We circled one another warily. I knew why I was being cautious—I had no desire to end up charred to a crisp, and while my opinion of my fighting abilities were quite high, the last few days had left me worn down and uncertain of everything—including myself. All it would take was one misstep or being a hair too slow, and I would be down for the count. Tiffany only had to toss fireballs at me until one of those two things happened, so why wasn't she?

"Things would've gone so much easier on you if you'd not run off with the Andarian," she said, letting the flames dance over her fingers.

"Did I miss the part where I was given a choice on that? Pretty sure your impenetrable—" I made air quotes with my fingers. "Safehouse exploded, and he swooped in and took me. Also, your druid friend betrayed you. Sounds like you have some housekeeping issues."

The fire grew as her anger swelled, but she didn't launch an assault. "Gods, I thought Molly was a pain in the ass, but it must be a family trait."

"Is that why you were planning on transferring the Shard?" It was risky, playing my hand with information I'd only just learned, but at least I would know if Cian was being honest with me.

"Your Andarien friend tell you that?"

I shrugged. "And if he did? Is he wrong?"

"He's not."

"Then why didn't you lead with that?" She lowered her hand, the flames nearly extinguishing as confusion warped her masculine features. "I never wanted this. I'd gladly give this over to you."

"What else did he tell you?"

We had stopped moving. Overhead, branches clacked together and the few leaves clinging to their stems snapped loose, fluttering in the air until another gust buffeted them away. Strange how something so naturally quiet sounded so loud against the silence. Kind of how strange Tiffany's calm demeanor was compared to her normally explosive temper. I didn't like it or trust it.

"No..." I drew out the single syllable. "Why didn't you tell Jac the plan?"

"How do you know Jac didn't know?"

Because he would have told me. He would've quickly assured me if there was such a simple solution. Unless he didn't know it existed or it wasn't so simple after all. I was betting it was a bit of both.

"You can remove the Shard without killing me?"

"Sure." The flames reappeared. Alone, they would've tipped me off, but her nonchalant answer was a dead giveaway.

We stared at one another. I counted to three in my head, and then, with a prayer to whoever was listening, I broke into a sprint, screeching as a tree to my right exploded.

"Bitch," I huffed, jumping over a log and nearly face planting when my feet tangled in the underbrush upon landing. This time, she struck my arm. Burned flesh scented the air and made me gag, but I didn't slow. A limb I could live without.

"Just give up," the witch shouted. She marched behind me, her combat boots crushing anything in her way with ease. The least she could do was put a little pep in her step. Make me feel like she was mildly worried I might escape. Then I could perish with some dignity intact. "Jac already thinks you're dead. Let's just make this easier on everyone."

"Who is this everyone?" I muttered, scrabbling up a hill and biting back a shout of triumph when I spied a road. A car whizzed by, screeching to a halt when I jumped behind it, waving my arms.

Window rolling down, a boy not much older than twenty poked his shaggy head out and looked me up and down. I didn't even care when he wolf whistled. "Where are you going, pretty lady?"

"Bria, Bria, Bria," Tiffany sing songed out of view.

"Anywhere you're headed," I told the boy breathlessly, hoping it was a breathless sexy and not a verge of collapsing breathless.

"Hop in."

I ran around to the passenger side and grabbed the handled, immediately cursing when the cold metal touched my skin through a hole in my gloves.

"Let me go!"

"Hold still you bitch."

"Please, please, please!"

She held onto the handle, her fingernails bending back and the tips of her fingers turning pink with the effort of holding on. But he was too strong.

"No!"

"Ahh," I wailed, wrenching myself out of the echo. The dark, sticky energy I'd missed before clung to me as I stepped back from the car, its foul taint stronger after being relived. "What did you do to her?"

The boy blinked at me and pushed back his unruly hair. Without shadows to hide in, I could see what I'd missed before in my desperation—pure evil lurking behind his watery brown eyes.

"I don't know who you're talking about." A fireball blackened the road in front of his car, and he startled, immediately reaching for the shifter to put the car in drive. "The fuck was that?"

Without a second thought, I lunged through the open door and yanked him across the console and threw him into the road. When he tried to rise, vile curses dripping from his tongue, I reared back and sank my fist in the center of his face, relishing in the wet crunch of bone and blood. The little twerp was lucky my life was on the line, or I might take measures to ensure he never touched a woman again.

