Return of the Ascendant (The Ascendant Series) by Raine Thomas Page B

crap like that. She didn’t know much of anything at all, she realized.
    Just then, she wasn’t really sure she was ready to learn it.
    Glancing at Ty, she asked, “Do you suppose we’re safe from the Shelvaks here?”
    “I don’t know,” he said.
    That was the last thing she’d wanted to hear.

Chapter 13
     
     
    They drove for so long that Kyra began to wonder whether they’d flown into the most logical airport. She soon lost her enthusiasm over being in a new city and settled back in her seat to dwell in her thoughts. Time brought her no more answers, however, and Ty didn’t seem prone to talk. Sem was quiet and brooding, so she didn’t expect any entertainment from him. She tried to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, the recently-unearthed memory of her car crash resurfaced.
    The good news was that it was closer to dawn by the time they reached their destination. She had no idea where they were. The last sign she’d seen before they left civilization read, “Lake County.” For the past thirty miles, they’d stuck to sparsely-populated back-roads. She didn’t think she’d seen another house for the past five.
    When they turned off the road and onto a bumpy dirt path, Kyra gave Ty a dubious look. Where were they going? A cabin in the woods?
    Holy crap…like that thought wasn’t scary as hell.
    “It’s a house,” he said. “A secure house.”
    She moistened her lips and nodded, straining to see more through the trees on either side of the dirt road. Out here, the only light came from the car’s headlights. Even the streetlights from the road had dimmed completely from view. Every shadow looked like a threat.
    Panic started to set in.
    “Trust me, Kyr,” Ty said.
    She glanced at him and met his intent gaze. Something passed between them in that instant. She didn’t know what it was, but something deep within her responded to something just as deep within him. He needed her assurance in him.
    I do trust you, Ty .
    Even though he didn’t acknowledge her thought, she knew he’d heard it.
    Seconds later, they reached a tall, chain link gate with barbed wire running along the top of it. She realized the fence ran far on either side of the gate, both sides disappearing into the woods. Ty pressed a button on the car’s console and the gate started rattling open. He drove through when it was opened wide enough, then waited for the gate to close completely before driving on.
    Just as the headlights brushed across the side of the house, light suddenly flooded the area. Kyra gasped and instinctively reached out to grab Ty’s arm. It was like trying to grip banded steel.
    “Security lights,” Sem said from the backseat.
    “Oh.” Flushing, she released Ty’s arm. She was going to blame her skittish behavior on her lack of sleep and severe emotional trauma.
    They parked in the house’s equivalent of a driveway. It was little more than twin strips of dirt with some grass growing between them. The lack of care given to the landscaping gave her little hope about their accommodations.
    “Stay with Sem,” Ty said.
    Before she could argue, he climbed out and closed the door, pressing the locking mechanism on the key fob after doing so. Her anxiety rose as she watched him begin the perimeter search like he had done at her parents’ house.
    “How’re you holding up?” Sem asked.
    Telling herself to calm down, she unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to face him. He shifted from behind her seat to behind Ty’s so he could see her better.
    “I’m scared,” she admitted.
    “I’m sure you are.” He gave her a small smile. “Look, Kyra…I didn’t have time to talk to you before the last transition attempt. Everything happened so fast.”
    “That’s okay,” she assured him. “It’s been a crazy night.”
    “Yeah.” He leaned forward, making his face more easily visible. “I wanted to chat with you without your muscle hanging around.”
    She returned his smile this time, though his quickly