Free Born in the Shadows (In the Shadows Series Book 1) by Courtney McPhail Page B

speed that was too fast to come to any conclusions and the other half was moving so slow that it would be lucky if it figured out anything before Christmas. She was on a rollercoaster and even though she wanted to get off, she could not voice her desires because everything was zipping by too fast.
                  Sampson had tried to kill her. Supernatural beings existed. An immortal teenager had saved her from death. She was now something called a Shadow Walker. There were parallel dimensions. A family of ancient princesses, peasants and philosophers lived in this giant mansion. There was a kid who was actually two thousand years old. That same kid was both a Shadow Walker and her father.
                  She had been compartmentalizing everything she had been told but the mental walls were beginning to crumble. The weight of everything she had learned came crashing down on her. It was too much.
                  She had been a fool to believe any of this was real. There was no way this was happening; it had to be a delusion.
                  “This can’t be true. There is just no way, I don’t care if Mary slapped me. This is just not possible.”
                  The words came out in a whisper and Nicky frowned, his eyes filled with sympathy.
                  “I’m sorry Cordelia but this is all real. You will find that in our world the impossible is quite often very possible.”
                  At his words her heart began to pound in her chest, feeling like it was doubling in size with each beat. She tried to take deep breaths but she couldn’t seem to get in enough air. Her palms became clammy and a lead ball of dread bottomed out her stomach.
                  Nicky moved in front of her, his eyes wide with concern. He took her hand in his own, his thumb stroking the top of her hand.
                  “Cordelia, you’re having a panic attack. You need to take a few deep breaths to calm yourself.”
                  She did as he instructed, breathing deep through her nose before exhaling in a loud whoosh through her mouth. It didn’t help much because even with the extra oxygen, her brain was still racing a million miles a minute.
                  It was too much for one person to process in such a short time. She was a bundle of conflicting emotions and she could not find an anchor in the chaos. She wanted it to stop. God she just wished everything was back to the way it had been before. She wanted to just close her eyes and find herself back home.
                  “Child, don’t worry. I can take you home. Just don’t move.”
                  He let go of her hand and another flare of panic went up inside her at the loss of contact but he was back in moments, urging her to lift her head. She looked up and realized that Nicky had turned off all the lights in the room. She knew that the room should be pitch black with the lack of light and the heavy drapes on the windows but she was still able to make out the details in the dark room.
                  Nicky took both her hands in his own and squeezed tightly. “This may feel strange but I promise it won’t harm you. Just hold tight to my hands and you’ll be okay, I promise.”
                  The feel of his hands helped steady her a bit and she nodded her head. Nicky closed his eyes and his brow knit in concentration.
                  The shadowy details of the library disappeared as the room went black around them. The sound of gusting winds filled her ears but the air around her did not move. As soon as the sound started, it stopped and the blackness around them lightened to reveal another room.
                  The achingly familiar walls that were around her started her body shaking all over again. They were in the living room of her apartment. There was her