The Felines attacked her. Andrea swung the sword, feeling Shifter glee when bright blood coated one wildcat’s striped shoulder. The sword at this moment was not so much sacred relic as handy weapon.

“Come on!” Andrea shouted at them. “What are you afraid of?”

They snarled and circled her. Good, Andrea. She might be the daughter of the greatest warrior in Faerie, but that didn’t mean she was practiced at sword fighting.

First thing I do after I find Sean—hook up with my new dad and have him give me a few sword lessons.

“Father!” Andrea shouted as she swiped the sword at the Felines. She thought she was in the right place, on top of the ley line, but she didn’t have time to be certain. “Fionn Cillian! I need you!”

The Felines attacked her, all three at once, intent on slaughter. Their Collars were sparking like crazy but that didn’t seem to slow them down.

Andrea swung the sword again, slicing through fur, but the Felines were dexterous enough to avoid her more deadly thrusts. They jumped and circled like domestic cats around a snake, avoiding the sword’s strike.

“Any day now, Father!”

White light broke the shadows under the trees. The fabric of reality rent about six feet away from her, and Fionn appeared in the opening to Faerie, his chain mail glittering. He had a bow in his hands, arrow knocked, the fury in his black eyes matching that in Dylan’s.

Fionn let an arrow fly straight into the haunch of one of the Felines. The big cat roared and fell, but he was up almost instantly, his paw turning human long enough to wrench the arrow out of his leg.

The three Felines launched themselves at Andrea, ready for the kill. Andrea turned to face her father.

“Dad!” she shouted. “Catch!”

She threw the sword at Fionn. Fionn let go of his bow, reached out his hand, and caught the sword by the hilt. He laughed, flourished the blade, and vanished.

The Felines stopped as one in front of Andrea. The air behind her was smooth and unbroken, the way into Faerie gone.

The cats turned their gazes from where Fionn had been to where Andrea stood now. They bled from shallow cuts she’d given them, and the one who’d been stuck with the arrow limped. But they weren’t dead, not by a long way. Yellow eyes narrowed; breaths burned hot.

Andrea turned and ran, shedding clothes as she went. As soon as she flowed into her wolf, she whirled around, teeth bared, and attacked the Felines who’d dared hurt her mate.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Sean opened his eyes to a Lupine nose right in his face. “Oh, beautiful,” he croaked. “Dog breath.”

He tried to open his eyes wider but found that he couldn’t see much past the black and wet nose. “Where the hell am I?”

The Lupine growled, and while Sean had lived a long time among Lupines, that didn’t mean he understood every nuance of every sound they made. He raised a hand to his face, noting that no part of him did not hurt. He’d been clawed and shot, beaten, and half electrocuted by his Collar.

He lay in a dry cave, but that didn’t much help him figure out where he was. The hills around Austin were sprinkled with caves, some of which were tourist attractions, some known only to weekend spelunkers. Sean assumed that this cave was in the last category; that is, if he was still anywhere near Austin at all. There were plenty of caves out in the middle of nowhere.

As Sean’s senses returned, so did his intense pain. He closed his eyes, as though that would force it away.

The sword wasn’t here. Its presence was unmistakable, Sean’s link to it formed the day he’d been chosen as Guardian. He hoped to the Goddess that he’d buried it well enough, that he could get his hands on a cell phone so he could call Liam or his father to go find it before anyone else did.

The Lupine was sniffing him again. If he drools on me, I’m killing him.

Sean opened his eyes to see the Lupine shift back to the man Sean had already placed by scent—Wade, Andrea’s pack leader. Sean hoisted himself into a sitting position and then spent a few minutes huddled against a wave of pain. “I feel like shit.”

Wade backed away. “You were pretty far gone. You might want to lie down again.”

Not if you’re going to keep poking your nose in my face. “How did you find me, anyway?”

“I was following Jared. I feared he’d gone to harm Andrea, and that’s against the rules.”

“Bugger the rules. Jared was after me. What happened to him? We were fighting, and he went down.”

“He’s dead. I didn’t have room to bring you both.”

“Dead?” Poor, stupid sod. “So you left him for the humans to find?”

“I told you, I didn’t have room for him. You’re lucky I got you away. Jared was a fool and above himself.”

“Yes, he was a thrice-damned idiot, but he was also under your protection. What are you going to tell his dad, who is a Shiftertown leader?”

Wade shrugged. “That Jared broke the rules and suffered the consequences. Shifter law is Shifter law.”

What a piece of work. Wade was the worst kind of pack leader—enforcing rules to the letter without any thought of mercy.

“I have to go back,” Sean said. He started to push himself to his feet but fell back with a gasp. “Shite.”

“You’re hurt. Rest a while.”

“Did you call for help? Call Liam—why haven’t you already?”

“Your cell phone is broken, I don’t have one, and Glory’s wasn’t on her. I wanted to get you to safety.”