Everything seemed odd—the colors were off. And I was crouched over, bringing my nose close to the ground.
I wasn’t crouched. I was running on four legs.
The realization was a shock. Was I dreaming of becoming a shifter? But the paws flicking in and out of sight were white. I’d never seen a Dire with white legs.
I tried to stop, to take stock of things, but my body wouldn’t obey. The drive to keep going was a powerful thing. I was tracking something.
Not something. Someone.
My heart thudded in my chest—I was afraid. Afraid of what I trailed, but determined. Because they’d taken something important.
Taken it away...
I’d had to wait for a student to open the academy door for me to get out. It had given them time to get away from me.
Who? Who was I tracking?
The trail opened up to a small clearing. In its center stood an archway, and before it, a group of shadowy forms gathered. Two of them held small bundles.
No. This was wrong. They didn’t belong with these beings. I couldn’t let them take my friends.
Holding my breath, I crouched, stalking toward them through the bush. Got close enough to one.
And I leaped, sinking my teeth deep into his wrist.
A snarl of shock and pain, and then razor-sharp claws tore into my side...
I woke up suddenly, my eyes snapping open, my heart racing, and my side aching as though the dream had been real.
I lay in the darkness and attempted to get my head back in the game. Why did it feel like the air was vibrating?
I dropped my hand to where Trix would ordinarily be, but she wasn’t there. I glanced over to the clock on the dresser—and sat up. Surely that time wasn’t right?
When I’d dropped in on the Sabres after the Aaron weirdness, she’d asked for a couple more hours, calling Trix her “bestest cubsitting buddy.” But it surprised me that she hadn’t returned her by now.
Mari was not sleeping, but rather sitting on her mattress, her tree-trunk legs folded in an ogregarian version of the lotus.
I switched on the light, and her orange eyes blinked open.
“You’re awake,” she said.
“Why aren’t you asleep?” I rubbed at my side. The pain had abated, but not vanished.
“I,” she declared, “am guarding you.”
I sighed. “Mari, Darius isn’t going to bust down the door and cart me off.”
Her orange eyes regarded me solemnly. “You are right. Not with me here.” They slid to the syringe, which sat on the dresser. It was my proof that Aaron had planned something other than a discussion, and I intended to guard it until I faced Amadeus down.
But pouncing on me in the forest was very different from hauling me through the academy building. “He won’t try,” I assured her. “But I appreciate your concern.” My stupid heart still pounded away. “Something woke me up. Did you hear anything?”
She blinked. “No.” The ogress tilted her head. “Are you hungry? Do you want to hit the vending machines?”
I was damned hungry. We’d eaten all the chocolate.
“Let’s do it,” I said to Mari. “But I want to collect Trix first.”
It was pretty late. Despite the fact that shifters tended to be night animals, there were only a few students in the hall. But when we emerged from the washroom, Matt was waiting for us.