Clambering into the driver's seat, I floored the gas and shot down the road without looking in the rearview mirror. Not to check on the boy or the witch. One was no threat and the other... well, Tiffany would either hit me or I would get away. This winding road didn't allow for much maneuvering around fireballs.

But none came and the further I drove, the worries of imminent threats faded, only to be replaced by other concerns. Like, what now? They would never stop—not as long as the Shard was inside of me, and it was obvious death was the only way to be rid of this thing. With Tiffany's true colors revealed, I realized I had no allies. The Coalition wanted the Shard for themselves, and the Andariens wanted to go home and damn the consequences.

June might know someone who could provide me with protection and help me disappear, but that required exposing her to danger again. She would argue against being left out, but memories of her beaten and broken were too fresh for me to even consider contacting her a viable option. Then there was Jac...

Jaw clenched tight, I shook my head no. Although everything Kay and Tiffany told me about amouris had to be called into question now, I couldn't trust he wasn't in league with them. Even though my gut screamed he could be trusted, I refused to risk it, which meant I was truly on my own.

"Fuck!" I screamed as a large object fell on the hood of the car, denting the metal and breaking the windshield, sending glass spraying into the cabin. Slamming on the brakes, I stopped the vehicle without driving it into a ditch and climbed out of it with shaking limbs. "Cian."

Silver tipped feathers fluttered in the air and scarlet liquid dripped down the sides of the white car. Smoke streaked his tan skin and the ends of his black hair were singed. Even as I approached, heart heavy and thundering in my chest, I watched in awe as wounds knitted themselves together, leaving his flesh unmarked beyond a few rivulets of drying blood. But his eyes remained closed and his breathing shallow and barely audible over the steam hissing out of the engine.

A smart woman would have abandoned the car and the man. A smart woman would see this as an opportunity to get miles between her and her captor before he healed. Because he would heal... I swallowed hard and slid fingertips over his exposed skin. Even through my gloves, I could feel his heat. It was almost blistering.

But I'd never claimed to be smart, and he had healed me on more than one occasion, even though it would have been easier to let me die. I could work out that twisted logic later, but right now, I needed to get him in the car so we could get out of the open.

Twenty out of breath minutes later, I'd somehow wrestled him into the back seat. The newly gained wounds from being rolled off the car and onto the asphalt were already healing. Thankfully, his wings retreated to wherever they came from, leaving only a few bent feathers behind as proof they ever existed. The car sputtered to life, and we resumed our journey down the road, if much less quietly than before. Cian never stirred, but his breathing changed, shifting from a worrisome rattle to the deep, even breaths of restful sleep.

I didn't know where we were or where we'd been heading. Choosing turns at random, I drove until gray sky turned black and the cold, dingy lights of a motel appeared on the edges of a tiny, nameless town. Three vehicles sat in a parking lot in desperate need of repaving. Two trucks on sagging frames and a little coup with a rusted front bumper.

"I'm going to be really pissed if I end up being murdered here," I muttered to Cian. But really, it would be my luck to survive all this chaos only to be offed at the horror hotel. Killing the engine, I sat in the car until the heat was gone and my breath came out in silver puffs. "What are you doing, Bria?"

Whatever answer I had evaporated in a strangled gasp as Cian woke up, surging upright with a roar and closing his hands around my throat. I tried in vain to free myself, clawing at his hands until chunks of skin stuck beneath my nails. He didn't let up, and I searched the rearview mirror for a glimpse of his face, determined to make him look into my eyes as he ended my life. I would be an echo that would haunt him for all of eternity.

As darkness clouded the edges of my vision, the will to fight left. I dropped my hands, going slack in the seat. The only thing keeping me upright was his grip. And then air whistled through my damaged throat as he eased up the pressure. His thumb rubbed up and down my throat, a caress far too tender for a murdering demon.

"Bria?" Cian whispered, finally meeting my gaze in the mirror. Solid black swallowed the blue of his irises and matching veins of midnight ran across his forehead and cheeks. He fell into the backseat with a groan and dropped his face into his palms.

"Wh-what are you?" I wheezed, massaging my throat and putting as much distance between us as possible, twisting so I could see him and be prepared for another attack.

When he raised his head, his appearance was nearly back to normal. Only a haunted shadow clung to him. His mouth worked as if he was trying to answer my question, but finally, he shook his head and cleared his throat before exiting the car.

Leaving me without answers and wishing I'd left when I had the chance.