All she knew was that she must be radiating the same weakness and neediness she was trying desperately to suppress. He didn’t want to be her mate, he just thought she needed someone to take care of her.
And maybe he was right, because God knew she hadn’t done a good job on her own, but she couldn’t let him make that kind of sacrifice for someone he didn’t even want to be with.
Maybe, just maybe, if she could prove that she could stand on her own enough to be an asset to him, a genuine partner and not just a burden, he would feel differently.
She shrugged the jacket off and passed it back to him, trying to suppress her shivers. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”
His mouth was a thin, unhappy line. “If you say so.”
They stood there in uncomfortable silence as the animals flooded out of the cave opening. It should have been a spectacular sight, like the unpacking of some incredible magical toybox—a bright rainbow of fluffalo, badgers trundling along, Nathaniel sniffing cautiously with his long snout and then bounding and fluttering into the clearing—but too much of Iz’s mind was taken up by the horrible realization that they’d never been uncomfortable with each other before.
Not even when they’d just met. Not even when Logan had still been pulling himself back out of pure hellhound mode.
Be better, she told herself.Be stronger. At leastactbetter and stronger.
She forced herself to focus. “What’s going to happen to them?”
“I don’t know.” His tight mouth drew down into an out-and-out frown. “I can’t talk to them when I’m like this. I could shift back, but ....”
But he was already having enough trouble feeling human again. Iz shook her head quickly. “I’m sure they’ll figure out a way to tell us.”
“Hiss,” her air-snake added helpfully from its position on her wrist.
Logan offered her a creaky but beautiful smile. “That little guy’s coming with you, I know that much. If you’ll have him.”
“Of course,” Iz said, raising her hand so she could speak directly to her new friend, using a reassuring and cooing tone. It was easier to talk tohimthan it was to talk to Logan, as sad as that was. “I was going to get a cat, but I could always just call you Cat.”
It looked at her suspiciously.
“Cats are very ferocious,” she promised, and the air-snake—Cat—seemed appeased. It curled itself tight again with a rumbly little hiss that really was eerily close to a purr.
One of the fluffalo butted against Logan, its earnest eyes pleading for attention. As he petted it, his face took on a quiet, awed look.
She was wondering what he was thinking but didn’t know if she should ask, and then he said, “It just keeps hitting me how long it’s been since I’ve touched things. Like this, with my hands.”
Iz wanted to take his hand and lay it against her cheek again. Kiss his fingertips. This time, they’d have no excuse like him wanting to check on her. It would just be ...touch.
That would probably count as rushing into things.
She made herself reach for her phone instead. “I’ll just call—”
The badgers stirred in the forest undergrowth, interrupting her by snuffling around her shoes. As soon as she leaned down to pet them, they moved on to Logan.
The magical tabby cats with their birdsong cries did the same thing, rubbing their triangular faces against Iz’s leg and playfully kneading at her shoes.
Iz felt the pressure building up in her throat, like tears were sealing her shut. She knew what they were doing. They were saying goodbye.
Of course they were. Magical animals were almost always wild, flitting between the human world, shift-space, and other realms Iz knew nothing about. As soon as they had gotten out of Sebastian’s enchanted shiftsilver-alloy cages, they could have opened up portals for their escape. That was probably what the other air-snakes had done.
Cat had stayed behind for her, and he seemed content to stay wrapped around her wrist. The rest of the menagerie, though ....
They had stayed with Logan and Iz long enough to make sure their favorite humans got their freedom and safety, too. But now it was time for them to go.
She blinked back tears as she got down on her knees and petted all the ones she could reach. Logan did the same, and she could hear that his breathing had gotten raspy and rough, like he was trying to hold back all the same emotions she was. These creatures had been his only companions down in the dark before she’d come along. She couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to be losing them.
One of the cats cried a long, unearthly trill, and the twilight-tinged air shivered around them. There was an odd seam in the air, almost a wrinkle in reality. Rich, golden light slanted through it, and Iz saw a glimpse of some jungle-y landscape. A breeze blew in from that other world, warm and tropical, scented with the almost-spicy smell of lush, damp greenery.
The cats gave her and Logan some parting mewls of affection, and then, one by one, they passed through the incision they had made. They held their tails up high and proud.