he moves to sit across from us. The others sit on the opposite side of the aisle, Landon already making some smart-ass comment about traveling in style while Hunter tries —and fails — to maintain his characteristic moody expression. After several minutes of silence, the engine roars as the conductor passes us by punching our tickets, and with that, we're off. The green fields and picturesque streams become a blur outside the window as the train picks up speed, and before long we're roaring through the countryside.
I'm sitting in the window seat with Shade leaning against me. He had a few lucid moments after a good night of sleep, but between the double-dose of vampire blood and witch magic, he's still more or less down for the count. I'm reminded of the day back when I was seventeen when I got my wisdom teeth pulled, but at least what few things the wolf shifter has said have made sense so far, abating my anxiety somewhat.
"Any progress on your powers?" Silas asks me. "I remember back when they drained me, waiting for them to come back was a gradual process. Do you think sleeping has helped at all?"
"Hmm…" I close my eyes for a moment, feeling for that familiar coolness in my stomach, but I might as well be a normal human again; all I feel is anxious and a little hungry. Shoulders slumping, I shake my head.
Silas hums in disappointment. "Well, it was worth a shot, at least. We're going to get them back and make that bitch Edith pay for what she did to you."
"Mollie, too," I say quietly. "It's her fault that she's dead." In all the chaos of the past days, I'm ashamed that I've almost forgotten the death of the one guardian I actually cared about. Guilt surges through me, as well as a rage I didn't even know I was capable of. Reaching into my boot, I withdraw the broken pendant she gave me when I was a kid, my fist clenching so hard that I can feel the metal digging into my skin. Another innocent life lost because of Hawthorne's treachery.
"What are you thinking?" Silas asks, peering curiously at me.
"That I'm going to get payback," I reply, and the sudden conviction in my voice surprises me. "Powers or no powers, I'm going to stop this."
"Hunter mentioned combat training," Silas says, shifting back in his seat. "I don't think it's a bad idea. Pretty badass, actually." And then he winks. Silas, the stoic dragon shifter, actually winks at me.
I can't help but smile a little. "The only question is where I'm supposed to learn how to fight."
"Well, that's an easy one," Silas replies, and nods in Shade's direction. "Shade can help you. He spent enough time in street brawls before coming into his powers that he could probably take anyone in a bar fight. Landon too, actually."
The information about Shade doesn't surprise me, but I raise my eyebrows. "Landon?"
"You guys gossiping about me over there?" the siren shifter teases from across the aisle. Laughing, he answers, "Don't let Aconyte pump me up too much, Boots. My parents were pretty keen hunters back in the day. I can handle a gun when I need to."
"Sounds like a plan," I say, grinning. The thought of me decked out in weapons and armour is borderline absurd, but the only thing more absurd would be going into this fight expecting diplomacy to work. "We'll just have to wait for Shade to come to, and then…"
"Shade has already come to, angel face," comes a mumble from my shoulder. I turn to see the wolf shifter looking up at me crookedly. His eyes, while still bleary, are as bright and silver as I remember, and my heart surges in my chest at the sight of him.
"Shade." Before I can stop myself, I'm pulling him into a tight embrace, kissing his cheek while desperately trying not to burst into tears again. "Holy shit, Shade, I was so worried about you."
"Easy, Boots, Easy," he says, his hand coming up to rest on my back. "You're gonna crush me."
Remembering his injury, I immediately pull back. "Fuck, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Shade replies. "I'm still kicking. A little worse for wear, though. Those bastards got me good."
"I thought you were going to die," I whisper, looking down.
Shade slides his knuckle under my chin and lifts my face up. He searches my eyes for a long moment and then kisses me gently, winding a hand