Chapter Eleven

Reagan

 

No one could be in a bad mood quite like Luke Swiftlore.

And here I’d thought Cassidy could be a cranky roommate.

After Luke had kicked me out of the bathroom, I’d retreated to the kitchen, trying not to fume or march back upstairs. Instead, I’d been the adult in the house, making dinner.

Then I’d gone and waited on the couch, only to be woken by Timber’s affectionate ministrations on my foot. Realizing the time, and hoping Luke was all right and in bed, I’d dragged myself to my room to collapse.

The next morning, the moment my eyes opened, a twinge of guilt and sadness went through me. I should’ve been calmer and quieter last night, not trying to pick a fight. He’d been through hell, and I’d reacted badly. Lying there now, I realized how much that had scared me.

Not Luke’s anger, but his pain. I’d seen it bottled up inside, the agony deep in his eyes and the dull look on his face. None of his usual commanding presence.

Even if he’d been an ass, I was worried about him.

Grumbling to myself, I threw back the covers and got up, quickly getting dressed. In the living room, I stopped and looked around. The house was still, and my shoulders slumped.

Luke was already gone for the day, and he’d also taken the dogs. When I went to his office to check for notes or a schedule, there was nothing for me to do.

Guess I’ll take the day off, I thought irritably and marched out of the house.

Walking down to my family’s place, my stomach rumbling with hunger, I hugged my arms around myself and laughed a little. Even in the midst of the end of the world, humans were still humans. Still sniping and petty, still awkward and anxious, and still getting into dumb fights.

But also, still laughing and generous.

It made me think of something I’d read about a journalist sent overseas to war-torn countries. He’d remarked on the resiliency of the human spirit. How humanity had still had those quiet and remarkable moments in the midst of hell.

If there’d been a breath of peace, people had still gossiped and dated, wined and dined, laughed and danced. They’d found a way to live and hope in the darkness.

As always, remembering that story broke my heart. It shouldn’t be that way.

But it also gave me hope. And a good slap upside the head. What was that thing Luke had said? Life finds a way. That had to mean laughter, love, and all that good stuff, too.

Those pleasant, philosophical musings burst when I got to my family’s house. My mother met me at the door, frantic and wringing her hands.

“Cassidy is gone.”

I shook my head, positive I’d heard wrong, and smiled at her. Mom was still wringing her hands, pale and anguished. The bubble popped, and my hands gripped her as I fought back a scream.

“No,” I said. “She wouldn’t, Mom. That doesn’t—maybe she’s in town. Or maybe—”

“She’s not,” Mom interrupted. “Believe me, we’ve searched. Your father, Shelby, and Linh went to go find someone to help. Could you ask Luke? Please, Rea.”

By this time, my parents knew Luke better and were annoyingly taken with him. It helped that around my parents, Luke’s manners were impeccable, even if he got a little extra gruff and quieter at times. Guess that insufferable charm was for me alone.

“I don’t know where he is,” I said—although deep down, I knew if I went and found any shifter, they could probably find him. That was probably what I should do. But I shoved that all aside. I’d handle this. There was no way Cassidy had left Winfyre. At least not yet. “When did you realize she was missing?”

“This morning. She doesn’t like her assignment—”

“Well, it’s temporary,” I interrupted rudely. I mean, I didn’t love living at Luke’s house and sorting through paperwork by myself, but those were the breaks. Wasn’t this better than trekking through the damn woods? Or running from the city labs scooping up shifters to slice and dice? “And Cassidy could probably ask for something else.”

“She doesn’t want to do anything else,” Mom said and rubbed her forehead.

“Has she forgotten why we’re here?” My temper was starting to become monstrous. “She’s a shifter. She needs to come to terms with that and grow the hell up.”

"Yes, Rea, I understand that," Mom replied with a quiet kind of force, and I rubbed the back of my neck, hot guilt bubbling up in my throat. "She also needs our love, support, and patience. She's gone through a lot. Everything changed, and she lost the love of her life."

“I don’t think her fiancé saw her as the love of his life—more like a nice payday,” I grumbled.

“Reagan Grace, I know you’re worried, but that’s no excuse to be rude and petty,” Mom reprimanded, and I winced. “She’s terrified. She’s younger than you. And I think she misses you.”

