Chapter 38
Kiora
THE SHADE WAS COMING . The way the asshole who had taken my sealskin from me was grinning, he expected some great reward for catching me. When he turned that grin on me, I whimpered and stuffed myself deeper into the filthy corner I was sitting in.
They tossed me into an unfinished basement where another thirty-four people sat in similar, corner-stuffing positions. The panther shifter next to me was covered in bruises, and by the dead look in her eyes, that wasn’t the worst of it. On the other side on the room, a fae boy of no more than six sat in a puddle of his own filth.
The entire house reeked of pain and broken lives. If no one came to save us, we would all become just another statistic. Supes disappeared all the time, after all, and no one ever knew if the disappearance was our own choice.
Sometimes, little fae boys went to another realm. Sometimes, panther shifters ran into their fated mate who lived on the other side of the world. Sometimes, mermaids went to live under the great blue sea.
The commotion outside told me Lucius Blackwood had finally arrived.
The Shade. Everyone here called him The Shade, probably because they didn’t know his real name. I was one of the unlucky few and only because Billy had known Lucius before he had become The Shade.
My eyes fell on the selkie sitting a few feet away. I had been using her to judge what I should be doing right now. The fear and confusion on her face broke my heart. Hopefully, she was one hundred percent selkie, and her memory would return with the skin.
Boots thundered on the cold, concrete floor as my own personal bogeyman approached me. He crouched in front of me, and I curled in on myself. There were so many different kinds of monsters in this world. What kind was he? Was he only doing this for money, or did he enjoy hurting others?
He grabbed my face and forced me to look at him. The way his fingers dug into my flesh left little doubt about my earlier question. He definitely enjoyed hurting people.
“Just as I thought you slipped away again.” He flashed his toothy grin at me.
Mom had been right—he was the guy who had visited Billy. I couldn’t remember any weird questions, but my understanding of what was and wasn’t weird had been skewed by the man who had claimed to be my father.
I whimpered again, but showed no sign of recognition. In fact, I couldn’t recognize anyone at all right now, not even my own mother. I shouldn’t even remember having a mother.
“Do you know who I am?” he asked.
I tried to shake my head, but his death grip on my face didn’t allow it. “No.”
He tsked. “Such a pretty little liar.”
What?
Kitty crouched low, like she was ready to fight, then she sniffed and took a step back. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. The Shade wasn’t human, and whatever he was made Kitty want to run.
She had never been the one to run, not even on the day we had overheard Billy.
“I can sense it when people are lying to me,” Lucius said.
Oh. Oh, waves, this was bad. This was very bad.
As if reading my mind, he grinned at me. “Now, let’s try this again. Do you know who I am?”
“The Shade?” I croaked.
He watched me carefully until he seemed to come to a decision. “You’re coming with me.”
No. Damn it, no. All these people. The idea of leaving them... I needed Troy to find them, but if I left...Oh, who was I kidding? There was no guarantee that Troy had planted any more trackers on me besides the one in the sealskin bag. I had hoped he did, but I had known my chances of walking away alive and saving everyone had dwindled the moment my bag had been taken from me.
Lucius Grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet, then started to drag me along. I tried to pull free, to dig in my heels, but he was so strong. Holding onto the doorframe on the staircase only slowed him down for a second. He yanked me so hard the pads of my fingers tore. Blood trickled on the floor, leaving a trail behind me, and Lucius just kept moving, walking like an unstoppable machine.
Glass shattered to our right, and a canister rolled toward us, spilling gas. Oh, thank the great wave.
The man standing guard at the door fell, then another. Lucius didn’t wait to be next. He positioned me between himself and the window, and started moving in a different direction, probably someplace he could escape from. Someplace he could make me disappear.
I went limp, and he cursed low under his breath as he knelt to get a better grip on me. I surged up at the same time, connecting my already achy head with his chin. Then I sagged again, but only to get closer to his arm.
Kitty roared as she unleashed her fury. My legs turned into a fluke, which would’ve been useless on dry land, but the fluke wasn’t the only thing that changed. My teeth sharpened.
I bit into his arm with as much vigor as I had into that raw fish.
“You little bitch,” Lucius screamed into my ear.
Yes, I was.
The door flung open, and men in black gear stormed in. Lucius hoisted me up to use me as a shield, even though I was still chewing on his arm. His disgusting blood pooled on the linoleum floor, but his strength never wavered.
