The Last Warrior (Shifters Unbound #13) - Jennifer Ashley Page 0,49
study the stars in Faerie. It was amazing to fly under them—it was as though I could touch them. I know that’s impossible, but it’s how it felt.”
Ben set steaming coffee by Rhianne’s side. “Leave her alone about it.”
“It’s all right,” Rhianne said quickly. “Maybe talking about shifting will make it less difficult to understand.”
“I feel a lot like that when I run,” Jaycee said. “Glorious, as you said. Like the world can’t hold me. Nothing else matters.”
“Exactly,” Rhianne said.
“What do you mean, nothing else matters?” Dimitri demanded in mock indignation. “Your mate. Sitting right here.”
Jaycee studied the ceiling. “My mate who always takes things so personally.”
Rhianne laughed, her mood lightening, which Ben realized had been Dimitri’s purpose. Ben saluted his thanks with a coffee mug.
They dug into breakfast, everyone hungry. Shifters were always ravenous, but their adventures last night, plus Jaycee and Dimitri relieving tension in Shifter fashion, put an extra edge on their hunger.
“So, what now?” Dimitri asked as he scraped the last of the food from his plate. The pans on the stove were empty, the stack of toast gone.
He spoke casually, but Ben sensed his tension—he and Jaycee were feeling their separation from their cub.
“You two have probably done all you can.” Ben slurped his cooling coffee. “You have a life. Go back to it.”
Jaycee glanced uneasily between Rhianne and Ben. “Things aren’t exactly safe for you two.”
“I know. But I have many more Shifters in my contacts. They can babysit us.”
“Huh,” Dimitri said to Jaycee. “He means Shifters who won’t report to Kendrick, who often reports to Dylan.”
“Something like that.” Ben casually set down his mug. “I’m thinking that Kendrick, your great leader, doesn’t need to know everything that has happened here.”
“Like your houseguest suddenly turning into an eagle?” Dimitri asked.
“Exactly.”
Jaycee said nothing, studying her plate as she drew her fork across it. Jaycee was loyal to Kendrick, more so than to anyone except Dimitri.
“Jaycee?” Ben prompted.
Jaycee flicked her gaze to Ben. “Thinking it through, I believe that right now, what Kendrick doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
Rhianne relaxed, shooting Ben a relieved glance.
“Kendrick could keep something like this to himself, you know,” Dimitri added. “I’m saying that in case he drags it out of us. He doesn’t tell Dylan absolutely everything. Kendrick likes a little space.”
Kendrick, a white tiger in a Shifter world that didn’t have many tigers at all, had made being secretive a science.
“Well, swear him to silence for a while, then,” Ben said. “Until we know what’s going on with Rhianne.”
“What does Rhianne want?” Jaycee turned to her. “Males. They decide everything like we’re not even in the room.”
“And females talk about males like they’re not in the room,” Dimitri countered.
“I’d like to speak to my mother,” Rhianne announced, cutting through their banter. “I want to ask her why I didn’t know about this shifting ability.”
“Makes sense.” Jaycee reached into her pocket and pulled out a crystal. “Try this.”
Rhianne reached for the crystal, turning it over in awe. “This is a ghastal.”
Jaycee’s brows drew down. “What does that mean?”
“It’s a very precious stone. Extremely rare.” Rhianne gazed at Jaycee with increased respect. “My mother wouldn’t give this to just anyone.”
“Yeah?” Jaycee moved uncomfortably.
“They’re valued for their crystalline structure. A good conductor of magic.” Rhianne studied the stone again. “You use this to summon her?”
“To let her know I want to talk,” Jaycee said. “I doubt I could summon her.”
“Ha,” Dimitri said. “They’re besties, and we know it.”
“Not helping, sweetie.”
“My mother has always distanced herself from me. And me from her.” Rhianne kept her eyes on the crystal. “I don’t resent you for connecting with her, Jaycee.”
Jaycee shrugged. “Probably easier for her to unload to a stranger.”
Rhianne didn’t answer. Jaycee remained troubled, but Rhianne seemed resigned that her mother preferred to speak at length to Jaycee rather than to her own daughter.
Rhianne rose and moved to the door that accessed a balcony over the veranda. Ben quickly followed her. Jaycee and Dimitri stood, ready for any danger, but they hung back, giving Rhianne space.
Ben stepped out into the cool morning, sun slanting through trees behind the house. The view looked across the grounds to the thick stand of live oaks that separated the old plantation from the newer industrial area beyond it.
Rhianne lifted the crystal to catch the sunlight. The crystal Lady Aisling had given Ben was similar, but Ben hadn’t offered his because there was a much better chance Lady Aisling would answer a call from Jaycee than she would from Ben.