Veiled Shadows (The Age of Alandria: Book Two) by Morgan Wylie Read Free Book Online Page B

friend. “I’m sorry, Chel, I forget that this is new to you as well. It is in between the realms. It’s a place for the souls of the fey to go while they wait to be escorted into their afterlife... kind of like, um... a purgatory or a place of limbo. But the living are not supposed to be able to get there!” Finn suddenly said with more vehemence as he glared at Hunter. Maybe to Hunter or maybe to no one in particular he said, raking his hands through his thick hair, “How did she get there? She’s not supposed to be there!” Then he started pacing again.
    Hunter looked directly at Finn. “No, she is not supposed to be there!!” he shouted, expressing his own anger. “I do not understand it! Nothing went wrong with the magic...” He too started pacing back and forth in the small space used as a kitchen.
    Chel, suddenly feeling claustrophobic with two angry men taking up the space in the already small cottage, decided to sit in one of the chairs in front of the fire. But suddenly even that wasn’t comforting. She had so much pent-up nervous energy and frustration, her legs were bouncing. Her skin felt like it was crawling. She felt so helpless and out of control, it was making her edgy. She scratched at her skin, rotating her shoulders and cracking her neck, and her eyes grew wild. Chel needed to do something. She bolted to her feet, shocking Hunter and Finn out of their thoughts long enough for them to stare at her. She glared at them both. “I have to do something! What can we do? There must be something!!” she shouted angrily.
    Hunter’s eyes grew wide with sudden understanding. The shift was upon Chel and by her reaction, he believed this was new to her. But the timing couldn’t be worse. Stopping before Chel, he stood tall and regal. He understood the dynamics of the shifter clans somewhat, and Chel’s family specifically. His hand on her shoulder, he stared into her eyes unflinchingly. He infused her with a calm energy that he was able to impart as an Elder—filling Chel with hope and peace. Her shoulders relaxed a bit and he stepped back.
    She nodded, then her eyes filled with despair as she whispered, “What can we do?”
    His eyes grew sad and he sighed. “There is nothing we can do but wait and hope that Andreinna gives Daegan something useful or that Kaeleigh finds her way back to us before she is lost.”
    That was unacceptable to Chel. She stomped her feet like a child throwing a tantrum and turned to storm out of the much too confining cottage. Finn started to go after her, but Hunter gripped his arm to stop him. Finn looked up at him questioningly. “Let her go. She will be all right. It has been a long time, Finnlan, I had hoped that we could talk and put some of the past behind us. There is much I wish to know about my granddaughter,” Hunter said, extending a figurative olive branch to Finn.
    “Yes, there is much I would like to say.” Finn nodded respectfully but then added a bit stubbornly, “But as far as Kaeleigh goes you can ask her what you wish to know when she is awake.”
    “I see. You are quite loyal to her,” Hunter added with a slight knowing twinkle in his aging eyes. “That is good, Finnlan, she will continue to need you as her future here continues to unfold.”
    Finn looked suspiciously for a moment at Hunter then resigned himself to a chair in front of the fire. He was tired. He was concerned about Kaeleigh. He was concerned about being in Alandria himself and whether he would be able to be there for her when she needed him most. He was also leery and mistrusting of Daegan, which he intended to ask Hunter about.
    They talked of all that had transpired in Alandria since Finn’s unfortunate departure. At some point during their discussions, Chel had returned looking flush and a little more subdued. She didn’t say much but Finn gathered that she had gone running... again. Now knowing she was beginning to transition, that made more sense to him. She eventually