Infinite Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress Book 5) by Linsey Hall Page B

binoculars. They couldn’t see us well through our cover, but we needed to be quick.
    “I don’t think they’ve replaced the Heartstone yet,” I said.  
    “Yeah.” Aidan peered up at the guards. “There’d be far fewer guards if they had.”
    “So you know what you’re heading into,” I said.
    “I do.” He leaned over and kissed me quickly, then said, “You should shift now.”
    I nodded, reaching out for his magic, getting ready to mirror his ability to turn into any animal. Though I could turn into a wolf with my own stolen power, I needed to be a bird for this.
      Aidan would drive through the gates alone. I would stay outside, shifted into falcon form. If he needed my help, I could fly over the ramparts and rescue him. Hopefully no one would think twice of one native bird. Once inside, I could use my powers—illusion, lightning, whatever it took—to get him out of whatever pickle he was in.  
    “I really don’t think you need to do this, though,” Aidan said. “It will be fine.”
    “I know it will. I just want to be on hand in case it isn’t, okay?”
    He nodded sharply.  
    I grinned, taking off my comms charm and handing it to him, then let the magic flow through me, warming my limbs. A second later, the world flashed before my eyes, and I shrunk into falcon form.
    I sat on the passenger seat as Aidan shortened the cord on my comms charm and fastened it around my neck. It hung a bit awkwardly, but it worked. I’d have preferred to shift into a sparrow or smaller bird, but they weren’t big enough to support the weight of the charm.  
    He touched his charm and said, “I’ll be back soon.”
    The words echoed out of the charm around my neck, and I tilted my head as a nod. The charms worked.  
    Aidan lowered the car’s side window, and I hopped onto the window sill and flew out, catching the breeze beneath my wings.
    I flew away from Aidan’s car, approaching Glencarrough from the south. About a quarter mile from the gates, I found a tree branch to sit on so that I could watch.
    Aidan’s car pulled up to the gate and stopped.  
    “See you when this is over,” he said through the comms charm.  
    A heavy groaning noise came from the charm, the heavy wooden gate lifting.  
    This was it.
    My feathers prickled.
    I watched him drive through, catching sight of a man with wild yellow hair walking along the ramparts, then disappearing, presumably down some stairs.  
    Only one man had hair like that. Mathias. The lion Shifter who knew I was a FireSoul, but who’d kept my secret. I’d managed to convince him I wasn’t a threat, but it’d been hard. I doubted I could convince the rest of the Council if they figured out what I was. I may have helped them save Amara, the little girl who’d tended the Heartstone, but that wouldn’t buy me complete immunity from their fears and superstitions.
    “Mathias is approaching,” Aidan murmured through the charm.  
    I could just imagine Mathias walking down the long steps pressed against the interior wall of Glencarrough. He’d greeted me from that direction last time I visited.
    I heard a car door slam and assumed that Aidan had gotten out of the car and stepped into the enormous cobblestone courtyard of Glencarrough. As I remembered it, cars would be parked at the edges in front of the large stone buildings.  
    Worry gnawed at me. There were at least a hundred Shifters in there, many of whom would be watching Aidan from their position guarding the walls. Aidan was more powerful than any of them, but he was vastly outnumbered.
    “You’re back soon,” Mathias’s voice echoed through my comms charm.
    “I have something important to discuss,” Aidan said.
    “It’s a good thing that Cass didn’t come,” Mathias said in a low voice. “I worry about the others sensing her signature.”
    “They haven’t been suspicious otherwise?” Aidan asked.
    “No. I’ve heard nothing. She’s best off keeping a low profile.”
    “I’ll see that