Deserted (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 4)

Reece, ignoring the blade I still held against the throat of one of his oldest friends, reached down and hauled Zena up. He used one hand, wrapping it around her arm and right shoulder, and even I was a little impressed by that display of strength. ‘The others are inside so we can question them,’ he rumbled. I’d only heard him this pissed a few times—usually directed at me. ‘They’ll tell us everything before we’re done.’

Zena dropped her head back and laughed, the sound tinged with a touch of mental instability. ‘You’re too late. We’ve set forth a ritual from here, using energy from all the dynasties. Then, in six or so moons the first power moon in centuries will rise. Twins. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, and it’s finally our time to rule it all.”

Reece paused halfway in the open door to his tent, Zena still effortless held in his grip. “If you have the power moon, why did you bother with the ritual from this gathering?”

I interrupted before she could speak. “What the hell is a power moon?”

It was rare that I didn’t have at least an idea of what someone was talking about, especially when it came to power. Power and the Desert Lands were somewhat expertise’s of mine.

He briefly met my gaze. “I’ve only heard of one, just a few months before I was born. It’s said that for a brief moment, the moon splits into two and fills our land with primal energy. It’s a time of new awakenings and rebirths.”

Deep in his eyes, those galaxies swirled, and I read between the lines. Just before his birth… Was that how his parents had been able to conceive in the Delfora?

Reece continued inside, and as I went to follow, Mera grabbed my arm. “This power moon is bad, right?” she whispered.

Swallowing hard, I sought words to explain when I didn’t completely understand myself. “I’ve never heard of or read about this moon,” I admitted, annoyed by this fact. “But in theory, if what Reece said is correct… Yeah, that’s the sort of event that can bring about world-ending change.”

Mera let out a deep sigh as we entered the lounging area to find Shadow and the others standing before a line of Desertlandians. Each of them was on their knees, held down with Reece’s sand, and they had been unmasked.

I recognized a few of them, including Dally and Fleur, also Tsuma’s children.

Edging my way closer to the group, I kept my weapons at hand because we had no idea what tricks these assholes had up their sleeves. It made no sense that they’d attacked us as they had, especially Reece. Among the sands, he was near unbeatable.

“Your princeps have been called,” Reece said, walking along the line. “Might as well confess now, and I can see if the council will spare your lives.”

A threat that would work only if the princeps weren’t all in on it.

No one said a word, each of the prisoners staring ahead with blank expressions. Zena had even lost her anger, focused on the tent wall. Shifting around Reece, I moved as close as I could without putting myself in striking reach. Not that I was worried about an attack—we far outpowered them—but I didn’t want to kill anyone before we got our answers.

‘It’s not adding up,’ I said in a low voice as I mulled it over.

Reece heard me, and I could feel his heat sliding down my spine as he pressed closer. ‘What are you sensing?’

“They’re not worried or trying to escape. All of them are just sitting and waiting like they knew—’

‘I would call for their princeps before taking any action,’ Reece finished in a growl.

I nodded. “Yes. More and more this is looking like a distraction.”

Zena’s gaze finally left the wall, lifting to focus on us, her lips tilting into a smirk. ‘Always too slow to stop the inevitable from happening. While we have been keeping you busy, our parents ensured that all the gathered energy was set into motion, building below the sand rivers. It will continue to build as they head toward the Delfora, shrouding them until the very moment they need to arrive in the sacred lands. It’s a flawless plan, and there’s nothing you can do to stop them.’

‘Is the gathered energy just to hide their progress toward the Delfora?” I asked. “Or is there more that it’s needed to achieve?”

Her eyes were laughing at me as she preened, arrogant in her supposed success. “Even with the moon, we couldn’t get through the valley of the dead without a boost of power—power from all the dynasties since all of our dead guard the burial grounds. This was an easy solution.”

I wasn’t the only one who fell silent as the true implications of that hit us. The Delfora was well protected, but there were ways to counter it. Ways Tsuma had clearly put into effect.

Reece was furious, the heat coming off him near inferno level. “For this, you and your family will die,” he said without inflection, despite his fury.

In response, Zena just laughed again, and some of the others in the line joined in.

“What an annoying fuck,” I heard Mera snipe. “Can we kill her now and save ourselves the trouble later?’

Shadow laughed, a rumbling sound of darkness. ‘Patience, Sunshine. She will get what’s coming to her.’

Reece lowered himself, crouching in front of Zena, and for a second, a flash of longing passed over her face before she covered it up with another blank look.

‘Why would you betray our dynasty? Our people?’ he asked her, his sands spilling out and surrounding them, heat building as they did.

She cleared her throat more than once. ‘We applied for extra energy sources,” she finally said. “Over and over. When you didn’t take the role of princeps, it should have gone to us. To mother. But she was always denied. Eventually, we decided to stop asking and start taking.’

Reece released his next breath in a slow hiss. ‘Your family is very powerful, and the reason you’ve been denied more is that it would shift the balance and equality of our people. Not to mention, your love of power makes you a terrible candidate for princeps. Which is why I voted against your family every time.’

Her gasp was loud as she pressed a hand to her shell suit. ‘You voted against us? We thought you were the one vote we had in our favor.’

Reece didn’t bother to sugarcoat it for her. ‘Family friend or not, power corrupts within your aura. You are not worthy.’

Zena tilted her head back, looking like she was about to start yelling.

‘Shut the hell up, Z,” Dally, her brother growled, shutting her down. “You’ve already given the bastard god too much information.’

Reece didn’t respond to the insult or even acknowledge that another had spoken. He simply rose and turned to the rest of us, indicating we should close in ranks. I sent my weapons into the bedroom as I joined the others, moving away from the line of Desertlandians on their knees.

