Shadow's Awakening: The Shadow Warder Series, Book One (An Urban Fantasy Romance Series) (47 page)

Ignoring the rest of the room, the stranger narrowed his dark eyes on Iris. He set one bony hand down on Sorcha’s shoulder without looking at her and barked, “What is the meaning of this? Why has Sorcha been included in this meeting?”

At the mention of her name, the hand on her shoulder tightened. Sorcha twisted, trying to dislodge the fingers digging into her flesh. She winced, her eyes dulled. He was hurting her. Was Kiernan the only one who saw it? Sorcha shifted to the side. The intruder’s grip tensed. Why didn’t anyone stop him? Kiernan pushed his chair back, prepared to intercede when Sorcha raised her gaze to his. The luminous green was muddy with pain, but she shook her head in an almost imperceptible negative. Against his will, Kiernan sat back, giving her a chance to deal with the situation herself.

With a jolt, Sorcha came to her feet. The sudden movement jarred the man behind her, forcing him to step back and highlighting the harsh grip he had on her shoulder. Kiernan was gratified to see the two elder Shadows raise their eyebrows at the sight of his rough treatment. Good to know they didn’t condone it, they just hadn’t noticed.

Now that all eyes were on his contact with Sorcha, the older Shadow dropped his hand. Sorcha took advantage of the space to shift away, placing herself behind Kate’s seat. Kate glared at the newcomer with undisguised hatred. Interesting. Kate was a live wire. But she’d stepped in for Hannah and had fought with them the day before. She might be a little wild, but she was a powerful fighter and brave as hell. If she disliked this man, he was likely a threat.

“Steven,” Sorcha said in the same annoyingly calm tone Iris had used on her a few minutes before. “We’re discussing Caerwyn, Lissa and Sara. The Warders have a solid lead on their location. We’re going to bring them home.”

“Out of the question. You cannot leave this Sanctuary. You’re too weak.” Steven dismissed her and turned to Iris again. “Sorcha’s not stable. Her power can’t be focused. She’ll be a danger to the girls and to herself. I was against her cutting back on her training with me, but she insisted. If I’d known she’d get an idea like this…” Steven trailed off, shaking his head as if in remorse, clearly trying to give the impression Sorcha wasn’t able to make her own decisions.

Was he right? Would she be a liability? Kiernan met Sorcha’s eyes again. The pain had cleared, leaving them bright with annoyance. Her shoulders straightened as she faced Steven.

“As you’re well aware,” she said. “I’m fine. My shields need to be maintained, but I can do that outside of the Sanctuary. I have the training to deal with anything we might encounter, and no other Shadow in North America has the ability to find Caerwyn through the spell craft that’s blocking her location. We can’t afford to keep me locked away here.”

“You’re not locked away, Sorcha,” Iris protested, looking disturbed at Sorcha’s description of her circumstances.

“What do you call it when you refuse to allow me to leave?” Sorcha countered.

“It’s for your safety,” Steven said, reaching for her arm.

Sorcha stepped backward, evading him. Garran cleared his throat a second time. The brusque sound was enough to freeze Steven in place. His arm floated back to his side. Sorcha took another sliding step away.

Garran leaned forward, pinning Sorcha with his eyes. “Think carefully, girl.”

“Garran,” Steven interrupted.

He was treated to a raised palm. Steven’s bony face mottled with anger when Garran didn’t spare him a glance.

“The past few years have been difficult. There’s no shame if you need more time to regroup,” Garran continued.

Sorcha drew a breath as if to speak, then seemed to think better of it. Wisely, she waited for Garran to continue.

“If you leave here with this Warder and go after our missing females, be certain you can do what you intend. If you fail, you don’t just endanger yourself. You risk losing all hope of bringing them home. Are you willing to take that on your shoulders?”

Standing across the table, Sorcha held Garran’s eyes. Without hesitation, she said, “I understand this will be dangerous. I wouldn’t suggest I go if I didn’t think I could succeed. I’ll need to take precautions, but I know I can maintain my shields in the city. Caerwyn has been my friend since we were children. I love her like a sister. I used to watch Sara and Lissa when they were babies. There’s no way I’d risk them if I wasn’t sure I could bring them home. I promise you.”

Garran gave a sharp nod, then shared a long look with Iris. After a silent moment, she answered with a sigh. As one, they both looked at Steven, whose back straightened to painful stiffness. His dark eyes radiated fury.

“You can’t be willing to listen to Sorcha’s opinion over mine,” he began, flinging a dismissive hand in Sorcha’s direction. “She’s only recently regained any control over her shields and it’s tenuous at best. After over ten years in the Sanctuary she can barely stand to be touched. I can feel her tolerance for the emotions in this room wearing thin and she’s been here less than an hour. Her weakness aside, you can’t mean to send her out into the human world with a Warder. He’s as dangerous as the Vorati demons.”

“Enough,” Garran boomed into Steven’s diatribe. “Steven, shut it. You may be one of our strongest empaths and Sorcha’s mentor, but you have no official place in this meeting. Sorcha is an adult. She is capable of assessing her own strengths. If she believes she can do this, I’m willing to take a chance on her.”

