Free Shadowborn by Jocelyn Adams

shivered as his thoughts brushed against my insides like a hand inside a velvet glove.
    “Loud and clear.”
    “Perfect. Let’s get the hell out of here.” I took a step, but his hand gripped my shoulder.
    “Why didn’t you tell me how bad it was?”
    Confused, I glared at him. “ How bad what was?”
    “The rage. The loneliness. The ache over him.” Nix’s gaze darted to Liam and back to me. Disdain leaked into his mental tone. “How are you existing this way?”
    I gripped his hand harder before ducking out of his grasp, unable to meet his hard stare. “ You get used to it.” Remembering what Gallagher had said about Nix’s little adventure outside of Dun Bray, I did a little prodding of my own.
    Nix went rigid and shut me out like a shockwave slamming into my brain. “Don’t,” he said aloud and strode a few feet away.
    Wow. That was new. Although I wanted to demand he tell me, it wasn’t the right time for that little showdown.
    Donovan led us through the woods to a dirt road. Liam’s gaze pressed on my back as he walked behind me, but he remained silent—probably sulking. The farther I could distance myself from him, the better off I’d be, my aching body be damned.
    When a sedan came into view, I stopped. “You know I hate cars, Gallagher.” Every time I climbed in one, I lost all connection to the Goddess, and my body grew weak.
    “We are not permitted to use a gateway to enter their realm,” Donovan said. “It isn’t far, and Liam in owl form can’t carry us all. Besides, this vehicle is made of a different alloy that doesn’t affect the fae as iron does.”
    “I can take Lila on my back, and the rest of you can go in the car.” Liam sidled up close to me, running his fingers along the front of his shirt as if to draw my attention to the playground that lay beneath. Although I tore my gaze away, my belly tingled, the effect carrying lower.
    “No,” Nix and I said in unison.
    Liam’s obvious act of enticement ceased, but I didn’t study his face to revel in whatever expression his failure had erected.
    “The car will be fine.” I strode past Donovan and climbed into the front seat of the black sedan. If I’d realized Liam would be driving, I would have gotten in the back instead of the front.
    After a thirty-minute drive in silence, we pulled into an open field.
    Liam shut down the car, gripped the steering wheel and turned to me. “He told you.”
    The back doors opened. Three fae scrambled into the darkness as if chased by hell hounds and shut the doors behind them.
    I slid and leaned against the window and crossed my arms over my chest.
    “He did. He fucking told you.” Liam slammed his palm against the steering wheel, flung the door open and launched himself out.
    I climbed out and rounded the car to where he paced with a hand over the back of his neck. “Really? You’re blaming Nix? Well, for your information, I ordered him to tell me. Do you really think I’m so stupid that I wouldn’t have found out?” Tears threatened, but I cleared my throat to force them away. “You were going to go off, get hitched, fuck your wife and come back and suck face with me without a word? Is that it?”
    “The only one who would have a problem with that is you.”
    I laughed, a sharp, frantic sound. “You. Are. Un-freaking-believable.”
    “Wait!” His arms flew around his head in frustration. “That didn’t come out right. I didn’t mean—you don’t understand why I’m doing this. Let me—”
    “I know why, and even though it tears my heart out, I understand why you think you have to produce an heir. But you lied to me. Again. I only have so much forgiveness in me, and you’ve been running a deficit since the day I met you.”
    “Please.” He reached for me, but I backed away and put a hand up.
    “Don’t.” With some effort, I unclenched my jaw. “I have enough to deal with these days without pining over you. I’m better off alone, like I’ve always