Reece’s sand power formed a wall between them and us. “As expected, this entire event was a setup from the start,” he said, “and it seems we are now on a countdown to the power moon. We must reach the Delfora before then and ensure this plan never comes to pass.”

‘How do we know which of the princeps are in on it?” I asked him.

His expression darkened further. “My sands are out gathering information, but now that I know what to look for, I can see the energy sources running through the Ostealon. It’s clear who has had a hand in this, and from what I can see, none of them are princeps. These are all lesser members wanting to step up in power.”

That was why Tsuma had touched Reece’s tent, when she’d been there. She’d been marking the spot, preparing the power to span out from all the dynasties.

‘I’ve felt no pull on my energy,’ Shadow said at a dull roar, his rage palpable. ‘None on mine or Mera and the baby.” His eyes turned to his mate. “Right, Sunshine?”

“Right,” she said quickly. “I feel great, and the baby is kicking the shit out of my internal organs as usual.’

‘Their plan is subtler than that,” I said, piecing it together. “As Reece said, unless you’re looking for it, you wouldn’t notice the network now joining all of us together. The Ostealon is a central gathering spot where all the desert rivers converge. From here, they could send the power straight to the Delfora and no one would feel anything until it was too late.”

“I’ve cut the ties now,” Reece said in a huff, “but the energy has already started to swell within the rivers. It will be enough to get them through the Delfora and hide their path. We would be wasting our time to follow. Instead, we must get there first.”

“They didn’t count on all of us being here,” Lucien said, his fangs extended as adrenaline from the previous fight still raced under his skin. “They know we can stop them, which is why this battle went into play—a distraction so they had a head start to hide and get moving.”

I stilled, my eyes meeting Reece’s. “There’s still time,” I said. “We just have to get to the Delfora before the power moon.”

“We need to hurry then,” Len said in a rush, and I noted he was once again dressed in his silvers. “Even though I have no idea how these morons think they can control ancient gods when they wake them.”

Or Death, if it came to that.

Myth says that until the gods are at full power, they will be beholden to those who drag them from the sands.

We all looked at Galleli, letting those words marinate. Tsuma had to have a plan for the gods, and whether she was fighting in a class above her own or not, the fervor for power had already warped her mind past the point of return. She was more than prepared to risk life as we all knew it for a chance at godlike-power.

‘We can’t let this happen,’ Alistair said softly, his skin looking dry even as his eyes were bright. ‘It will not just impact this world, but all of them.’

Mera sighed. ‘Not like we can ever just have a regular disaster. Nope. We always have to have the sort of disaster that ends life as we know it.’

She pressed a hand to her stomach, and despite the sarcasm in her tone, we all saw her fear. We felt her fear. Each new member of our family was another member we had to keep safe.

“We still have time,” I said again, voice stronger than ever. “We can get there first. We can stop them.”

I wasn’t usually the cheerleader type, but hope and purpose were powerful motivators.

‘I agree,’ Reece said, backing me, much to everyone’s surprise.

That was the point they all appeared to notice our lack of trying to rip each other’s heads off. ‘We reached a truce,’ I said in a rush, needing a temporary explanation, ‘until we sort out the shit going on in this world.’

Reece nodded. ‘There’s no time for internal battles. Our only chance for success is if we all work together.’

‘I agree,” Shadow said shortly. “And we all will, except Mera.’

She swung on him like a boxer ready for the fight of her life. ‘Excuse the fuck out of me? What did you just say?’

Shadow didn’t bend an inch. His mate might be able to get what she wanted out of him most of the time, but now that we knew how dangerous it could end up being, he was unmovable. ‘Ancient and dangerous power and spells are in play here,” he told her in his low rumble. “We have a child on the way, a powerful child, and the ancients might be able to utilize that pure energy for the final stages of their awakening.’

Mera opened her mouth, eyes spitting flames, but no words emerged. She wanted to argue, that much was clear, but she couldn’t. Finally, she turned to me. ‘Is that true?’ Her trust in me was unparalleled. I hated the thought that we were about to be separated, but the truth was, I had to agree with Shadow.

‘There is a good possibility,” I told her. “Doing the calculations, I’d say there’s a seventy percent chance they would take you and your baby. A growing god-child is filled with the energy of creation. An energy that fades as we age, but in those first few years, it’s a remarkable power.’

Mera’s face crumpled, and I barely held myself together as I pulled her into a hug. ‘I’m so sorry,’ I whispered. ‘I don’t want you out of my sight, but if anything happened to you or the baby, it would destroy us all.’

A single sob escaped before she drew on her strength, pulling away from me and looking perfectly calm. “If it was only my safety, nothing would stop me from being with you on this mission. But I’m a mom now, and I have a responsibility to this baby.’

Shadow wrapped her up from behind, and my hands fell away as he pulled her closer. ‘I will take you to the library, reinforce the security, and bring Inky and Midnight back. Along with Gaster, you will be as safe there as anywhere in the Solaris System.’

Mera nodded, her face still set. ‘As long as you keep me updated as many times a damn day as you can.’

‘All day, Sunshine,’ Shadow said in that tone he reserved just for her. ‘I will also close down the doorways to the library to ramp up the protections. It should all be over before you know it.’

‘Doubt that,’ I heard her mutter, but she didn’t argue again.

This fight was not to be hers, but for the rest of us, it was a different story.

We were now in a race against time, once again set to save the worlds or die trying. The odds of that were ones I refused to calculate, even though deep in my heart I knew the truth.

There was a possibility that not all of us would survive this mission.