Reign of Shadows by Melissa Wright Read Free Book Online Page A

didn’t make sense, didn’t fit. They’d been alone. And before that… “My mother,” she breathed.
    He was suddenly closer, reaching out to her as if to comfort, and her ins tincts flared, jolting her back. He dropped his hands. “She was smarter than they gave her credit for.” A smile teased the corner of his mouth. “She deceived them. Deceived us all.”
    The shadow crossed the floor again, and Brianna realized it was not the steady motion of wind through a fan, but the silhouette of a soldier. Logan’s men had ascended to the roof.
    The dark-haired man drew back, and Brianna felt heat from the metal shutter behind her, an unnatural, sudden warmth that told her Logan was trying his new power. Brianna’s gaze returned to the man, both of them knowing it wouldn’t be long. Logan’s team would be breaching the security of the room within minutes.
    “Not today,” he said, regret in his voice. He reached a hand up, the backs of his fingers grazing over her cheek. “The shadows will come for you, Brianna. There’s nothing I can do to stop it.”
    She stared after hi m, the vague aura of his power teasing the edges of her vision as he disappeared. It might have been minutes, might have been seconds, but the now came crashing back to her and she turned … just in time to watch Logan burn through the door.
    He stood, shoulders bent, chest heaving. He must have used every bit of energy he had. She’d told him that he’d know his limitations, but it hadn’t seemed to stop him from surpassing the mark. She moved toward him, wincing at the heat that radiated from the ruined doorway, bits of molten steel dripping onto the concrete.
    “Where is he?” Logan breathed.
    She shook her head, purposefully not glancing at the hidden egress in the safe room. “No, Logan.” She slipped under his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his back, and she could feel the weariness from him. “Let’s just get out of here.”
    Logan had to have understood that it was the man from her visions, that they’d been tricked into coming. But he didn’t question what the man had wanted. Didn’t ask why he’d let her go. He simply stared into the space beyond the door, and then pressed his jaw to Brianna’s hair as he gestured for his team to clear out.

Chapter Eleven
    Brianna
     
    “Damn it, Brianna. What are you trying to do?”
    Brianna sighed, staring up at her sister as she stood, arms braced at her sides. The pacing was gone; nothing was left in Emily but fury.
    “You think you have to do this yourself?” Emily demanded. “What good are the rest of us if you leave us in the dark?” She leaned forward. “What are we supposed to do?”
    “I didn’t have a choice, ” Brianna answered. She felt Logan beside her, and was suddenly sorry she’d used the word. He’d still not said anything about her decision to ignore his warning, but she knew it was her choices that kept getting them into trouble. She bit her lip, reminding herself that they were okay. Whatever that was, whatever had happened, things were fine now. Better than fine.
    Logan had recovered in record time, dozing off during the ride back and waking in time to find Emily jerking open their car door to confront them—all of which had happened mere minutes ago. Brianna hadn’t had the chance to decipher any of it before they were dragged back to her room. But they were okay. They would be okay. She pulled her lip free, gaze returning to Emily with a certainty she finally felt. “It was the only way.”
    Emily’ s arms tightened, knuckles going white, and Aern stepped up beside her, placing a hand on the small of her back. “Brianna,” he asked, “What do you know now that we didn’t know before?”
    She’d given them the short version of events, but they were still no closer to finding Brendan, to understanding what this man wanted. “He must be afraid of the other shadows,” she said. “Or at least not want to interfere.” Her thoughts returned to his