Deserted (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 4)

By the time we needed to leave to meet Darin and the others, I was beyond sated. I was also happy. At least for a moment, until reality called, forcing all of us back into warrior mode.

Standing in the bathing area, I was dressed in my magically cleaned clothing, along with the bronze armor and weapons I’d called from the ship. Reece watched as I braided my hair, adjusting it to fit around the longswords I had in a hilt down my spine.

This moon I’d decided to wear multiple weapons because one never knew what attack was waiting around the corner. This sword, along with my curved blades sheathed on either side of my body, gave me a sense of comfort.

“We need to leave now,” he said softly, pushing up to stand, looking massive and powerful, dressed in his long sleeve black shirt, black cargo pants, and a few strategically placed armor plates. He didn’t use any weapons, because his sands were always present to take that role. My energy could do the same, but for the most part, I was old-fashioned and preferred the clash of real steel.

“Let’s do it,” I murmured.

When we left the room, the others were waiting for us, each dressed in their own version of battle gear. Most of them wore black like Reece, except for Len, of course, who was flashing a lot of gem-dotted silver, visible whenever his coat parted.

A Guardian we hadn’t met before led us from our area into the main streets and to a large domed building that, I would estimate, was about center of this particular village. The dark-moon outside hadn’t shown us much, but once we were inside, more than a few desert lights highlighted a banquet table, dominating the center of the space.

Our guide indicated that we should move toward the table, which was low to the ground and surrounded by cushions. He left us as soon as we were seated—I ended up with Reece on one side and Lucien on the other. Len, Alistair, and Galleli sat across from us. Within a minute, a dozen or so Guardians hurried in, taking seats around us.

Darin was last, skin moon-kissed and much browner than the last time I’d seen him. ‘Welcome,’ he said, spreading his arms wide and flashing all of those perfect teeth. ‘Thank you for waiting for us. I’ve arranged energy foods to refresh everyone before we leave again in the new-moon.” As he sat at the head of the table, conversation picked up between the other Guardians who’d been on their ship, while Darin continued to focus on us. “I even have some desert flower elixir, which has been brewing for many moons.’

Reece’s power spiked in our bond, and just as he opened his mouth to say something not very nice, I would wager, I reached out and grasped his hand under the table. His eyes clashed with mine, and I shot him a small smile. We didn’t need to waste our energy battling Darin too.

With a long sigh, he turned back to the princeps. “Thank you. We appreciate the hospitality.”

He almost sounded like he meant it this time.

“What’s desert flower elixir?” Lucien asked, leaning forward to see Darin.

The princeps smiled. “It’s brewed from a rare flower that only grows in two parts of our world.”

“Let me guess,” I said with a soft laugh, “one part is the land of the Guardians.”

His smile grew broader. “Excellent guess. But yes, it grows here and the Delfora. It can boost energy threefold and give us all an edge before we head into battle tomorrow.”

‘It can also have the same effect as alcohol on humans,’ Reece warned. “Thankfully, the more negative influences will be out of our system by the new-moon, leaving only the extra energy. So, just beware for now.”

Darin clapped him on the shoulder before quickly retrieving his hand at the look the desert god shot his way. ‘Reece is correct. If you sleep off the effects, it will definitely be worth it in the new-moon.’

Reaching down, I ran my hand over my blades, calming at the touch of metal. The impending battle had us all on edge, but we shouldn’t waste time when we could be discussing strategy. “We need to leave in the early hours of the new-moon,” I said, “if we want to have a shot at reaching the Delfora at the same time or, hopefully, a little before Tsuma and the others.”

“As long as we beat the power moon,” Reece said, “they will have no advantage.”

A moon we were only guessing about the time of arrival

There’s only so much we can plan, Galleli said. Darin and others jumped, but they didn’t say a word against his form of communication. At this point, we’ve just got to do our best and let the sands fall where they are destined to lie.

“Cryptic and somewhat terrifying, as per usual,” Lucien said with a snort.

The food started to arrive then, and the conversations down the table switched to more lighthearted topics as everyone focused on refueling. All of us had been on rations by the end of our trip down the sand rivers, so this fresh array of energy-restoring foods was most welcome.

‘We even had some high-quality plasma brought in for you,’ Darin said to Lucien. ‘It took a few days to trade for it, and it’s not going to be as good as what you get on Valdor, but it should sustain you for this battle.’

Lucien lifted the glass cup that had been placed before him a few minutes ago, and as he took a sip, his face relaxed. ‘This is perfect. Same as what we had on the ship.’

Already his color was more golden, skin shining as his cells sucked in the freshly harvested energy he required to keep regenerating. Alistair was the same, seemingly flush in water here, his curls no longer dull and limp, skin without a single flake. Stopping might have cost us some time, but in the end, we were heading into this battle at our strongest.

An advantage I knew from experience could spell the difference between life and death.

Focusing on the fruits before me, I filled my plate to assuage the ache in my stomach that now required physical sustenance. We also cracked open the fae seeds Galleli had brought from the boat, sharing the contents with any who wanted to try them. I split the shell and lifted out a small, brown seed. Sniffing it, I found it had a slight chocolate scent. Mera had said that her favorite food originated from a tree, and it seemed that this seed was very similar.

Only this tree originated in Faerie and was almost as rare as the desert flower. The princeps had showed their support for our mission by including these nearly priceless seeds in our storage—as much as Darin did sharing the elixir with us. Everyone was putting in their all to win this war.

“Will the seeds and elixir have any odd effect together?” I asked as I swallowed the seed, which had almost no taste but did leave a burning path down my chest until it settled in my center. Tingles sparked under my skin, my blood soon buzzing as I was filled with a sense of power and freedom.

“Together they will heighten each other and inflate both negative and positive symptoms of the power boosts,” Reece said, his lips twitching. “It could get wild around here tonight.”

Already feeling that, I laughed louder than normal, happy to feel this buzz if it meant that tomorrow we’d be successful.

We had a true chance, and even if there were no guarantees in life, I was determined that this time, no bones would be left in these lands.