by Zoe Chant
“Just a bit, bro.” Joe clapped Wystan on the shoulder, making the smaller man stagger. “Don’t even get me started on the turtles.”
“Really,” Callum said, in the defeated tones of a man who already knew he was fighting a lost cause. “Don’t.”
Wystan blinked. “Turtles?”
“It’s a long story.” Rory clasped Wystan’s hand, beaming. “It’s good to have you back. But are you really okay with returning so soon? Candice and the baby aren’t even out of hospital yet.”
Wystan grimaced. “The timing is less than ideal, but if I miss training, I’ll have to sit out the whole season. Candice told me in no uncertain terms that’s not an option, especially now the situation has changed so dramatically. She thinks the crew is going to need my talent.”
Wystan’s shield power could block anything up to and including a direct lightning strike—literally. Blaise had seen him do it. Out of all the people in the world, there was no one she’d rather have at Zephyr’s side.
Except me.
She ignored the unwelcome thought, punching Wystan affectionately in the arm. “I wish it was under better circumstances, but I’m really glad you’re here.”
“We all appreciate the sacrifice you’re making,” Rory said. “You and Candice. How is she?”
Wystan smiled, awe and pride shining in his eyes. “Astonishing. Every time I think I fully appreciate how incredible she is, she proves me wrong. She sends everyone her best wishes, by the way. She appreciated the gifts. Especially yours, Joe. Though I’m not entirely sure how she’s going to eat that much blue cheese.”
Rory raised an eyebrow at the sea dragon “You sent a cheese basket?”
Seren made a strangled moan. “I would kill for a cheese basket.”
“Few more months, love.” Joe patted his mate’s bump. “Soon as you’re not a living life support system, you can have all the cheese you want. And pate, and soft-boiled eggs, and seafood.”
“Seafood.” Seren said the word as though it was some distant, impossible dream. “Crabs. Mussels. Lobster.”
“I shall inundate you with lobsters,” Joe promised. “On my honor, the moment you give birth, I shall shower you with shellfish.”
Wystan’s lips twitched. “In any event, Candice and I always knew there was a possibility I’d have to be away from home during the early months. As it is, at least Candice has the hospital staff to support her.”
“Any idea when the baby will be able to come home?” Callum asked.
“Not yet. She’ll have to stay in an incubator for a while yet, given that she was a good six weeks early. Candice is camped out at her side round the clock.” His smile faded, and Blaise’s heart ached at the lost look that crept into her friend’s eyes. “In all honesty, at the moment, there’s very little I can do to help.”
Without warning, Joe snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it!”
They all looked at him. “You’ve got what?” Rory asked.
“The answer!” Joe flung his arms wide, beaming with beatific rapture. “It’s so obvious. Think about it. Callum coming out of his shell. Turtles. It’s a metaphor!”
Callum looked as if only an extreme effort of will was stopping him from throwing a completely non-metaphorical punch.
Seren laid a hand on Joe’s shoulder. “I think sometimes a turtle is just a turtle, my prince.”
Wystan was looking bewildered, which at least was an improvement over ‘desolate.’ “Would someone kindly explain the turtle thing?”
“No,” Callum said, in tones of utter finality.
“I swear, the next person who mentions turtles is going to get a Pulaski where the sun doesn’t shine,” Blaise muttered, though she was secretly grateful to Joe for lightening Wystan’s mood. She also had a sneaking suspicion that the sea dragon’s random outburst had been entirely deliberate.
“Icehorse!” Fenrir bounded over, seizing Wystan’s shoulders. His hopeful gaze swept over the unicorn shifter. “Cub?”
“I’m afraid I haven’t smuggled her out in my pockets,” Wystan replied. He smiled at Edith as well, who had come over with Fenrir. “It’s good to see you both. I gather there’s been some excitement while I was away.”
The rest of the squads had already finished kitting up and headed out, leaving only Zephyr still wrestling with his gear. He was holding his Nomex pants up over his jeans with one hand, his other arm contorted behind his back as he tried to find the suspenders.
“Here, let me give you a hand.” Blaise hurried over to help. “Don’t want your pants falling down on your first day.”
