past him.
I continued to walk, leaving him to catch up. “We’re going to speak to Kane.” Rowe jogged up a couple steps and roughly grabbed my shoulder, pulling me to a halt. “You’re going to get us killed. Since the door was opened, Kane and the rest of the clan have become extremely territorial. They aren’t going to welcome you into what they see as their domain—they’re going to attack.”
“Let them attack. We will defeat them, and then we shall have a personal escort to their leader,” I said, pulling free of his grasp so I could resume walking through the forest.
“Confident with your whip at your side that you can take any of our kind down?” Rowe sneered, but I could hear his footsteps on the soft earth. He was at least following me.
“I will not use the whip against the animal clan,” I growled. “They are simply defending their domain from trespassers. Jasmine and the others were attempting to steal you from me and were aiming to kill me. They would not see reason. Kane’s people will.”
“They already surround us.”
“I know.”
“And yet you’re determined to continue on this suicidal quest because Cynnia asked you.”
“She asked me to fetch you. This small side trip should not be nearly as treacherous.”
“Ha. Ha,” Rowe mocked when he realized I was teasing him. I had little doubt that getting in to speak with Kane was going to be dangerous and tricky. Since the opening of the door and Mira’s attack on Aurora, the animal clan had largely separated itself from the other clans and gathered in the Smoky Mountains, using the rocky and heavily covered terrain as a refuge from the world. And right now Rowe and I were walking right into the heart of their domain.
We continued on in silence, weaving among the trees as we slowly trekked uphill toward the heaviest concentration of naturi. I could hear animals moving closer to us with the click and scratch of claws moving over bark and through the dirt. A knot twisted tighter in my stomach, and I struggled to keep my heartbeat slow and even despite the fact the animal clan was tightening around us, closing in the circle until we would finally be faced with the voice of the squad that had been sent to defend their territory from interlopers.
As we entered a small clearing, a low growl rumbled around us. Standing with Rowe, I picked out several large wolves, a few bobcats, and a pair of mountain lions. Smaller luminous eyes stared out from the darkness, making me think we were surrounded by a large selection of foxes and raccoons as well. Reaching out with my powers, I discovered that most of the larger animals surrounding us were actually naturi that had shape-shifted into animal form, while the smaller creatures were truly animals that may have been summoned to help with the coming fight.
“We’re here to speak with Kane,” I announced, holding my hands out to my sides, open and empty. I wasn’t going to start a fight, and I preferred to avoid one at all costs considering that we were severely outnumbered.
Above my head in front of me, a large owl hooted a couple times before it spread its beautiful white wings and glided down. The white feathers melted away to reveal a man with darkly tanned skin and a shaggy mane of blond hair. It looked as if he would have been more natural in the form of a lion, rather than the unassuming and easily overlooked form of an owl. The moonlight gilded his naked body as he took a couple steps toward us. The animals that surrounded us also took a couple steps closer, shrinking the circle. Rowe shifted his stance, bumping his shoulder against mine as I forced myself to remain as still as possible. They were trying to goad us into acting.
Under most circumstances I would have trusted Rowe not to strike, but to calmly brush off their attempts to strike fear in him. However, the iron collar was inhibiting his powers, leaving him weaker and potentially at their mercy. I had put him
I continued to walk, leaving him to catch up. “We’re going to speak to Kane.” Rowe jogged up a couple steps and roughly grabbed my shoulder, pulling me to a halt. “You’re going to get us killed. Since the door was opened, Kane and the rest of the clan have become extremely territorial. They aren’t going to welcome you into what they see as their domain—they’re going to attack.”
“Let them attack. We will defeat them, and then we shall have a personal escort to their leader,” I said, pulling free of his grasp so I could resume walking through the forest.
“Confident with your whip at your side that you can take any of our kind down?” Rowe sneered, but I could hear his footsteps on the soft earth. He was at least following me.
“I will not use the whip against the animal clan,” I growled. “They are simply defending their domain from trespassers. Jasmine and the others were attempting to steal you from me and were aiming to kill me. They would not see reason. Kane’s people will.”
“They already surround us.”
“I know.”
“And yet you’re determined to continue on this suicidal quest because Cynnia asked you.”
“She asked me to fetch you. This small side trip should not be nearly as treacherous.”
“Ha. Ha,” Rowe mocked when he realized I was teasing him. I had little doubt that getting in to speak with Kane was going to be dangerous and tricky. Since the opening of the door and Mira’s attack on Aurora, the animal clan had largely separated itself from the other clans and gathered in the Smoky Mountains, using the rocky and heavily covered terrain as a refuge from the world. And right now Rowe and I were walking right into the heart of their domain.
We continued on in silence, weaving among the trees as we slowly trekked uphill toward the heaviest concentration of naturi. I could hear animals moving closer to us with the click and scratch of claws moving over bark and through the dirt. A knot twisted tighter in my stomach, and I struggled to keep my heartbeat slow and even despite the fact the animal clan was tightening around us, closing in the circle until we would finally be faced with the voice of the squad that had been sent to defend their territory from interlopers.
As we entered a small clearing, a low growl rumbled around us. Standing with Rowe, I picked out several large wolves, a few bobcats, and a pair of mountain lions. Smaller luminous eyes stared out from the darkness, making me think we were surrounded by a large selection of foxes and raccoons as well. Reaching out with my powers, I discovered that most of the larger animals surrounding us were actually naturi that had shape-shifted into animal form, while the smaller creatures were truly animals that may have been summoned to help with the coming fight.
“We’re here to speak with Kane,” I announced, holding my hands out to my sides, open and empty. I wasn’t going to start a fight, and I preferred to avoid one at all costs considering that we were severely outnumbered.
Above my head in front of me, a large owl hooted a couple times before it spread its beautiful white wings and glided down. The white feathers melted away to reveal a man with darkly tanned skin and a shaggy mane of blond hair. It looked as if he would have been more natural in the form of a lion, rather than the unassuming and easily overlooked form of an owl. The moonlight gilded his naked body as he took a couple steps toward us. The animals that surrounded us also took a couple steps closer, shrinking the circle. Rowe shifted his stance, bumping his shoulder against mine as I forced myself to remain as still as possible. They were trying to goad us into acting.
Under most circumstances I would have trusted Rowe not to strike, but to calmly brush off their attempts to strike fear in him. However, the iron collar was inhibiting his powers, leaving him weaker and potentially at their mercy. I had put him
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