Free The Blue Woods by Nicole Maggi

And the power of Friuli, the Olive Grove, is the power that binds all these together. Immortality.
    Finally! I’ve been dying to know all this for years! Cal charged through brush and trees. So what happens when you accidentally touch the water?
    Slow down, I told him as twigs snapped beneath his paws. We’re almost there.
    Have you ever touched the water? What did you see?
    The silvery bark of the birch trees shone in the darkness, and the rumble of the Waterfall echoed back to us. I mean it, Cal—slow down—
    Was it like a hallucination or was it like a dream that you had to decipher?
    Slow down! I screeched.
    Too late. Cal’s powerful body burst through the trees before he could stop himself. He skidded to a halt at the frozen bank of the stream above the Waterfall and missed colliding with the magical barrier by inches. At the pool down below, the Bobcat and the Boar looked up.
    I dove in front of Cal. Get back, I ordered.
    But—
    I swiped one of my talons a breath away from his nose. Do NOT question me! GET BACK!
    He stumbled into the brush at the same moment that the Boar reached the top of the Waterfall. From the other side of the stream, Cora burst into view. She’d be in hiding, on patrol. In an instant, she was by my side. We dove, claws outstretched. The Boar feinted away from me, but Cora caught it on the other side. It squealed, blood pouring from its nose, and tripped backward. I clipped its flank with my beak, and it rounded on me, its long, pale tusks aimed right at my heart. I buffeted up out of its reach as Cora struck it again, this time at its neck.
    Breathing hard, the Boar made one last attempt to gore us, but we were too fast for him. He knew better than to waste his energy trying to catch two winged creatures who could endlessly fly out of his reach with every attack. It stumbled back inside the barrier and joined the Bobcat at the bottom of the Waterfall. During the entire fight, the Bobcat hadn’t moved at all, keeping the Malandanti’s hold on the Waterfall secure by remaining inside the barrier.
    Cora and I flew back into the birch trees and found Cal pacing back and forth. I could’ve helped, he said.
    You’re not trained, Cora said. You could’ve been hurt.
    It was just one Malandante—
    The only way we will regain the site is if we have a complete Clan, I said. We can’t risk any threat to that. Until you are fully trained, you will stay out of battle and listen to everything I say.
    Cora cocked her head at me. I don’t think your own Guide could’ve said it any better.
    Pride and reluctance warred inside me. I still didn’t think I was ready to be a Guide. But I couldn’t go against the Concilio , and I had to trust that Nerina knew what she was doing. It was vital that our Clan be complete, and there was no way Nerina would allow me to be Cal’s Guide just for kicks or just to teach me a lesson. Are you going back on patrol? I asked Cora.
    No sense now that they know I’m here, she said. I’m going to head back to Jeff’s.
    See you back there. Cal and I headed back into town while Cora swooped away toward Jenny’s house. So what happens now? Cal asked.
    Now we train. Every night. I told him that the Sands house was our home base for now and why we were all staying there. You should just plan to be there every day after school. There’s a lot going on right now, with all the Clans.
    When we got back to his house, Cal paced around his body for a minute. I remembered what Heath had told me, so long ago. Think of something that ties you to your human form.
    He stilled, and a moment later the Catamount disappeared. While Cal gulped down big breaths of air, I dissolved into my own body. I kept my eyes closed for a moment before I sat up, trying to calm the beating wings of the Falcon that still lived inside me. When I opened my eyes, Cal sat on the edge of the bed, his hand pressed to his heart.
    â€œAre