for a gym because it would seem running for my life was going to be a new thing.

When I didn't feel like I was going to vomit, I opened my eyes and reached out with my senses. In the middle of nowhere like this, the echoes were small and scarce. Too much peace to leave behind anything worthwhile, and it made me wonder why I'd never considered moving to the woods, leaving the world and its toxic energies behind.

But the answer was obvious—at least to me. I wanted to help people. I wanted to stop crime and solve mysteries, giving families answers. Those were things I couldn't do if I hid myself away. I certainly couldn't do them if I died, but outside of killing all the Andarians, I didn't know how I was going to survive another week.

Jay was dead. He wasn't an option, but there were other druids. If soul transference was a real thing, I had to try. And fuck Cian for not telling me.

A branch snapped behind me, and I spun, crouching into a defensive stance, preparing to find Cian watching me in that surly, irritated way he had, but it wasn't him. I almost wished it was Kohl. Anyone but who it was.

"You're looking well for someone who is supposed to be dead."

"I wish I could say the same for you."

Tiffany laughed. Then she cracked her knuckles. It was such a cliche move, it should've been comedic. Instead, a shiver ghosted over my skin.

"I'm going to enjoy this." Fire danced above her palm. "So much."