Zephyr flashed her a pained grin, holding still to let her snap the clips shut. “The rest of the crew is already dubious enough about my presence. I’m beginning to have second thoughts myself. I haven’t even put the jacket on yet, and I’m already sweating.”
“Hey, everyone feels like a trussed chicken the first time they put on this stuff.” Blaise adjusted the buckles, tightening the suspenders over his shoulders. “Don’t worry. In a few days, this will be like a second skin.”
Out of sheer force of habit, she slid a finger under one strap, checking the fit. She felt Zephyr’s chest hitch.
Her own heart missed a beat. She was used to the heavy weight of turn out gear, but her jacket abruptly felt unbearably hot. Black wings stirred in her soul.
She took a hasty step back, accidentally snapping Zephyr with the suspender strap. He retreated too, bumping into a shelf.
“Sorry,” Zephyr said. “I’m sorry. That won’t happen again. I’ll keep my distance.”
She swallowed too. “It’s okay. It’s nothing. I’m fine. Come on, we’re moving out. Got a full day of training ahead.”
“Blaise.” Zephyr’s quiet voice stopped her in her tracks. His black eyes were even darker than usual, full of shadows. “I’m still not sure this is a good idea. And it can only work if we’re both honest with each other. If it gets too hard to control your animal, you must tell me.”
“It won’t.” She made herself smile. “Don’t worry about me, Zeph. We’re going to make this work. Everything is going to be fine.”
Chapter 13
Zephyr slumped against the wall outside the gym, letting out a soft, heartfelt moan. “I don’t think I can do this.”
“Sure you can.” Joe clapped him on the shoulder, making Zephyr’s abused muscles send out a chorus of fresh complaints. “Mind over matter, bro. Power through the pain.”
“The first few days are always the worst,” Rory said. He was stretching outside the gym, limbering up before the morning training session. “Don’t worry, we’re all suffering too.”
Rory, Zephyr noticed glumly, did not look like he was suffering at all. The squad leader switched legs, bending into a deep hamstring stretch as easily as if he’d spent the last few days relaxing in a spa rather than trekking up and down a mountain. Zephyr was starting to seriously envy shifter biology.
“It’s not the conditioning program that’s the problem,” he said, although it was true that every joint in his body was still aching from the previous day’s training. He gestured through the open door. “That’s the problem.”
Blaise was already on the weight lifting bench, lying on her back with Callum spotting for her. She flexed her fingers around the iron shaft of the barbell, taking a firm grip. Her biceps tightened into taut curves, and Zephyr groaned again, scrunching his eyes shut.
Joe peered over his shoulder. “Ah. Yes. Not that I have any personal interest, but I can see how that might make certain things hard.”
Zephyr thumped his head back against the rough wall. “I’m trying not to watch. I really am. But sometimes I can’t help noticing. And I can’t let her notice that. The last thing I want to do is make her feel uncomfortable.”
Rory let out a deep chuckle. “Piece of advice, from a man who regularly trains with his mate. Always bring a towel to the gym. In an emergency, a good, thick towel can cover a great deal of embarrassment.”
“When Seren was training with us last year, I needed to carry two,” Joe said proudly. “And a bottle of ice. Still had to beat a hasty strategic withdrawal a few times.”
“You’ve both worked with your mates on the squad.” Zephyr looked hopefully from one to the other. “You get used to this, right? I mean, you can’t afford to let yourself get distracted out in the field.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s different out on a fire,” Joe assured him. “Definitely. When you’ve both been working for twelve hours straight, and you’re all covered in dirt and ash—”
“And sweat,” Rory added. His voice slowed. “And she’s working with total focus, applying all her skill and strength to getting the job done…”
“Breathing hard…” Joe was also starting to look rather glazed. “Driving her tool into the ground…”
Rory and Joe both lapsed into silence, gazing at their own private visions.
Zephyr sighed. “You don’t stop noticing, do you?”
“Not,” Joe said, “even a little.”
Rory cleared his throat. “Some things you’ll always notice. But when you’re out on a fire, those urges truly don’t get in the way. The whole squad has to operate as one. Your mate is still your mate, but that closeness helps you to work better together. The job comes first.”
