Page 172 of The Incendiary

I wasn’t sure I ever wanted that with him. We. And yet, I found solace in hearing it. I hadn’t forgiven him, but part of me wanted to start.

“Is… Damond Bellamy here?” I asked. Elias now had to wonder what had happened after Brinnea. They believed the Butcher had stolen my body, and then what? “When I came back to life after Brinnea, Damond helped me.” I left out the part about how exactly he got hold of me. As Elias assessed me, I held my ground, refusing to show any signs of uncertainty.

“Well, thank the gods for that,” he finally said. “He arrived here about a month ago, I believe. I’ll have to thank him. Damond Bellamy’s family have been friends of my grandparents for many years. Would you like me to send him in?”

“Yes, please. But first…” I trailed off. If losing Gavin felt like losing half my heart, being without Shera was like missing a limb. At least her, I could recover. “I need you to let my cat in.”

Elias stared at me like I was speaking another language. “You… have a cat?”

“She’s an umbra,” I explained. “She’s almost a year old.” “Umbras are extinct,” he stated dryly.

I hummed out an awkward laugh. “Well, this one’s not.”

He rubbed at his jaw like he always did while contemplating. “Where has she been this whole time?”

“Just… in the woods.”

“That shouldn’t surprise me,” he sighed, arching his brow at me. “And you’re sure it’s safe to bring a creature like that in here?”

“Not for him,” Shera grumbled from afar.

“I really am still astonished that you can hear us through so much rock.”

“She’s safe,” I promised Elias. “Unless someone harms me.”

While mulling over my warning, I wondered if Elias was thinking of how he’d harmed me by not believing me. By disregarding me. I would never let Shera draw blood, but a little fear might be good for him.

“All right.” His eyes narrowed. “I’ll help you get her in here, as long as you promise that she won’t… eat anyone.”

I laughed nervously. “Did you hear that?”

“No promises,” answered Shera.

Before he left, he brought something for me to eat. Waiting impatiently, I ate and sat on the edge of my bed and stared into the fire. Each suite of living quarters had a fireplace built in with a carved-in outlet for the smoke to dissipate into the upper reaches of the mountain. And running water via an intricate, filtered aqueduct system. I was looking forward to a bath later, too.

After about an hour, Elias managed to get Shera into the Caves without being seen.

When they entered, I rushed forward, fell to my knees and caught her mid-leap, the force of her growing body nearly knocking me over. She licked my cheek with her sandpaper tongue, pulling a relieved but sad laugh from my throat.

“You’re all right.” She rested her soft, silver forehead against mine.

I nodded and sniffed back tears, unwilling to cry in front of Eli, and answered, “And you’re all right.”

I looked past her and winced at the sight of claw marks in the front of Elias’s shirt. He wasn’t bleeding, but his skin was pale—like he had just seen a ghost—and he had some leaves stuck in his hair.

“What did you do to him?” I asked Shera, who had just plopped down on the edge of the rug in front of the roaring fire to begin grooming.

“I showed him who he’d be dealing with if he hurts you.” She peered up at me with one eye. “Though something tells me he already has.”

Elias’s slightly horrified stare was fastened on Shera. “I don’t think your cat likes me.”

I shrugged and popped a grape in my mouth from the tray he’d left me. “I’ll talk to her.”

“What?” His brow knitted in confusion.

“I can talk to her.”

“You can talk to her?”