I suddenly thought about Luke, sitting on the bathroom floor and glaring up at me, his arm bleeding and his jaw tight. The agony on his face.

Hunting shifters, he’d said.

Oh my God, the Skrors. What if they were still around and went after Cassidy?

“Do you have any idea where she went?” I demanded. “When did she leave?”

“We realized she was gone this morning,” Mom said, and her eyes went wide. “Wait, I just remembered something. Someone yesterday was talking about the Veda settlement up north. How it was a lot busier, a lot more jobs and such. Cassidy seemed pretty interested.”

“About Veda?” I asked.

“Rea.” My mother was now pale. “They were talking about the ports up there.”

“Dammit,” I swore.

Would Cassidy be reckless enough to hop on a boat back to the States? After all the time we took to get here? And the dangers waiting for her back home, like the certainty of death?

The answer, immediately, was yes.

Anything to see her crummy ex-fiancé.

“Gramma?” Drue’s voice ran down the hall, and I backed up, letting go of my mother.

“I’m going after her,” I said. “She can’t have gone far.”

“Rea, wait,” Mom said. “I think—”

I’d already taken off. Panic was crawling through my body and making my heart beat faster.

In addition to the threat of the Skrors, I’d just remembered something else Luke had told me the other day, almost in passing. He’d been more tired than usual and had confided in me about a problem in the north. Something about the Farline Pass to Veda.

“We’ve had to suspend travel,” he’d said. “There’s a big swath of woods, and its eastern border is hard to guard. It’s not safe at the moment, even with extra shifters up there.”

Now, though, with the Skrors running around, they’d probably been pulled to the south. No one would be there to tell Cassidy to turn back.

Stupid, reckless…

Sprinting to town, I made my way to the stables, where I found a young stable hand rubbing down a gorgeous chestnut. My grandfather had loved horses and paid for lessons every summer.

“Hi, Gertie, right?” The girl nodded. “Can I borrow a horse?” I asked. “Or, well, I need to go somewhere…”

Damn, I hated lying, and I was terrible at it, too.

Gertie tilted her head. By now, everyone on this side of Winfyre knew I was claimed by Luke. To the point where, until they learned my name, I was “Luke’s girl.”

“Sure,” Gertie said and blinked innocent blue eyes at me. “This for the boss?”

I nodded. Sure. In a way, right? “A horse good on the trails. And fast.”

Without hesitation, Gertie found a sturdy buckskin named Roo and got her saddled.

“Thank you,” I said fervently as Gertie led her out, and I hopped up.

In the saddle, my thighs and lower back started to ache immediately. I’d sparred with the Vixens the other day, and my body was still sore. Damn, I hoped I remembered what I was doing.

For a moment, I wondered if I should go find Fallon. Surely, she would help.

But then I thought of Cassidy, stubborn and strong-willed, running from herself.

Thanking Gertie again, I tugged on the reins, heading for the gate, and gently prodded her sides. With that, we took off for the woods, then veered up a trail and shot off north.

This was my family’s problem, and I had to fix it.

Because, deep down, I was terrified Cassidy might be made to leave if anyone found out.

 

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, except that my back was soaked in sweat, my hair was a disaster of clumps, and my thighs were in serious discomfort. If I had to guess, it had been over an hour, at least. I pressed on, sure I’d find Cassidy soon.

I didn’t know how, but some intuition told me she was close. She had to be.

It was getting difficult to sit up straight, though. Or even think straight.

In my haste to go after Cassidy, I hadn’t eaten any breakfast, and my blood sugar was running very low. My senses seemed fuzzy around the edges, and my throat was parched. I almost laughed. It was like I’d been out here for days, not a few hours. How quickly my intrepid survivor skills had deserted me in relative domesticity.

“Cassidy!” I’d shouted at intervals. “Cassidy Grace, dammit, this isn’t funny.”

But now I was keeping quiet. Some part of me wished I could call for Ayani and Lazu. Come to think of it, though, I hadn’t seen those wolves at all lately. Another part wished I could scream.

Preferably at Cassidy. I’d already planned out everything I was going to say to her. Because I loved her. I loved my sister and was heartbroken over what had happened. But I didn’t know how to fix it except give her space. I honestly understood why my parents tolerated her nonsense—I did.

Right now, though, that could get her killed.

I was so terrified, every breath hurt.

