Shards: Book One of the Anderian Series

Chapter 43: Cara

"I really hope this isn't a case of speak of the devil," I muttered.

"The devil would be preferred."

Cara chuckled. "I've missed you too, C."

Cian's grip on me intensified until my bones protested. I pushed against him, noting the trembling in his muscles. "You can put me down. I'm fine."

"You're not fine," he growled. "You're bleeding."

"Head wounds bleed a lot," Cara and I said at the same time.

With great reluctance, Cian lowered my legs to the ground, but he kept his arm around my waist, fingers curled over my hip bone. I had to admit I appreciated the additional support, not because my wounds were terrible but because the adrenaline from the crash was wearing off, making my hands shake and knees knock together.

"I'm Bria," I announced to Cara. Neither of us reached to shake the other's hand. Perhaps they did something different in their culture. I didn't offer mine because of obvious reasons. Like the smoking, twisted car I'd just climbed out of.

"I know who you are."

Cian bared his teeth, and his wings snapped out wide. A ripple went through his flesh, giving me a glimpse of the monster he leashed. Cara had been steadily walking toward us, but now she hesitated.

"Calm down big boy," she said not quite so confidently as before. "We're not after her or anything. You know better than most that we make a point to keep tabs on Andariens, and when the Synod started pulling in a lot of magic at their compound, we figured something was up. Then there were the rumors of the last Shard Keeper. As for figuring out how Bria was involved, no one has been exactly subtle in the chase."

Her explanation eased some of the tension in Cian's body, but he didn't completely relax. "What are you doing so far from the portal?"

"I felt Bellamy..." Cara rubbed the back of her neck and looked away. "I thought maybe it was her, but I can see now it's just the soul shards."

Interesting. Bellamy seemed to be on friendly terms with everyone in Cian's family, and I wondered if Cara's interest in the woman extended beyond friendship. That would also fit my half sister's MO.

"We need your—the Fae's—help," I said when it was clear Cian wouldn't speak up.

Cara tilted her head. "Did my brother not tell you that my people and his are enemies?"

"Are they not your people too?"

"No." She said it without hesitation. "I might carry their blood in my veins, but I belong to the people who loved me. That is where my loyalty lies."

"This was stupid," Cian said, taking me by the arm and guiding me toward the road. "I don't know why Amaya thought we should come here."

"Amaya sent you here?" Cara asked, sounding genuinely shocked.

"Cian, tell her."

Hadn't he been telling me moments before the accident that the Fae would help once they learned the truth? Now he wouldn't even give her the details. Curiosity ate at me. What had happened between these two that made him so bitter? As terrible as Kohl was, I hadn't sensed this level of dislike between the brothers.

"Tell me what?" She flew in front of us, landing only a few feet away with her hands on her hips. The lighting was better here, and I could make out the delicate curve of her jaw and the rosebud shape of her lips. Blue eyes like Basilus and Cian peered at me, but where theirs turned down slightly at the outer corners, hers tilted up, giving her a distinctly feline appearance.

The man at my side remained stubbornly silent. I grabbed the necklace and raised it to eye level. Choosing my words carefully, I said, "We need to remove the Shard inside of me. If we do that, Bellamy will be whole, and maybe we can find a body to put her in."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "So? The Synod can do that."

"Not without killing her."

His voice cracked, and I touched him, hoping the physical reminder that I was still here would calm him. "Please, Cara. If you help us, then the Andariens can go home."

"Again, the Synod can do that. We have no desire to meddle in the affairs of our enemies. Or—" she looked at me and sniffed in disdain. "Humans."

Before Cian could lunge at her, I moved, drawing on every energy source I could reach. The grass, the trees, the storm rolling in, but none were as potent as the power I pulled from Cara. It flooded through me, heightening every sense and emotion. As if I hadn't truly been alive before this moment.

Sparks dripped from my fingertips, and I felt as if there were no limits to what I could do with the energy inside of me; however, I settled on something far more satisfying. A direct hit to the middle of her perfect face.

With magic fueling the strike, Cara had no chance to dodge it, and she soared across the road, slamming into the asphalt so hard it cracked and buckled beneath her. She rolled twice before stopping, one wing bent beneath her at an odd angle.

"Shit," Cian said, looking at me with wide eyes and a smile that warmed me from the inside out. "That was fucking amazing."

Wishing I could bask in the glow of his praise, I rose on my toes and placed a chaste kiss to his lips. Chaste because anything longer, and I might find myself tempted to put this power to another, more inappropriate, use. Then, I stormed across the road and grabbed Cara by the throat.

"Listen here," I said, shaking her awake. Eyes slightly unfocused, she stared at me with a mixture of fear and awe. "I don't have time for your bullshit."

"What are you?" She demanded, grabbing my wrist with both hands as I lifted her in the air.

"I'm a lot like you. A half-breed. Conceived for no other reason than to serve a purpose for someone's sick experiment."

I released her. She landed on one knee and placed a fist on the ground to steady herself. A strand of inky hair fell into her eyes. A smile, a lot like her brother's, spread across her face. "Well, why didn't you lead with that?"