The Agrista (Between the Lines Book 1) by Shannon Lamb

under Canticum Dormientum. An immensely powerful paralysis spell, as Fallon well knows. I truly thought she was dead when I saw her, but a servant girl Johanna told me otherwise.” Alex grew silent, recounting the image of the tortured Umbra looming in the doorway, suspended in a state of permanent agony.
      “You saw Aruzhan, did you? The only way that’s possible is if you’re an Umbra. If you are, change,” she challenged.
  Marie watched him with bated breath. Every second felt like an eternity as tension knotted her stomach. Why isn’t he changing?
      “I knew you were lying! You’re spies from the palace, aren’t you?”
      Marie gasped when the paralyzing pressure on her neck abated, allowing her to finally breathe again. That is, until Fallon made a beeline for Alex. She pounced on him with the vigor of a young lioness, straddling his chest with her mighty tree trunk thighs.
      “I should slit your throats right now,” Fallon narrowed her eyes, tracing patterns over Alex’s bobbing Adam’s apple with the dull edge of her knife. She applied just enough pressure to break skin.
      “Alex, change!” Marie groveled beside him.
      “He can’t change,” said a male voice, cutting through the tension. “I think you’ve had enough fun, Fallon. Off,” he commanded, ripping Marie’s attention away from Alex for just a moment.
      The voice came from a middle-aged man. He was built like a gladiator and filled up the entire doorway. Being well over six feet tall, he had to crouch down just to enter.
      For an older man, Marie found him quite attractive. He had a chiseled face with a pronounced chin, framed by wavy tresses of mossy brown hair peppered with gray. Traces of crow’s feet framed his starkly green eyes that shone with starbursts of sparkling gold.
      Laugh lines wove across his face beneath a five o’clock shadow, lighting up his kind eyes with a contagious smile that showcased shockingly white teeth. Marie watched him cautiously as he slowly closed the distance between them, wondering if he too was an Umbra. The Umbra seemed to have distinct eyes that were unlike any others’.
      “You’re no fun!” Fallon pouted, jumping to her feet. “I just wanted to see how they’d hold up in an interrogation. By the way, you failed miserably,” she rolled her eyes at Marie.
      “You knew we weren’t spies?” Marie choked out.
      “I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier, brother. I didn’t arrive until just now,” Cayden spoke up, sensing Marie’s rightful agitation. Fallon thrived on provoking people, and he didn’t want to give her the chance to stir up more trouble.
      “You ruin everything, Cayden!” Fallon sighed, spiraling her dagger through the air with a flick of her wrist. Marie’s eyes widened with horror as it bit into the doorframe a mere breadth from her face.
      “Fallon, enough!” Cayden cut her an angry glare, causing her to sink down into a nearby chair as she defiantly crossed her arms over her chest.
      “I’m sorry you didn’t receive a warmer welcome.” Marie nearly snorted at Cayden’s understatement. “Times are tough. Our soldiers are under strict orders to capture all outsiders. There’s not many you can trust these days.” Cayden helped Alex to his feet, and they embraced each other in a brisk hug.
      “I’m just happy you’re actually on our side,” Marie mumbled. “Why can’t Alex change?”
      “The arrow you pulled out of me was a Dingu arrow. They’re laced with Baindingu poison. Once the poison is in an Umbra’s bloodstream for a certain amount of time, they can no longer transform from their human form. That’s why we had such an impromptu landing,” Alex explained, flashing her an apologetic smile.
      “I could smell the poison as soon as I approached the hut. Foul stuff! I imagine that’s why he brought you here first, Mariella. The cure for Baindingu poison lies in the venom contained in Infragilis Lilies,” Cayden