Steven drew an affronted breath. Ignoring him, Iris smoothly picked up where Garran had left off.

“As far as the Warder is concerned—”

Before she could go on, Kiernan interrupted. “My name is Kiernan.” He restrained the smirk that wanted to break free. Iris didn’t look like she had much of a sense of humor. As if she’d heard his thought, she aimed a regal nod in his direction.

“As far as Kiernan is concerned,” she went on. “He hasn’t proven to be dangerous to any Shadow. At great personal risk he helped Conner save his bonded mate and followed them into exile. Now he’s willing to put himself in danger rescuing our females from one of his own. In truth, if I thought we could do this ourselves, I’d leave him behind. But the girls are being held by a Warder. In the center of a Warder-dominated city. We have few Shadows in Charlotte and fewer contacts. He has a way in. He can get Sorcha closer than we can. We would be foolish not to take the help he’s offering.”

Iris tilted her head to the side, examining Steven more closely, as if seeing something new in a man Kiernan suspected she’d known for more than a few decades.

“I don’t like what I’ve seen this morning of your attitude toward Sorcha. Perhaps this is exactly what she needs. You’re her mentor, Steven. Your place is to guide and support. Not to doubt and punish. Regardless of the outcome of her trip to Charlotte, she’ll be removed from your oversight when she returns.”

“If she returns,” Garran said.

“Yes, if she returns,” Iris agreed. “She knows the risks.”

In answer, Steven whirled and stormed out of the room. As the door slammed behind him, Kiernan heard the echo of his voice saying “Talk some sense into her” before he was cut off. With Steven gone, Sorcha relaxed and returned to her seat.

The rest of the meeting passed quickly. Kiernan and Sorcha would depart the following day. Later that afternoon they’d discuss strategy, then meet with Iris and Garran one last time before their departure. As the others rose to leave, Kiernan turned to Conner.

“I want to talk to Sorcha for a minute, but are you going to be around in a while?”

“Sure,” Conner said, sliding his arm across Hannah’s shoulders. She leaned into him, her long red-gold hair spilling over Conner’s arm. “I think we’ll go for a walk, then head back to our rooms for some rest after lunch. Hannah needs a nap.”

“I’m pregnant, not sick,” Hannah said, poking Conner in the leg. Conner grinned at her and kissed the top of her head.

“Humor me,” Conner said.

Kiernan remembered Conner’s despair when he thought he’d lost Hannah. Their bond connected them, but it was clearly fueled by the love they shared.

“Is this when I get to say ‘I told you so’?” Kiernan asked. He’d thrown the two of them together at the beginning, encouraging his far too serious friend to loosen up and have some fun. Little did he know he’d started a chain of events that would lead them to a Shadow Sanctuary. It was worth it to see Conner’s easy smile. Hannah tipped her face back to meet Conner’s eyes.

“What does he mean—he told you so? What did he tell you?” she asked, teasing Conner.

Conner looked away, scowling in Kiernan’s direction. Kiernan couldn’t help giving Conner a little shit before he took off.

“I told him to take advantage of the romantic cabin and hook up with the hot Shadow while he had you all to himself,” Kiernan said.

Hannah giggled, her clear voice tumbling out like joyful bells. Kiernan didn’t know her well. Most of what he did know he’d learned through Conner’s drunken confessions after he’d left Hannah. But everything Kiernan saw assured him that Hannah was a perfect fit for his friend.

Giving Conner a light slap on the shoulder, Kiernan headed for the door. He heard raised voices filtering in from down the hall. One of them sounded like Sorcha’s. He wanted to make sure Steven wasn’t hassling her again. The Shadow came off as an asshole. Kiernan didn’t want him anywhere near Sorcha. They were going to be partners for the next few weeks. That made Sorcha his.

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Acknowledgements

As always, thanks to my family. I never would have found the courage to take the first step without the three of you at my back. If I figure out how to clone myself, I’ll train the second me to run the vacuum more often. Or write more books. Hmmm, maybe we need three of me…

And especially for B. You may not be a writer, but you taught me how to write a fight scene. Or at least, how to write a better one. Not just with your pages of notes, but by sending me to authors who could show me how it was done. If you’ve never read Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera, you’re seriously missing out. This series has it all. Not just non-stop, well written action, but compelling characters, political intrigue, history, romance, passion…I could go on all day. He’s a master at delivering back-story without slowing the pace. Read it. I picked it up to learn from a well structured fight scene and couldn’t stop until I’d read all six books. And Brent Weeks…more brilliant action. Beautiful writing. I got stuck while editing this book and B sent me to the writing tips section of Brent Week’s website. His thoughtful comments on the process of writing, especially editing, saved the day. Without him, I’d probably still be staring at the first draft without any idea what to do next.

Shadow’s Awakening

Copyright © 2014 by Molle McGregor

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Embellishments: Svetlana Shirokova © 123RF.com

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