“You can’t, can you?” Trevor said. “If you ever meet a fully transformed dark shifter, you’ll know right away. No one here is fully dark.”
“Do you think they’d go dark if given a chance?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I think once the transition truly started, they’d all go running.”
“What about your dad?” Holly asked.
Trevor looked at the ground. “When the transition didn’t take, he completely lost his mind,” he continued. “He’s in an institution somewhere. I asked my mother not to tell me where.”
“Where is she?”
“With him, I assume. She left shortly after he did and didn’t tell me where she was going or when she’d be back.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Five years.”
“Oh,” she said softly. “What did you do then?”
“I took up his mantle, so to speak,” he said. “I thought if I could convince everyone his madness had transferred to me, I’d be able to figure out where the madness had originated.”
“I’m sorry,” Holly sputtered. “Are you trying to tell me you’ve been…acting?”
“More or less.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Trevor, you’ve killed people. Do you understand that? I saw you kill someone.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “I never thought it would go this far.”
“Go this far?” she repeated, not comprehending. “This isn’t some high school prank that got out of hand. This is war. This is murder.”
“I didn’t start the war,” he insisted. “I didn’t send those shifters into Silver Spruce. I’d never seen half of them before.”
“Then what were you doing there?”
“I tried to stop it. Whoever or whatever sent them, wanted you.”
Holly’s blood ran cold. “What are you saying?”
“I brought you here because I knew it would stop the slaughter. As long as you’re here, Silver Spruce isn’t a target.”
Pain shot through her temples. She pressed a palm against the side of her head as if that could make it better. “If I go back, will the town be in danger?”
“You’re in danger wherever you are,” he said. “I thought that maybe if I convinced everyone you’d been claimed by a dark shifter, things would get better.”
“Things are better if Silver Spruce isn’t in danger. I can’t say this is an ideal situation, though.” Holly shook her head. “The shield around the town can’t be a coincidence.”
“I tried so hard to save you. Instead, I’ve brought you into a trap.”
Holly stood up and walked across the room to sit beside Trevor. “You came closer to figuring it out than anyone else,” she said.
“So, you believe me?” He turned to face her, his eyes filled with too many emotions to count. Hopeful. Desperate. Sad. Relieved. So many more.
“I do.” She nodded. “But, if I find out you’re lying, I will kill you myself.”
Trevor let out a short sigh. “Duly noted.”
CHAPTER EIGHT—HOLLY
Pain shot from her neck straight down to her tailbone.
“Hng.” She didn’t know what she was trying to say, but it certainly wasn’t that.
“Ung.” Someone grunted back.
Her eyes flew open.
She sat on the floor, opposite her bed, with her back pressed ramrod straight against the wall. Trevor’s shoulder served as the world’s worst pillow. No wonder her neck ached. She’d been sleeping at a ninety-degree angle all night.
“What the hell?” she mumbled.
“Good morning to you, too.”
“Why did you let me fall asleep on the floor?”
“Why did you let me fall asleep on the floor?” Trevor muttered back.
Slowly, ever so slowly, she lifted her head. Her neck popped.
“Yikes,” he said. “That didn’t sound normal.”
“Really? Your neck bones don’t realign themselves every morning? Help me up.”
“I can’t. Helping you up means I have to get up. I don’t think I can do that right now.”
Holly groaned.
“What are you moaning and groaning for?” Trevor said. “You’re still young and spritely. This should be no problem for you.”
“Trevor, you can’t be more than twenty-five.” She sighed. “You’re spritely.”
“I’m twenty-seven on the outside, but on the inside, I’m well into my sixties.”
With what sounded like great difficulty, Trevor got to his feet. His knees popped, making Holly grit her teeth.
“Are shifters immortal?” she asked.
“What?” Trevor snorted.
“You said you’re in your sixties on the inside. Do you get to be young and pretty on the outside forever?”
“Oh.” He waved dismissively. “I just meant that all the shit I’ve dealt with in the last decade has aged me fifty years. Shifters aren’t immortal. We live a little longer than the average human, but not noticeably so.”
“Interesting.” She nodded. “Are witches immortal?”
“Honestly? I have no idea. Witches are professional secret keepers. They damn well could be immortal.” He extended a hand, which Holly took. He hauled her to her feet.
“Ow!” she whined. “Can you not rip my arm out of the socket?”
“Sorry.” He sucked in air through his teeth. “I’m not used to dealing with humans. I forgot how fragile you are.”
“Just because I’m not a bear doesn’t mean I’m fragile,” Holly muttered. “Technically, I contain the lifeforce of a goddess.”
“Is that what you’re calling the Maiden now?” he asked.
“Isn’t that what she is?”
“I never envisioned her as a goddess, so to speak.” Trevor stretched his arms over his head. “It’s hard to label something like that. So little is known about her. Are you sure you can’t talk to her now?”
“I’ve tried,” Holly assured him. “It feels like she’s gone from my head. I don’t like it.”
“Do you think the forcefield has something to do with it?”
Holly shot him a sly smile. “Oh, you’re calling it a forcefield now? I thought that was too ridiculous.”
“Shield spell. Spell shield. Forcefield. It’s all the same. You’re splitting hairs at this point,” he said.
“Whatever you
