Free Soul Betrayed by Katlyn Duncan Page A

reassuring smile before closing the back door.
    I caught Ally’s eye which slid from me to Cooper in an unreadable expression. Anger? I couldn’t imagine her being angry for Cooper easing my mind.
    I shoved those thoughts away when Cooper got into the car and Ally grinned broadly at him. Her mood swings were almost as difficult to deal with as they were with the Caeleste. I never had doubted her heritage.
    Then Ally lifted her hands in the air and whooped. “Road trip!”
    ***
    Cooper and I waited in the car while Ally transported to her house, returning several minutes later with a small bag. She tossed me a jacket. The arms were slightly longer than I needed but it worked. It had been warm in Jamie’s house but if we were going to be traveling into the night I was thankful for the extra layer.
    Ally plugged Jamie’s phone into the car charger just in case someone called. I hoped that Yera would call and this would all be a misunderstanding but I knew better than that.
    We stopped at the closest fast food restaurant before heading out of town. I hadn’t realized how hungry I had been since my late breakfast. A lot had happened and my human body didn’t fare that well. I found myself betrayed by a long yawn after I’d finished.
    Ally had the same idea. She rolled her seat back and tucked her arms close to her body. Minutes later she was lightly snoring, leaving Cooper and me to the open road.
    When he noticed Ally was sleeping, Cooper lowered her blaring pop music and switched to a mellow blues station. I smiled, remembering the day I woke up in Ally’s body and Cooper and I shared a car ride with a similar station on the radio. So much had happened since then. I sank into the seat and watched the road pass, straining to keep my eyes open. I couldn’t sleep, not when my friend was missing.
    I caught Cooper’s gaze in the rearview mirror as it slid back to the road.
    “Are you still mad at me?”
    “No,” I said honestly. “I have other things to worry about.”
    “If it helps, I don’t think he should still treat you that way.”
    Our eyes met again in the mirror.
    “Thank you.” Leaning my arm against the door I rested my head on my hand.
    “What are you thinking about?” he asked in a low voice.
    I blew out a breath and stifled the memories of Jackson that suddenly roared to the surface, he always asked me that. Apparently I was still easy to read.
    Something you should work on before infiltrating the Shadowed.
    “Everything,” I replied. “I hate to think that Yera and Jamie are missing…or worse. Why else would there be a random bottle of sleeping pills and her phone in the trash?” I didn’t want to think the worst but I was sure they were related.
    Cooper flicked his gaze to the mirror again, his gray eyes lit up as a passing car drove by. “If I can get a hold of Calliope I’ll ask her to try and find Yera as well. She was the one who introduced them.”
    I nodded, feeling a little better. Calliope would do anything for Cooper.
    Cooper changed the subject.. “Are you getting used to being human again?”
    “Just like riding a bike,” I mused.
    Cooper chuckled.
    “I’m just not sure of this mental block with my memories,” I admitted.
    “You’ve done well so far,” he commented.
    “With all memories except—” I swallowed the rest of my sentence. With each block of memories returning to me my soul and body were melding together. Each encounter with my father kept my human side dominant, yet I wondered if I would lose my soul-self completely when my memories of Jackson returned? But it might also explain a lot of things.
    “It’s getting dark out, maybe you should get some rest?”
    At the thought of sleep, my eyes started to droop again. Worrying about Jamie or my temporary amnesia wouldn’t get us there any faster so I took his advice. I stretched my legs across the back seat and rested my head against the soft fabric and closed my eyes.
    ***
    Human dreams were a lot like the