“At least while you’re out on the line.” Joe winked. “Now, in the privacy of a secluded tent, back at fire camp… that’s a different story.”
Sharing a tent with Blaise was definitely not a prospect that it was safe to contemplate in public. Especially not without a handy towel. In fact, it was better not to think about such things at all.
Something of this must have showed in his face, because the wicked gleam in Joe’s eyes softened to sympathy.
“Sorry, bro,” the sea dragon said. “Wasn’t thinking. Didn’t mean to rub salt into the wound.”
“It’s all right,” Zephyr said. With an effort, he banished the mental image of a sweat-streaked Blaise shrugging off her jacket after a hard day of firefighting. “Truly. I don’t want you all to feel you can’t discuss your mates around me.”
“Talking about Seren and Edith behind their backs?” Darcy said, joining them. Fenrir loomed behind her, gargantuan in comparison to his diminutive mate. “Ha, you are all so busted. What’ll you give me to keep this quiet?”
Rory chuckled. “Nothing. I don’t have any secrets from my mate.”
“I do, but only because Seren says I mustn’t tell her any spoilers.” Joe put on an innocent expression. “Anyway, in this case, there’s nothing to hide. Rory and I were just agreeing how much we enjoy working with our mates.”
Darcy gave him a somewhat skeptical look. “Really? And Zeph would corroborate this version of events, if I asked him?”
Zephyr hid a smile. “I would. Rory and Joe were quite, ah, enthusiastic on the subject.”
“Hmmm.” Darcy glanced up at Fenrir. “I hope you aren’t secretly pining for me to put on a hard hat and slog away at your side. I love you, but I draw the line at a career change that would involve spending weeks away from indoor plumbing.”
Fenrir smiled, reaching out to brush a lock of Darcy’s dyed red hair back from her face. “Wouldn’t change anything about you. Not one thing.”
Darcy’s face softened into the luminous, star struck expression that Zephyr was starting to know all too well. Repressing a sigh, he politely averted his gaze, waiting for Darcy and Fenrir to return from their own little world. Wonderful as it was to be surrounded by couples so clearly and deeply in love, it did tend to lead to an awful lot of awkward pauses in conversation.
Rory must have felt much the same way, because he cleared his throat again. “Was there something you needed, Darcy?”
Darcy blinked, coming back from her rapt contemplation of her mate. “Oh, right. I was hoping to catch you, Zeph. I’ve got news.”
“Hang on,” Joe interrupted. “This sounds like something Blaise will want to hear. I’ll give her a shout.”
Despite his words, Joe didn’t head for the gym, or even call out. Instead, the sea dragon just went still for a moment, eyes unfocussing. A moment later, Blaise emerged from the gym, shadowed by Callum. Joe must have contacted them telepathically, through the bond the mythic shifters shared with each other. Zephyr envied that silent communion even more than their physical strength.
Blaise’s eyes flicked to him. She always did that; found him first, no matter how many other people were present. He knew that for a fact, because he did the same. She looked away quickly, her expression studiously casual, but Zephyr noticed how carefully she positioned herself, as far away from him as she could get while still joining the group. The air between them prickled with their mutual awareness.
“Hey guys,” Blaise said. A triangle of sweat plastered her T-shirt to her upper chest. She plucked at the thin cotton, unsticking it from her skin, and Zephyr had to take a deep breath and think very hard about towels. “What’s up?”
Joe jerked a thumb at Darcy. “News, apparently.”
“Both good and bad,” Darcy said, wrinkling her nose. “Which one do people want first?”
“Good,” Zephyr said, simultaneously with Blaise’s, “Bad.”
“A psychoanalyst would have a field day,” Rory murmured. “Give us the good news, Darcy. We could all use some of that.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Darcy said. “Well, the good news is that I heard back from Lupa. She can still get a sense of Uncegila through their lingering psychic link. Even better, she’s pretty certain that Uncegila doesn’t have any of her horned serpents left over from previous years. It looks like you cleared them all out, Zephyr.”
