CARLYLE

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, completely mesmerized by my reflection.

So this was Second Sight.

I didn’t look exactly like a unicorn, but I could see where some of the urban legends had come from. Of course, I wasn’t shifted. I was just seeing my potential form, the way Killian could see past whatever was keeping me in this human body.

I’d seen Sol first - as soon as I’d come down from the high of that incredible “fuck and suck” orgasm, I’d noticed his lion form shimmering around his body like a mirage. It was a little like those three-dimensional pictures that change depending on what angle you tilt it.

Looking straight at myself in the mirror, I saw Carlyle - a curvy girl with pale skin, long white-blond hair, and odd lavender eyes.

Tilting my gaze slightly to the side, I saw the Qilin. There were definite horse similarities - four long, smooth-muscled legs like a Kentucky Derby winner and a slim animal body.

The hide was more than white, though. There was an opalescent shimmer to the pale color, and the short hair was mixed with ridges of garnet scales along the spine and belly, spreading up the neck.

It was impossible to associate this ethereal creature with myself.

Tossing my head, I saw the animal’s delicate muzzle move in the same way, flipping around the luxurious mane that resembled Sol’s lion ruff at first, but sleeker and with streaks of deep red in it.

I mean, damn. My Qilin was gorgeous.

Where was the horn, though? I couldn’t quite get the right angle before my vision distorted back to my own body. I sighed - I wanted to figure out how to shift. I was afraid to do it, though. What if I couldn’t shift back?

The image of the Qilin started to fade a little, and I wondered if maybe I just didn’t have enough of Killian’s magic. What he’d done had been fucking amazing, but it had been super short. I wasn’t about to push him for more today, though. I was still too busy gloating over the knowledge that he didn’t really think of me as a kid.

Whatever reasons he had for being so weird about everything would have to wait. Toro was safe for now, and I was more than ready to go get Jack.

“I take it you’re pretty pleased?” Sol asked, sidling into the bathroom.

“Pleased?” I echoed, raising an eyebrow. Was he asking about my Qilin form, or what it had taken to get there?

“Killian’s described your shifted form to me before. I can’t wait to see it.” He hugged me from behind, and I had just enough of Killian’s Sight left to see how his lion pawed playfully at my Qilin. He bent his lips close to my ear. “I want to shift and run the beach with you. I bet I’m faster.”

“Sounds like a challenge,” I laughed. Yeah, it could be cool to shift. “How do I do it? How do I learn to shift?”

He straightened and met my eyes in the mirror. “It takes practice and patience. I think you’ll need a lot more magic for that. Between Jack and myself, the shifting part should be good. I’d be willing to bet you need more from Kills, though, to get past that glamor the first few times.”

I groaned softly. He wouldn’t make it easy, either.

“I came in here to tell you to get a bag packed, though. Now that Toro’s stable, Jai wants to head for Savannah. He said he’ll brief us on the way there.”

“Are we driving, then?” I hurried into my room and grabbed the leather satchel Dair had given me. A lot of my clothing was still packed from the previous move.

He nodded, following me. “It’s about six hours up the coast. It’ll save Dair some magic and let him rest all at once.”

It took me all of five minutes to gather everything I needed.

“There’s one other thing, though. The Council’s summoned us. It, uh, seems they got a tip that we have a new team member.” He looked straight at me, and I gulped.

“A tip?” I repeated, my voice nervous.

He sighed and nodded. “Someone saw you when you siphoned back to New York.”

Ah, fuck. “Yeah, I remember. There was someone watching the house,” I admitted, feeling my cheeks flush in embarrassment. Damn it to holy hell. I’d really been hoping that wouldn’t come to anything.

“We’re ordered to report to the southern US headquarters as soon as possible. Jai’s agreed, but we’re going to stall them and get Jack first.”

Trudging down the steps, all I could say was, “Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Each stair got its own “fuck” and as Sol struggled not to laugh, he earned a “fuck you” and a “fuck the hell off.”

“Shortcake, it’s okay. We’ve been to HQ plenty of times before.”

“Yeah, but have you been since teams started to disappear?” I was worried as hell that my guys might have been summoned for a death sentence, and all because of me and my stupid ego. I just had to show off and test my power by getting Killian’s car.

His silence was enough to answer my question.

“I don’t think we should go at all,” I whispered. I had a super bad feeling about their HQ.

As we reached the top of the stairs, he grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a tight hug. “Whatever we face, we face together. Every single one of us has a stake in this, and none of us are blinded by the Council’s authority. Trust Jai to be ready to split if anything looks off. This is not your fault, Carlyle. They summon every team periodically - we’ve been due for a while. Any hint of a Qilin would naturally rocket a team to the top of the list.”

His pep talk was sweet, but it wasn’t really doing anything to help my nerves.

“I just want Jack back with us,” I whispered, my cheek smushed against his chest.

“We all do. That’s why we’re getting him first - the Council will just have to wait. It’s not like they’ll discipline us now that we have exactly what they want.”

I bent my head back to catch his gaze. “That’s what I’m worried about, though. You guys are acting like I’m part of the team, and I love you for it. Reality says different, though. I don’t know much about Haret, but in the human world, you guys got the package. Now, they’ll want you to deliver and disappear so they don’t have to deal with you.”

Worry spread across his handsome face, and I knew I’d hit a nerve. I’d seen way too many movies to fall for this trick.

No matter how my guys treated me, when it came down to it, I was just a commodity their government had been searching for.

I plopped myself at the kitchen table and snagged some of the leftover chocolates from our date. I waited impatiently for the others to hurry up, my foot tapping a staccato rhythm on the tile floor.

Kana wandered in, barefoot.

“Why aren’t you ready?” I scolded.

She shook her head. “I’m staying here with Toro. He could be a threat to himself or others if anything happens. I can handle him the best, besides Jai,” she added when I gave her a look of disbelief.

“I really wish you were coming,” I said. “We could use you in a fight.” She chewed on her lip, refusing to meet my eyes.

“I can’t go back there, Car. Not even for Jack.” Her voice was so low I almost didn’t catch it. Well, shit. Now I felt like an ass.

She grinned, and I realized she’d heard that though loud and clear. “When you get back, I’ll teach you to put up a mental wall,” she promised. “Though, honestly, it’s kinda fun hearing you without a filter.”

I snorted. On impulse, I reached over and gave her a quick hug. She stiffened in my arms, but then she reached around to pat my back.

“Go kick some Underbelly ass,” she said, waving me away as the guys began to trickle in with their bags.

We all piled into the large white van. The inside had been modified so the seats were against the sides, two rows of three facing each other, with a bank of computer equipment behind the driver’s seat.

To my surprise, Sol climbed in the driver’s seat, with Killian sitting shotgun. Dair stretched himself over all three seats on his side and pulled a blanket over his eyes, leaving Jai and me sitting next to each other on the opposite side. Almost immediately, he swung down a tray table of sorts from the wall and opened his laptop. I watched idly over his shoulder as we drove out of the driveway.

“I’ve decided not to use my tech to explore the area. We can do recon on foot when we get there - I’m concerned that maybe my investigation is one thing that tipped the Ringmaster off to our coming,” Jai said, keeping his voice quiet so he wouldn’t wake Dair. “Can you find Jack through your connection?”

“Maybe,” I answered, my stomach flipping. I’d never been able to reach him on command. “I guess I have six hours to try, right?”

He smiled at me and pulled up a map of Savannah and the surrounding counties.