ShadowSong [Book 3]

Chapter 50 - Hunters

Banshee didn't find him.

Some thirty minutes later when the bells of the Starlight Hall began to chime, Banshee gave the lonely, darkened hallway she stood in one, final glance before sheathing her daggers and heading back. She held the hope that maybe, somehow, one of the others had a lead, but some other part of her already knew the truth.

After spotting Cryo alone by the stairs of the Starlight Hall, she jumped off the rooftop and landed beside him, giving him a small shake of her head when he turned his head towards her.

"We didn't find anything either," said Cryo.

Banshee sucked in a breath and nodded. "Only way he escaped us is with the Serpent's help or the understreets. I tried to find an entrance and get in there, but the shadows below the ground are almost solid."

"We assumed as much," said Cryo. "DragonFae attempted a scrying and various spells to locate Wyvern but they were all ineffective. When you didn't respond to my taps, we rang the bells."

Banshee's chest felt tight. "I didn't feel any taps."

Cryo lifted a claw and struck his tattoo once. "Did you--"

"No."

Cryo paused as Banshee rubbed her hands over her face, her knuckles touching the inside of her visor as she fought not to rip it off and scream.

Then, in a voice like soft snow, he asked, "How are you?"

"I'm..."

She stopped herself from saying fine. She gave herself a moment to take a breath, to assess how she really felt, and found everything more than a little mixed up. She took her hands off her face and took a step closer to Cryo.

"I, um," she said, biting her lip as she looked up at him. "Not great." She hesitated, dropping her gaze, not quite able to hold his the way she wanted to. "Can I, um, have a hug?"

Cryo didn't even hesitate, didn't scold her about priorities or ask why. He just reached out, stepped closer, wrapped his arms tight around her and pulled her into his chest.

Banshee pressed her forehead against him, closed her eyes and held onto her partner like he was the one thing keeping her solid. She felt his heartbeat, heard the whispers of his song, tangled within the layered melodies of shadows that echoed through her mind.

"Reality check?" she mumbled into his tunic.

"Reality check."

"You're Jason?"

"I am."

Her brain didn't like that for some reason, but she trusted him enough to tell her brain to shove it. "And I'm Banshee?"

"You are."

"And I'm transformed right now?"

"Yes," said Cryo. "A little different from your usual, but you certainly seemed able to handle Skinwalker alone."

"I think I transformed using the Shadowsong," she said, focusing on the feel of his tunic under her fingers. It was real. It was familiar. The clean, pure scent of the gentle frost that crept over her skin, protecting her like it protected the most fragile sprouts from the harshest weather. "Viri isn't part of this. I Screamed before, and I'm not dim yet."

"Perhaps it's how the Serpent is creating Luminaries," said Cryo. "Hydra, Skinwalker--both were able to use their ultimates without sacrificing their transformations."

"So I'm not crazy?"

"Not crazy."

They remained like that a moment longer, until Banshee's chest relaxed, until she felt like she could breathe without gasping for air.