Roo and I crested a small hill, then paused. We’d left the settlements of Winfyre far behind, looking over nothing but stretches of woods and silent fields. In the distance, mountains rose up, jutting monoliths against the sky, capped with snow and ice. Birds swooped and dove, riding the wind, and in the far distance to my left lay the curve of another bay. Ahead, the path cut through tall, waving grasses. If I was remembering the map of Winfyre Ridge correctly, this place was called the Geshalt. We’d come far.

“Good girl,” I said and patted her neck.

Pushing on, we dipped down into the grass stretching above our heads and filling the air with a light, sweet fragrance. One that made me think, of all things, of waffles. Stomach cramping, I tried to think of anything but food or water. Or Luke.

Now that my initial fire had worn off, I was starting to worry this might not sit well with him. I couldn’t forget I had a predator’s price on my head as his claimant. Or the fact that he’d made it explicitly clear I wasn’t supposed to go running off like this.

Luke might get a two-for-one deal and kick both Grace sisters out of Winfyre.

That horrible thought spurred me on. I had to find Cassidy, and fast. Luke could never know.

After Roo and I crossed through the field, we splashed across a stream and plunged into a wood. The path twisted and turned against a sheer hill. We rounded a corner, picking our way around fallen boulders and scree. There must have been a rockslide recently.

Up ahead, a figure was clambering over a rock and glanced back, then froze.

“Cassidy,” I cried out, pressing a hand to my heart and squeezing Roo with my heels.

We clattered to meet her, my sister pulling herself up and staring down at me in disbelief.

“What the hell, Reagan?” she snapped.

My sister’s eyes were bloodshot, her clothes dirty, and her hair escaping its ponytail. Even though we’d been in Winfyre for almost a month, she looked gaunt. Hopping down off Roo, I slipped and slid on the rocks, reaching out for her. But she pulled back and gripped her knees, shaking her head.

“Cassidy. We have to go. Please.”

I was surprised by the softness in my voice. Maybe it was because Cassidy looked like a cornered animal, small and afraid. Like she'd bite your fingers off out of fear.

“No, I’m going to Veda and leaving Winfyre,” Cassidy said. “Anything is better than this.”

“What? Safety, family, a roof over your head?” I asked. “Friends and people who understand—”

“There is nothing wrong with me!” Cassidy blasted, and knotted her fists at her sides. Roo spooked, and I gripped her reins, glaring at my sister. “God, Reagan, you have no idea—”

She broke off, and I wondered if I should tell her I did have an idea. That I was Riftborn.

But I couldn’t find the words.

Instead, I said, “Cassidy, I know that. I know you didn’t ask for this. But we’re here so you can…” Again, I struggled to find words. I might have been Riftborn, but I wasn’t a shifter. I didn’t know what she was going through. Fallon, or hell, even Luke, would’ve been better at this. “But there are people here who do…”

This isn’t like the cities or towns where you’re a commodity or a curse, I wanted to say. You’re just you. You’re free.

“I’m not like them,” Cassidy said. “I don’t give in to it.”

“Give in to it?” I echoed.

“The animal,” she said with a sneer, though her eyes were frightened. “I fight it. I’m normal.”

"Cassidy, there is nothing for you in Seattle," I said. “They were rounding up shifters. And shifters were fighting back. It was becoming a war zone. Don’t you remember that?"

“Remember Grandpa?” Cassidy snarled. “Or did you stop caring about him, too?”

I went very still. Never had I been so close to hitting my little sister before.

My fingers squeezed the soft leather of Roo’s reins in time with the thunder of my pulse. Every breath was uneven and loud in my ears. Forcing myself to look away, tears pricking my eyes, I tried to take a deep breath and failed. I thought I might throw up.

By some twisted coincidence, we’d been safe in the country, and he’d been in the city when hell had broken loose. He’d stayed to try and find answers about the rest of our family, urging us to go on ahead. The man who’d taught me the skills that had all but guaranteed our survival.

The night before I found out about Winfyre, I’d had a dream where he’d said goodbye.

It was so real, I knew my worst fear had come true. Deep, deep in my soul, too, I knew he was gone. He’d left us behind, hopefully for a better world.

“Reagan,” Cassidy said, and I jerked back, bumping into Roo. “I’m going back.”

