Iron Master – Jennifer Ashley Page 0,10
could sniff you out.”
“Good thinking.” Reid scratched both cubs behind the ears, his already considerable respect for Misty rising.
They’d been told that the two cubs had been called Guards, Shifters bred by the Fae to be larger, stronger, faster, smarter, et cetera, et cetera than other Shifters. They’d guarded the Fae generals and high leaders, until the Shifter-Fae war, when most of the Guards had died fighting for Shifter freedom. Like the white tigers, who’d been bred for the indulgence of Fae princes, the Guards had turned on the Fae and helped Shifters escape to the human world.
Matt and Kyle, barely seven years old, were the only Guards left in existence—that any knew of.
“Thanks for bringing them home,” Misty said.
“Thank them for rescuing me. Give them extra ice cream tonight. I’ll buy.”
The cubs went into paroxysms of joy. They loved ice cream, straight from the carton.
Misty smiled. “Glad to see you’re all right.”
Reid gave her a nod, embarrassed he’d had to be rescued at all. Also not happy he’d gotten himself stuck, unable to teleport. He only lost that ability when he was inside Faerie, and he hadn’t been there entirely, just a pocket in between. Right? Did that mean both his abilities—teleportation and mastery over iron, disappeared in the between place? Not something comfortable to think about.
Stuart said good-bye to Misty and the wriggling cubs and walked home. He knew he could teleport there, but walking in the cold winter mid-morning felt good.
The Shifters were dispersing, the crisis over. Brody high-fived Stuart as he and Cormac approached. “Glad to see you in one piece, Reid.”
Stuart never had understood the high five, or the fist bumps, or the variations he’d seen over the years in the human world, but he’d learned to return the gesture. It meant friendship, acceptance—things, ironically, Stuart hadn’t found until he’d moved to Shiftertown.
“You all right?” Cormac peered at him, concern in his tawny eyes.
“Fine.” Reid realized he sounded abrupt and softened his voice. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Cormac laid his giant hand on Reid’s shoulder. “You know if there’s a rescue mission, we all have to be in on it, right? Have to brag later that we were key.”
“In other words, Shifters can’t mind their own business.” Brody chuckled, waved at Reid, and walked on.
“You need anything, you ask.” Cormac regarded him seriously. A relative newcomer to this Shiftertown himself, Nell’s mate knew about being an outsider.
“Thanks,” Stuart repeated. “Is Peigi all right?”
Cormac gave him a nod of understanding. “She’ll be fine. She was worried as hell about you, but she’s a strong lady.”
“I know she is.”
Cormac’s expression warmed. “She is. Take care of yourself.”
He gave Reid another pat on the shoulder and moved on, calling to Brody to wait for him.
Other Shifters waved, wished him well, or simply walked off. Not all of them were comfortable with Stuart, though he’d lived in this Shiftertown for a couple of years. Eric sanctioned him, and Nell and Graham stood up for him, but even so. If those three ever withdrew their support, Reid had the feeling that a few of the Shifters would try to throw him out, if they didn’t attempt to kill him outright.
For now, there was a truce. Reid had proved useful, and so the Shifters let him stay, even if most of Shiftertown watched him from the corners of their eyes.
By the time Stuart made it back to Peigi’s small house at the end of the road, the Shifters had gone back to their own lives. Even Eric and Graham had departed to take care of more Shifter business. Their jobs never ceased.
Reid’s heart lightened as he viewed the small rectangular house where he slept most nights. The miasma of the Fae place he’d been stuck in and the uneasiness the dokk alfar’s words had caused dissolved as he approached the front door and reached for the knob.
The door was ripped open from the other side, Peigi behind it. Before Reid could speak, she yanked him inside the house and into her arms, enclosing him in a hard embrace.
Chapter Four
Stuart had never understood why Shifters found touch healing until he’d met Peigi. As she snuggled into his shoulder, her arms firmly around him, Stuart surrendered to it.
He gathered her to him, loving the cinnamon scent of her warm hair, the length of her body against his. Shifter women were tall, bears even more so, and Peigi could rest her head fully on his shoulder.
The embrace tightened, Peigi shaking. Reid stroked her back, wanting to soothe