Sera nodded once. “Take her somewhere enclosed. Quiet. Keep contact if she seeks it. Don't force anything. If bones start to move, don't restrain her.”
I almost smiled despite the moment.
“I know how shifting works.”
“This isn't ordinary shifting,” Sera said. “She's been blocked for years.”
Fair correction.
Isla made another sound and doubled over harder.
I gathered her fully then, one arm behind her back, the other under her knees. She gasped as I lifted her, then clutched at me with immediate instinct.
The hall murmured despite itself.
I turned my head toward them once.
Silence returned so fast it was almost violent.
Rodan stood chained at the front, face drained, watching with naked disbelief. Maren looked as if the floor had opened under her. Derek had gone white. Brent looke
