Glamoured (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 6)

Len used more crystals from his jacket to clean us and create some clothes. “I could use my own energy, but it’s best to conserve it,” he said, when we were dressed and ready to start this journey again.

“Can you feel any drain from the Deep yet?” I asked. “I don’t really know what losing power feels like, since I’ve clearly been cut off from a large source of mine all of my life.”

Len, now in black fatigues, a plain black shirt, and his silver trench coat, stepped into a pair of black combat boots as he answered. Subtly, I attempted to wipe at my mouth in case I was drooling—he was rocking badass special-ops, and it was a good look on him.

“The drain is slight,” he admitted, lips thinning. I wasn’t surprised he was annoyed, since it was a theft of power without his permission, and he was too old and princely to be cool about that. Not to mention we needed everyone at full power to make it through.

Not all tests would be about submission like the last one. Some would undoubtedly require strength.

“Our time of rest did help though,” he added, and I couldn’t help the burst of laughter that escaped.

“Rest,” I chuckled. “Right.”

He crowded me against the crystal wall. “Yes, mate. Rest. And just so you know, I plan on resting with you many more times over our life, and each will only add to our energy and strength.”

My laughter faded as my hips jerked toward him. Dammit, my body was already trained to obey his command, and what he was promising we wanted.

As his lips brushed mine, he flicked his hand out and recalled the stones. The land of blue sand reappeared around us again, and the sexual tension faded enough that I could focus on the task at hand. The reality of our situation was more apparent outside the sphere of stones, and I knew we’d done all the resting we had time for.

Len took my hand, and my new black boots—very similar in style to his—crunched on the blue sand as we crossed it. This time he’d dressed me in dark jeans, a plain black shirt, and a less elaborate silver jacket that ended just below my ass. Silver for a silver princess, he had said. He always thought of everything, right down to a brush and hair tie, so I could quickly braid my long hair down my back.

The sensation of being cared for, of having someone in my corner, would never get old.

“Do you have any guesses of how far we still have to travel to reach the Origin and Great Queen’s line?” I asked as our pace picked up.

The darkness around us didn’t cease, and I had zero idea of what direction to even head in. Thankfully, Len appeared to be following a source of power.

“There’s no way to tell in a land surrounded by energy such as this,” he said. “From the little I’ve discovered, we’ll face at least two more major obstacles.”

Great, if they were anything like the guardians and the red lava floor, it should be a piece of cake. A cake poisoned and laced with explosives.

After walking for a few minutes, we ran into Simone and Lucien. They looked relaxed, and I thought I caught a flash of blood on Lucien’s lips. “Time to move forward?” the vampire asked.

Len nodded. “Yep. If we rest any longer, we run the risk of the land trying to drain us to get us moving.”

Lucien didn’t argue, gathering Simone under his arm, a heated and possessive look on his face as he pulled her close. Simone all but melted beneath his touch, and when she caught sight of me gawking like a creeper, she shot me a slow smile and a wink.

It was clear she was happy, and I couldn’t ask for anything more for my pack sisters. They’d found the sort of happiness romance books were built on, and now that I also had a possessive supernatural who growled and shot me heated looks, I understood those happily-ever-afters much better.

The thought of losing it all before it even begun actually took my breath away. Unable to consider the possibility, I pushed the dark thoughts down and focused on the now. We just had to get through two more obstacles and restore my line. We could totally handle that.

The four of us continued, following Len’s lead as he moved us toward the next task. Along the way we picked up Reece and Angel. The transcendent had her wings away again, the exhaustion that had been dragging along her features was also gone. Whatever she’d done to rest and restore had worked. There were no visible changes to Reece, who always looked like a scary desert god, but he did show relief when he looked upon Angel.

Next was Galleli, who found us, soaring down and landing heavily upon the blue sand. Unlike Angel, he didn’t look like he’d rested at all, his skin clammy. “Recon?” Reece asked.

Galleli released a weary sigh. Yes, and I know where we must journey next. It will require all of us to work together to make it across.

Great. That didn’t sound ominous or worrisome at all.

Len must have been heading in the right direction, since Galleli didn’t change our path. I was just wondering where Shadow and Mera were when their forms grew visible in the dull light. Flames surrounded them as they stood on the edge of a precipice in their huge beast forms. Clearly, they knew where the next path was as well.

“What are we up against?” Len asked as he stopped beside Shadow. Lucien fell in on the other side of him, then Reece, and finally Galleli.

The five males stood in a line of power and beauty, and I knew I wasn’t the only one slightly mesmerized as we watched them assess our next move. Mera, her phoenix shifter side fading again, moved in closer to me. She wore a green army jacket now, which turned the green flecks in her hazel eyes brighter than ever. “Ladies,” she breathed, “they’re trying to kill us. Or at minimum impregnate us through overwhelming alpha-ness.”

“It’s a lot,” Simone agreed hoarsely. “I mean, Lucien regularly takes my breath away, but this is extra. They don’t need to be so extra.”