“We just got here,” I hissed, rage and pain bubbling over. I’d been the one to believe Grandpa when he’d said he could handle things alone. “We all risked our lives getting here. We wanted you to be safe. Why do you have to throw that in our faces? What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing! But this isn’t what I want!” Cassidy shouted.

“Oh, and I do? This is my big dream?” I asked. “I was supposed to be an NP in neurology.”

“I was gonna be a doctor.” Cassidy turned, and her shoulders shook. “Now I’m nothing.” Her body trembled with emotion. “Nothing but a girl with a monster inside. But I have a fiancé who will love me anyway. And family back home. Anything would be better than this.”

“Then go,” I said, the words cutting my mouth and throat like broken glass.

Cassidy whipped around. “What?”

“Go,” I screamed, my temper completely gone and tears in my eyes. “If we’re all so horrible, and you’re so misunderstood, if William is so much better, then go. I’m sick of you and your selfish, bratty stupidity.”

Between her talking about Grandpa and screaming at me like this was my fault, I could barely breathe. Like I hadn't tolerated her stupid desire to not shift and keep us safe. Like I hadn’t willingly taken the entire burden of safety onto my shoulders and gotten us here…

“You don’t—” Cassidy started to say.

I cut her off. “Leave.”

My sister gaped at me as I struggled to climb back onto Roo. “You’re serious?”

"I'll tell mom and dad.” My voice was harsh, and Cassidy flinched. I stopped and glared at her, stepping away from the poor horse. “I’ll tell them you ran back to find salvation, even though you already had it. Even though you already have everything and anything you could ask for. But you’re so blind, selfish, and small, you refuse to acknowledge it.”

“I…” Cassidy pushed her wispy hairs back. “I don’t know what else to do.”

“You could suck it up for once,” I said, and Cassidy hugged herself, glaring at the ground.

“Reagan, you don’t get it—”

“Hate to break it to you, Cass, but you’re not the only one that the Rift affected.”

“I know that,” she mumbled. “But you’re not a shifter.”

“No, I might be something worse,” I said.

We stared at each other, and my sister blinked rapidly, frowning slowly. She went to open her mouth, and suddenly a prickle of alarm shot through me. Dizziness pulled the ground from under my feet, and I fell to my knees.

At the same time, Roo began to snort and stamp, eyes rolling. Cassidy moved forward to grab the horse, and the animal let out a whinny of terror. The sound raked across my skin and startled my sister, the reins flying through her fingers.

We both gasped as the horse turned and ran, leaving us alone.

“Reagan?” Cassidy asked, and she rushed forward, grabbing my arm. “What is it?”

I couldn’t get up off the ground. Fear was rising up, and the warnings were a cacophony in the back of my head.

“Shit,” I murmured and tried to stand. “Cass, you gotta run for it. Leave me.”

Suddenly, I thought of Luke, and my stomach wrenched. Our last encounter had been so terrible, and I hadn't gotten a chance to apologize.

Or get an apology in return, if I was being honest.

I could see his scruffy face, his glinting blue-green eyes, and his smirks. The play of concerns across his brow and the steady light in his eyes as he thought deeply.

Always thinking about others, though, and not himself.

“Someone has to make sure Luke gets his arm looked at,” I said. “Remember that, Cass.”

“What?” Cassidy gasped out and looked around. Her eyes dilated, and I knew some blunted shifter sense had to be clawing free and warning her of danger. “Reagan, come on.”

“I can’t,” I said, and a wave of cold sweat went over me. “I didn’t eat breakfast.”

“You what? But you have blood sugar issues,” Cassidy snapped, sounding like her old self, the know-it-all baby sister. “That’s why you always had snacks on the trip here. Why would you stop carrying them?”

“I’m not going to make it,” I said. “I’m sorry for what I said.” Gold danced in her eyes, and I gripped her wrist. “Please don’t leave Winfyre.”

“Reagan,” Cassidy said as my hands fell.

“Go,” I snarled. “Now.”

A scent of anger and blood wafted through the air, staining the sky darker, and I shoved at Cassidy’s legs. But she was frozen in place, whipping her head from side to side.

“We’re surrounded,” she whispered.

A crack of a branch under a heavy foot confirmed this, and the scene spun. With enormous effort, I got to my feet and tugged on her arm. “Go. Shift and run—you can make it.”

Cassidy didn’t answer.

She screamed.