“Seriously?” She sounds delighted. “It’ll keepanythingout?”
“Not anything. There’s magic that can overcome a shield of this strength, of course. This is a fairly weak one. And a really concentrated physical attack would be able to get through too. If you hurled a rock with a slingshot, that might work.”
“Can you teach me how to do it?”
“Yes,” I say. “It’s the same as before, when we were working on healing spells. The only difference is that this time you’re going to project the moon energy out in front of you,aroundyou, instead of inward. Let’s practice.”
She nods. “But let’s travel as we do,” she says. “Those Moon Casters might still be nearby.”
Chapter 48
NATE
Beingonmyownfucking sucks.
It’s hard to believe that I could feel this way about it because I’ve always reallylikedbeing alone. But something’s changed now.
Like when I see a bush with raspberries on it. This is a rare thing, and I want to tell Emlyn about it, but she’s not here. I can’t.
I go over to the bush instead and pick handfuls of raspberries, eating as I go. I gorge myself on them.
Ordinarily, this is the kind of thing that would have made me happy. The sugar that’s flooding my system right now should definitely be improving my mood.
No such luck.
Frustrated, I lie on my back under the leaves and stare up through them at the sun overhead. At least it’s cool down here. That’s something. It’s definitely a restful place to spend the day.
Em would like it here.
My stomach churns.
I can’t believe she didn’t even let me explain.
But then, why would she? It’s not like I have a great history of being honest with her. I probably wouldn’t have listened to me either, under the circumstances.
And then there’s Milo. What’s awful is that I really felt a bond with him. For years, I’ve watched the members of my pack call each other brothers, and I’ve never felt like I shared in that brotherhood. I’ve always felt outside of it.
With Milo, even though we’d only just met each other, I felt the potential for that kind of bond. It was like we were already becoming brothers.
But, no. Apparently, he’s just going to think of me as the asshole who tried to sell Emlyn out.
And he should. Because Emlyn is right—if we hadn’t met Milo when we did, I might have done exactly that.
I would have lived to regret it. I can see that now.
But I might have done it.
I twist another berry off the bush and nibble at it slowly, trying not to think about how much Em would have liked this. She loved having canned food when we were staying in that apartment. Berries would have completely made her day.
Then I hear voices off in the distance.
My heart leaps, and for a moment, I don’t even understand why I’m feeling this sudden rush of hope. Then I realize that I’m hoping the voices I’m hearing belong to Milo and Em, and that they’re coming back to find me.
As soon as I understand that thought, though, I know it isn’t so. The voices I’m hearing both belong to men, and they’re both deeper than Milo’s voice. This is someone else.
Well, fine. I could use a fight. Maybe it’ll be someone I can take a bite out of.
I pull myself deeper under the raspberry bush, hoping I won’t be seen. I’ll wait to hear what it is they’re talking about, and then I’ll jump out and surprise them. That’ll at least help me burn off some of this excess frustration.