Midnight Truth (Shifter Island #4) - Leia Stone Page 0,95

to leave her there … I swear … I tried to convince her to come back, but—” Tears burned my eyes, and I wished there was some way to make this right.

Fiona slipped her hand into mine and squeezed, pulling me in for a hug. “She was a die-hard protector. She’d wanted to be a shield since she was five. This would’ve meant everything to her. To die protecting… ”

Kaja nodded, joining us in our hug. “She was so upset she couldn’t save your grandfather. She would’ve thought this made it right.”

It didn’t feel right. No one should have to die so another could live, but I’d respect her choice. I didn’t want to take her honor. “She was the best,” I said earnestly.

We hugged for another moment, and then I looked at the girls. “If you’ll excuse me … I think there’s a way to make one thing right tonight.”

I looked back at Rage, who stood over Julian’s body with Honor, Justice, and Noble around him.

“Come on,” I said to the Harvest girls.

Honor was getting put back together. It wouldn’t cancel out all of the death, but it would make his sacrifice all those months ago easier … if he could have a chance at a full life once again.

Chapter Twenty

“Wait, so Honor’s wolf and soul”—Fiona pointed to Honor and then swung her hand to point at Julian’s corpse—“are going in him?”

I gulped, staring at the former high master of water. “That’s what Gramps said.”

Kaja frowned and shook her head. “But Julian was such a douche … and Honor is so … amazing.” She blushed and then stammered, “Are we going to have to look at douchy Julian’s body and then have to remember that it’s Honor?”

Fiona smacked her sister’s arm. “Don’t speak ill of the dead,” she muttered.

Honor yipped in protest. ‘He’s a douche?’ He inspected Julian’s handsome face and then let his tongue loll out in a wolfish grin. ‘But he’s a good-looking one, right?’

Smiling, I nodded. ‘Definitely.’

Julian was more a preppy bro-bro type but, overall, not a bad choice. Especially since we couldn’t really be choosy at this point. I’d explained everything to my crew, but all they could do was support me; this was a one-woman show. Rage came up behind me and massaged my shoulders. “You’ve got this, babe.”

Yeah, put a wolf in a dead high mage without any guidance. No big deal.

Then an epiphany hit me, and I grinned. Gramps couldn’t come to help because he was bound to the Realm of the Dead. But I could still call on my other ancestors. I still had all of their soul stones.

“Zia, Than, Lucia, Raiden, Aine,” I shouted, closing my eyes as I sent my call out to the ethers.

One by one, they popped in around my bewildered-looking friends. My spirit relatives clustered around me, smiling and patting my back.

‘Well done, Nai, that portal was a fantastic idea,’ Lucia said.

‘And your mate is much cuter than you let on,’ Zia added, doing a full circle around Rage, giving me a thumbs up.

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but smile. “Focus! I need help putting that wolf”—I pointed at Honor—“into that body!” I pointed to Julian. “Gramps said it’s possible.”

“Who is she talking to?” Fiona asked, wide-eyed. Nell and Rue muttered something akin to agreement, but everyone else just shushed them. They knew my crazy.

Zia bent down and got her face right up to Julian’s and sucked in a deep whiff. ‘Freshly dead.’

Than stepped over to Honor and waved a hand over his wolf. ‘Soul is secure but untethered without a body. If you had some valerian root and selenite, you can easily do the transfer.’

Hope sprung in my chest, and my attention shot to Rage. “Valerian root and selenite, quick! And we need healing elixir or mage wine so I can make some!”

Rage glanced at Noble, who nodded and took off running.

I sat down next to Julian and looked at Honor. ‘You want a body, right? This is your chance.’

He stared back at me, wide-eyed. ‘Hell yes, I want a body again. I just didn’t think I’d look like the son of our arch-nemesis.’

I snickered. ‘He doesn’t look like old-Honor, but we need to get over that if you want two arms and two legs.’

Honor nodded, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. ‘Already over it. Let’s do this.’

Noble returned a few minutes later with the valerian root and a giant wand of opaque selenite. I accepted the valerian root and the selenite