Eden woke on a pallet made of mattresses at Tyler and Sean’s place. An assortment of shifters, hybrids, and elementals, and an Intuitive that intrigued her were in the room, watching her.

Her sister Circe looked down at Eden, a measure of pity seemed to be in her eyes, and the golden flame of Circe’s elemental was now merged with the red flame of Piria, in the depths of Circe’s eyes, joined with the amber of her panther.

In Eden’s mind, her panther roared, and snarled. Eden wasn’t sure what was driving her panther’s unease, but she felt it herself.

A sense of emptiness. And at the same time, a sense of peace.

They’d all come back from Piria’s world unscathed, and Eden had no doubt that Albani would help Piria’s leg heal.

She sat up, studying the group in the room with her.

Sean was standing near the head of the mattress. He knelt and put a hand on her forehead. “You good?”

Tears gathered in her eyes and made him look like he was swimming in them. She nodded. “I think so.”

Just like that, Eden’s life had changed. She’d gone out for a walk in the forest with her shifter animal and her elemental, and she’d come back with just her shifter.

She took Sean’s hand in hers. She came back with him as well. And that was definitely something. Something good.

And Marco was there, worry prevalent in his dark eyes. His features drawn with concern. “Gave us a scare, kid.”

She held her arms out. Marco joined her on the mattress, his arms wrapped around her. She sighed and gave in to her big brother’s hug. Tears came, unexpected, and definitely unwanted, with so many in attendance, witnessing her grief.

“She’s gone.”

“I know.” Against his chest, his voice was a deep rumble in her ear. “But it’s for the best.”

She choked on a sob. “I know. But I feel hollow inside.”

“It will go away. It will. Trust me.”

“How would you know?”

“I’ve known someone this happened to.”

She looked up into his face. “You never said.”

He gave her a half-shrug. “Confidentiality. I promised.”

“My turn.” Camden pushed Marco’s shoulder. “I need a hug from my twin.”

Eden smiled through her tears, hugging Camden. “I missed you.”

“You have no idea how much I’ve worried about and missed you.” Camden’s tears spilled with Eden’s. “But things are good now.”

Are they? Eden looked into Circe’s eyes, looking for a sign of Piria’s happiness.

Why is this so hard when we weren’t even close?

“You know, Ciara can help you,” Mae said from the corner of the room, where she stood with Doc.

“That’s like sweeping it under the rug. I want to deal with the emotions.

“I’m here if you change your mind,” Ciara said. “And if for any reason I’m not in the valley, I won’t be far away.”

Eden nodded her thanks.

Sean cleared his throat.

Tyler punched his twin on the shoulder. “I think he’s giving us a hint.”

A touch of color made its way to Sean’s cheeks. Eden was charmed by that look on his handsome, rugged face.

Don’t forget sexy came from her panther.

She bit her lip at that thought. Jeez, I’m in a room full of people.

And then she realized something. In all her years with Piria and her panther, she’d never had her panther express anything so loudly, or so clearly. It was as though the prior two-plus decades, there’d been static interfering with her communication with her panther.

Had that static that restricted her messages with her panther come from Piria?

Her panther roared so loudly that Eden almost wanted to cover her ears. Not that it would have done any good since the roaring was in her head.

She noticed Circe and Marco watching her carefully.

Are they worried about me? Is there something about having parted ways with Piria that I don’t know? That I need to know?

Eden didn’t get her answer.

Circe nudged Marco. “Let’s get out of here.” She waved everyone toward the door. “Give Sean and Eden a moment.”