He shrugs. "Josephine has always been different. There are things about her, things I'm sure you've noticed that make her unique and we've never been able to figure out why."
"What kind of things?"
"Well… for one, she shifted at an early age, continued to age until she was about twenty three then finally stopped. She showed signs of being a strong sensitive well before she should have, favors both sides strongly. Posey is intuitive to the point of psychic, had prophetic dreams even as a child." He swallows hard and drops his eyes. "And her dragon… her dragon is, well, she's different too."
"Different how?" I grit out, my anger growing, fear spiraling.
"When Josephine shifts… she doesn't just breathe fire."
I stare at him and wait for further explanation, which he reluctantly gives.
"Posey is on fire when she shifts. Her dragon is beautiful yet strange, nothing like mine or her mother's but when she first shifts she's on fire, covered in flames and if she doesn't focus, doesn't get her dragon to focus, she destroys everything and that fire consumes her. She got pretty good at controlling it but when her mother died that control snapped and she leveled about one hundred acres of the Siskyou forest. That's why I glamoured her, well, part of the reason anyway but she seemed to just stop shifting altogether."
"We need to tell Henrich. Perhaps he has found something in the chronicles that could shed some light on how Posey is unique, figure out what all of that means and-"
A sharp pain lances through the back of my head and I drop to my knees, a pain so great that my vision temporarily fades and I gag. The second I regain my sight, a burning sensation forms on my wrists and ankles and pain starts to register in other places. My ribs, my stomach, my nose, cheek and mouth. I expect to taste blood with the way my entire face hurts and after a few seconds it registers.
Posey?
She does not respond but I can feel her physical pain, feel it so great that I wretch again before an icy blade of fear rockets through my body followed immediately by anger.
Josephine, my beloved, please answer me.
Then I hear it.
Faint.
Weak.
Shaky.
Scared.
Still so fucking brave.
But I hear it.
'Kai… Kai, I need you.'
Andrej is suddenly pulling me to my feet but I cannot go upright completely, my ribs throbbing and breaths coming in short bursts. I grip his arm and focus on my mate, trying to pinpoint where she is but it's hazy. Posey's mind is too unclear, too dazed for me to track her.
So instead I reach out through our link.Posey, my love, where are you? Tell me where you are and I will come for you.
There are a few beats of silence, no response and I can tell she is trying to clear her mind but she just can't.
Finally she sends,Too dangerous… waiting for you.
It does not matter. I am coming for you regardless. Tell me where you are.
Can't… don't remember… he's waiting for you.
A picture flashes through my mind, a tall tree in the middle of a small clearing, deep in the forest somewhere. Then I see what almost looks like a treehouse, a tiny little shack beat to hell up in that tall tree. I see cushions and old magazines, Posey's shoes discarded next to them. On the final picture I growl out loud.
A tall man with glowing yellow eyes, a yellow tint to his skin and bright mustard colored hair.
"Ivan," I grit as I pull myself straight. "Ivan has Posey."
Hank gets to his feet quickly, as quickly as he can. "Ivan who? What do you mean he has Posey? What are you talking about?"