I flapped my fluke uselessly, and Lucius caught it between his ankles and squeezed so hard I saw stars. It triggered another shift, giving me legs again. Now he had my shins trapped.
“Let her go,” one of the men who had stormed in roared. Not just any man. I could recognize that voice anywhere. Troy had come for me.
“Let me go, and you can have her back,” Lucious lied.
I pressed my butt into his abdomen and yanked my feet just as I released his arm. Lucius slipped in his own blood and fell on his back, still keeping me between himself and the guns pointed at him.
My teeth sank into his arm again, but this time he wasn’t holding me as tight, so I thrashed, ripping chunks out of him.
More people poured in through the back door, all of them clad in the same black uniforms, but I could recognize the feminine form that froze at the sight of me going absolutely feral.
Mom lifted her gun and took aim. She hadn’t gotten the chance to fire, though.
A loud boom reverberated through me and more blood splattered. The arm I was tearing through tensed then it went limp. Dylan stood in the doorway with a smoking gun.
My father. My real father.
“The basement,” I shouted. “Thirty-four people kept there.”
More gunshots rang out, and my blood ran cold as I realized the direction they were coming from.
My eyes met Troy’s. He wasn’t moving, only staring at me like I was the bloody sun hovering over the water.
“Go,” I pleaded. “Save them.”
Troy didn’t move. Mom and Dylan rushed to me, instead of doing what needed to be done.
“Please,” I begged. “Save them.”
Troy swallowed hard and stepped toward me instead.
“It’s not over,” someone barked in our direction, and I had to agree.
Dylan growled but got up and rejoined the others. Troy didn’t.
“Please,” I said again.
Finally, he went. The entire exchange only took seconds, but all those supes could’ve gotten killed in that time.
“I’m so sorry.” Mom held me tight, and I didn’t have the heart to send her to finish the fight. She had fought enough in her life. “I should’ve protected you better.”
“I’m fine, Mom. I just couldn’t let them turn all these people into...” Into you.
I looked back at Lucius, lying dead beside me. This hadn’t been a part of the plan. We were supposed to take him alive, so we could find everyone else he had exploited.
“Your sealskin,” mom said as a sob rolled through her.
“It’s safe,” I assured her.
That finally got her attention. He lifted her eyes to mine and inspected me. “You remember me?”
“Of course, I do. Come on, you didn’t actually think I’d bring my real sealskin to a kidnapping party, did you?” I flashed her a grin.
Footsteps thundered up the stairs, and men in black emerged. Supes in chains and collars designed to suppress powers followed after them. Then the captives.
I counted each of them.
“We got all thirty-four,” Troy said as he approached me cautiously. “How are you feeling?”
“Thank you. I wasn’t sure if you’d let me go through with it.”
Troy frowned. “You remember.”
“Oh, come on, not you, too. I bought a piece of a cow’s skin to stuff into that bag. They never bothered checking what it really looked like, and...”
Troy kissed me, cutting off my explanation. And then he was gone, flying into the wall.
“Stay the fuck away from her,” Dylan snarled into Troy’s face.
I sighed. “Seriously, everyone needs to chill.”
Troy grinned at me despite the thin coat of plaster dust on his head. “So devious.”
“You like it,” I pointed out.
Troy shook his head. “I love it.” Then his face grew serious. “What part of ‘if you run, tell me so I can go with you’ didn’t you understand?”
“Oh, please, you had trackers on me. If I didn’t want to take you to go with me, I would’ve thrown them all out.”
Troy crawled toward me, that playfully predatory look in his eyes. “Naughty little mermaid.”
Dylan growled.
Troy kept his eyes on me as he said, “I’m going to marry your daughter. Just thought you should know.”
“You’re supposed to ask me first,” I pointed out.
“Not here.”
“Aren’t you going to ask for our blessing?” Mom asked.
“Are you going to give it?” Troy said, his eyes still on me, but he was closer now, close enough to brush my cheek with so much gentleness.
“No,” Dylan answered.
“That’s why I’m not asking you,” Troy said, his grin growing wider by the second. “Besides, only Kiora’s answer matters.”
He hugged me, his hands gentle.
“I’d say yes,” I whispered, even though he hadn’t actually asked me yet, but I knew what I wanted—who I wanted.