“Over-fucking achievers,” Mera growled. “Always with the overachieving.” Her voice lowered into a growl. “Sunshine, you can take my twenty-inch cock.” She shook her head. “Like, ten would have been great, fifteen amazing, but this motherfucker can actually change the size of hi—”

Shadow laughed, and damn… I had no idea that growly, snarly, powerful bastard could laugh like that. He all but threw his head back as this deep rumble of mirth escaped him. “Sunshine,” he said, “you have such a way with words, mate, but as long as it’s only my cock in your mouth, I’ll never complain.”

Mera fanned her face, pink spots appearing on her cheeks. “You mean as long as it’s only ever your cock that I talk about?” she replied breathlessly.

Shadow’s grin was slow and predatory. “Yeah, that too.”

Holy gods. “I’m not mentally prepared for this today,” I admitted, feeling hot under the collar.

“It’s all the testosterone,” Simone agreed. “I’m drowning in it.”

She wasn’t wrong. I pulled my shirt away from my neck, needing to cool down.

“Chill, boys,” Angel said with her own wicked laugh. “You five together is too much for us. At least dial it back until we’ve survived the bridge of death.”

The bridge of death. That was a very accurate representation of what the guys had been staring at a moment ago. Like a switch was flicked, the sexy banter and low hum of arousal dried up and they were all business again.

“Okay, so what’s the plan?” I asked. “How would someone from the Great Queen’s line get through this next task?”

We leaned forward to see down the side of the small incline we stood on. The blue sand tapered off here, and on the other side was the suspension rope bridge that led across a flaming pit.

“Their power would connect straight to the Origin,” Len reminded me. “It would take them over and through all of this without being touched. This is basically designed so no other could make it through. To protect the original energy of Faerie from those who would use it for their own gain.”

“What’s around the Origin?” Shadow asked. “I’m assuming the most powerful gems and crystals.”

Len nodded. “Yes. It’s where the sunburst stone came from, along with a few of Faerie’s strongest gems. When the Great Queen was in Faerie, she’d travel into the Deep every decade or so and retrieve new power gems for each royal houses. This kept our energy fresh and new. Since her disappearance, we’ve grown weak and stagnant. No new gems and less young being born.”

What he said bothered me, since it was my grandmother or great-great grandmother or whatever relative she was, who had ditched her job in Faerie. She’d spelled me to forget everything to do with Faerie and our heritage, but it was still my family’s responsibility. When we were done with our task here, I had to ensure I helped strengthen Faerie once more.

“We should move,” Reece said. “The power drain has begun again, and once we step onto that bridge, it’ll kick in hard and fast.”

I still didn’t feel anything, but I had less power to begin with, so there wasn’t much to lose. The barrier inside was holding at least. For now that was my only concern.

The nine of us stepped over the edge of the sand, sliding a little until our boots found traction on the rocks that jutted out beyond the blue. We hurried toward the suspension bridge, blasts of intense heat slapping us in the face as we closed in. I wasn’t surprised when Shadow and Mera were the first to approach it. Fire was their dominion after all.

“I can protect you from the fires,” Shadow said, sounding confident. Not that he ever didn’t. “If I weren’t here, you’d all be cooked before you made it halfway.”

A cough escaped me. “A graphic image that’s now freely floating in my brain. Thank you.”

He shrugged, uncaring. “An image in your brain is better than real life.” He turned then to Angel, who was standing on his right. “Hop on my back,” he told her. “Take advantage of my natural immunity to fire.”

Angel wasted no time, leaping onto his back, and he ran like he was in a race. Across the swaying bridge, he dropped her off and was back in record time. A few beads of sweat dotted his forehead, which was all we needed to know about how hot it was to cross above the swirling lava.

“If it’s not designed for anyone to make it across, why have the bridge at all?” I wondered.

Len’s expression was grim. “It’s a trap. This land wants you to believe you can cross safely. By the time you realize your mistake…”

“You’re toast,” Simone finished grimly.

Thankfully, we had Shadow, and he made quick work of ferrying all the ladies across first. As we stood on the other side, where the heat was a little less intense, we peered over the cavernous pit together.

“I can’t wait to see him giving those godlike males a piggyback,” Simone said with a snort of laughter. “I wish I had a camera to capture this moment.”

Mera groaned. “There must be a way to convert our memories into images. I know I will never forget it.”

First across was Reece, and the look on his and Shadow’s faces implied that if anyone ever mentioned this again, they would destroy them. If only that shit worked on their mates. Even Angel was smiling, her eyes brighter than usually, the pinkish sheen glowing. “I love when they play together so nicely,” she said with a chuckle.

Shadow dropped Reece as soon as they were safe, the desert warrior landing gracefully on his feet. He straightened to his full height of giant, and Shadow was already gone to get the others. Reece spent his next few minutes tickling Angel, who kept smirking at him. “Don’t make me punish you later,” he groaned when she burst into laughter once more.

“Just the look on your face,” she choked out. “I’ve seen you tortured and happier than that.”

The banter continued as one by one Shadow brought the others across. Most of them wore a similar expression to Reece, but Lucien did make a giddyap horse joke which almost got him dumped into the lava.

“Safe,” Mera breathed. “Now on to the next part of this run.”

If Len was right, then that was one down and one more to go. We were so close. I just had to hope that together we would be enough to make it through.