Magic shimmered around her, and iridescent rainbows slid over the bubble’s hull as it solidified. “It won’t let go.” She tucked the hand clotted with kelpie flesh by her leg, out of sight. “I’ll stay.” Roni shifted positions, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her free arm around them. Her forehead lowered, bracing on her kneecaps. “It’s safer in here anyway.”

A warm hand landed on my shoulder. Graeson. No wonder she had withdrawn from me. The sight of him naked wasn’t doing the already traumatized girl any favors.

His fingers tightened. “We have to leave.”

Car doors slammed nearby, and I made my choice. “I can’t abandon them.”

“Ellis…” A frustrated growl entered his voice.

“Graeson, I said no.” I twisted to stare up at him. “You should go before they catch you.”

His scarred hands lifted a damp lock of my hair. “May I?”

Really? He wanted to smell me at a time like this? Was it some kind of shifter-style farewell? “Suuurrre,” I drew out the word.

Faster than a blink, he willed his index finger to lengthen, its claw to elongate, and he sliced through the clump above his fist, leaving him with a six-inch hank of my hair. The control it had taken for such a precise shift must have been incredible. I smoothed a hand down the cut length.

“Be careful.” He clutched his prize, color high in his cheeks, and my stomach fluttered. “See you soon.”

Before I found the correct response to getting an impromptu haircut via a warg claw, he was gone. Not a single golden eye winked in the darkness. The pack had fled.

Worrying the shorn ends between my fingers, I sank down next to Harlow, wincing when the sharp edges of her dagger’s handle dug into my side. Shifting to one hip, I withdrew the blade and set it beside her in case she craved the security of a weapon when she roused. She remained still where I laid her, and I pressed two fingers to the underside of her blemished jaw. A weak pulse fluttered under her skin, comforting me. I rubbed her arm and made promises I knew I couldn’t keep under my breath.

The conclave would be here soon. They could arrange for a transfusion and a burst of magic to boost her recovery. I had to believe they would make it in time.

“Step away from the body and put your hands in the air.”

I did as the masculine voice instructed. “I’m Agent Camille Ellis with the Earthen Conclave.” I yelled loud enough to be heard from his position. “This is Harlow Bevans. She’s a consultant.” I linked my fingers in the air over my head. “She’s lost a lot of blood. She needs medical attention.”

“Medics,” the same man boomed. “You’ve got patients waiting.”