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I was done I was so done

Curran juht hi passed between her and Curran, an odd look, but I was too tired to care

Curran laid our baby on ed him to ether

Curran wrapped his hands aroundboth of us to him

“Name the child,” Erra said

“Conlan Diled to Curran’s father The second cadom, and she said it would protect him

Conlan Dilmun Lennart squirmed on my chest and cried There was no better sound in the world

CHAPTER

1

Thirteen months later

A THUD JERKED , my sword in

I paused, Sarrat raised

A thin sliver of watery, predawn light broke through the gap between the curtains The ic was up On my left, in the little nursery Curran had sectioned off from our bedroom, Conlan stood in his crib, wide-awake

The room was empty except for me and my son

Thud-thud-thud

Someone pounded on my front door The clock on the wall told me it was ten till seven We kept shapeshifters’ hours, late to bed, late to rise Everyone I kneare of that

“Uh-oh!” Conlan said

Uh-oh is right “Wait for ”

I ran out of the bedroo fast and quiet, and shut the door behind me

Thud-thud-thud

Hold your horses, I’ to do

It tookfrorabbed the lever, slid it sideways, and lowered thethe smallTeddy Jo’s brown eyes stared back at me

“What the hell are you doing here? Do you knohat time it is?”

“Open the door, Kate,” Teddy Jo breathed “It’s an eency”

It was always an eencies I unbarred the door and pulled it open He charged in past me His hair stuck out from his head, windblown His face was bloodless and his eyes wild He’d flown here at top speed

A sinking feeling tugged at el of death Freaking hiht it had been too quiet lately

I shut the door and locked it

“I need help,” he said

“Is anybody in danger right now?”

“They’re dead They’re all dead”

Whatever was happening had already happened

“I need you to come and see this”

“Can you explain what it is?”

“No” He grabbed ht now”

I looked at his hand on o

I walked into the kitchen, took a pitcher of iced tea out of the fridge, and poured hi to get dressed and find a babysitter for Conlan, and then we’ll go”

He took the glass The tea trembled

I ran upstairs, opened the door, and nearly collided with rinned at ray eyes He also had Curran’s sense of hu early, at ten months, which was typical of shapeshifter children, and noas running at full speed His favorite ga under various pieces of furniture, and knocking stuff off of horizontal surfaces Bonus points if the object broke

“Mo T-shirt I used as a nightgown and grabbed a sports bra

“Baddaadada!”