Page 35 (1/2)

I recognized hiuy I’d snaked a wave frooofy-foot I’d dropped in on twice actually, and left in the soup

on one of the best waves of the day

In all honesty, I hadn’t even thought about it I’d never seen him before, so he wasn’t a local He had no style either, and I sure as hell wasn’t out there to make friends

He seizedin that very instant I couldn’t possibly fight hi His expression… even more so

He’d leftinto the sand Cru to as left of roup of randoh the dunes

Being made like that was cold Cruel I had no idea who I was, or who I would beco at all

The first tie happened I didn’t even remember it The shift occurred at such a primal level, it wiped out any human memory I woke up naked in Malibu’s Equestrian Park, with so over me I was huddled and cold Disheveled and covered in filth My limbs ached like I’d just run three marathons, and my head still spun from the reverse metamorphosis

In time, I’d learn what happened to me I’d learn how to prepare for it, how to recover — even how to control it, thanks to Xiooro

But for several long months? My life was a ind of confusion and constant dread A twisted, living nightmare, from which I could never fully wake up

I shook h the broken expanse of the stronghold’s inner courtyard Nature had claimed back most of the interior, but not so much with the cobbled floor

“How old is this place?” Serena was asking

“Twelfth century,” Broderick replied casually “Although the cathedral went up about two hundred years later”

The cathedral…

It had been the center of our lives for a while The one place we all belonged Meeting up with Broderick, Karessa, and the rest of roup of like- home

We got closer and also quieter The shattered arches of the once-beautiful Gothic cathedral looht as we stepped into its shadow It was here that we’d gathered In and beneath this hallowed place, we’d all been together as one