“That is good news,” Zephyr said. “So we don’t have to worry about a direct attack. At least not until they start spawning again. It only gives us a couple of weeks’ breathing room, mind.”
“Better than nothing,” Rory said. “So what’s the bad news, Darcy?”
The private investigator grimaced. “The bad news is that Lupa says Uncegila is really, really pissed off. ‘Furious’ was the precise word she used.”
Zephyr winced. “So Uncegila knows that the Thunderbird is back.”
“Yeah, looks that way,” Darcy said. “I don’t know how, though. We were careful not to tell Lupa that you were awake, just in case Uncegila can still eavesdrop through her ears. But it looks like Uncegila has her own sources of information.”
Blaise’s fists clenched, as though in anticipation of serpentine forms erupting from the shadows at any moment. “How is that possible? Maybe Lupa’s wrong, and there are horned serpents sneaking around. They could be watching us right now.”
“I don’t think Uncegila would need spies,” Zephyr said. “The Thunderbird could detect the movement of Uncegila’s children. Not when they were lying low, hiding in a mortal host, but any time they moved between realms or bodies, there was a wave of… energy, I suppose you could call it, that attracted the Thunderbird’s attention. I suspect Uncegila has a similar awareness of the Thunderbird. When it came to me in dreams, it must have been like a flare going off.”
Rory rubbed his chin. “We should still be careful. Wystan can’t ward the whole base, what with so many people coming and going, but maybe he can set up something around your cabin, Zephyr. Just as a precaution. Darcy, was Lupa able to get hints as to what Uncegila might be planning?”
“Unfortunately not,” Darcy said. “Even though she still has Uncegila’s mark, the connection’s pretty weak, especially now that Lupa’s hellhound has recovered its strength. Her inner animal is really protective. It doesn’t like Lupa trying to reach for Uncegila any more than it likes the demon reaching for her.”
“Unwary wolf is a dead wolf,” Fenrir said. “And sister was caged for a long time. Think her animal is wise to refuse to put head into a noose again, no matter how compelling the scent.”
“I agree,” Zephyr said. “I really don’t want anyone to risk themselves on my account, Darcy. Especially not Lu
pa. I know she feels guilty over her actions, but she was duped by Uncegila. She’s as much a victim of the horned serpents as anyone. I wish I could tell her that myself.”
“I’ll pass on the message,” Darcy said. “There’s not much point in keeping your situation a secret from Lupa any longer, given that Uncegila already knows. Though I’m pretty sure Lupa’s already guessed what’s going on. She’s sharp, and it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.”
“Then please tell her I’d like to talk, if she’s willing.” Zephyr said. “To apologize for my own actions and assure her I harbor no grudges. It would be good to finally put an end to the enmity between our bloodlines.”
“Sometimes past casts a long shadow.” Fenrir clasped Zephyr’s upper arm in a brief, understanding touch. “But we are all pack now.”
Rory frowned. “I appreciate you want to make things right with Lupa, Zephyr, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you two to meet yet. At least not in person. She still has Uncegila’s mark. It’s possible that it’s not as dormant as Lupa thinks.”
“Yeah, let’s not give Lupa a chance to turn around with glowing red eyes and snap your neck,” Blaise said. “And just to check, she is somewhere secure, right? Not that I want her locked up, but leaving Uncegila’s ex-minion free to wander around is asking for trouble.”
“Don’t worry,” Darcy said. “Shan and Min-Seo are guarding her at a safe house, along with the wendigo, Mort. That basilisk guy Vance is there too.”
Rory’s eyebrows rose. “The doctor who made the anti-shift serum?”
“Yeah, he requested protection too, though I’m pretty sure he meant protecting everyone else from him. Poor guy still doesn’t have much control over his shift form. Anyway, Min-Seo and Shan will keep everyone safe if Uncegila tries anything.” Darcy made a face. “Assuming Min-Seo doesn’t snap first. Even her gumiho emotion-altering powers can’t do much to lighten that much angst. I think she’s about one tragic sigh away from murdering them all with a spork.”
“Send candy,” Callum advised. “Lots of candy.”