Page 16 of Truthfinder’s Promise

A Truthfinder. Meredith was a Truthfinder. If he’d had the energy, he would have laughed. Shifters had a basic working understanding of Aspect and its affinities, and he’d grown up being warned that a strong Truthfinder wouldn’t be completely fooled by a Shifter’s glamour.

He’d gone to bed with the one woman who could see right through him. How had she hidden her Aspect? He’d never gotten the slightest hint of it when they were together.

“And while this isn’t the place for the conversation about why you are not fine,” Meredith continued, “which we are definitely going to have later, I’m not letting you pour power into a—” she clearly hesitated over what to call him before settling on “—dog in this bad a condition.”

“But—” The redhead broke off as her face turned a sickly shade. She whirled around and called to the group of kids at large. “Bathroom?” Fingers pointed, and she turned and ran.

One of the kids—a young girl—narrowed her eyes at him. Meredith turned abruptly, hiding him from the girl’s view, and trailed after the redhead. Outside the closed bathroom door, Meredith took the opportunity to put him down, careful to keep her body between him and any onlookers.

The tall, black-haired woman who had opened his prison came to stand next to them. A frown creased her brow as she stared at the closed door. “What is going on with her? She looked like she was going to hurl after holding back the alligators earlier.”

Why did everyone keep talking about alligators? Were there native alligators in Arkansas?

“I have no idea. I think she is hurling now. She shouldn’t be sick. It’s impossible for a Life Aspecter to get sick, isn’t it?”

The two of them really couldn’t figure it out? He’d smelled it on the woman as soon as she’d come within six feet of him.

“Unless there’s something wrong with her Aspect?” Meredith suggested. “Should we call Jace?”

In between the sounds of dry-heaving coming from within the bathroom, the redhead managed to yell, “Do not call my husband. I am fine.”

“You’re throwing up,” the black-haired woman said.

“No shit, Val.” A toilet flushed, water ran, and the redhead emerged. “Look, I know why this is happening, and it’s not life-threatening, okay?”

Meredith frowned, like her magic was calling bullshit on that assertion.

“Does Jace know you’re unwell?” Val asked.

“No. I’m going to tell him, and I swear to your stupid goddess if either of you say anything to him before I do, I will make both of you break out in acne.”

“Can she do that?” Meredith asked in a stage whisper.

Val shrugged. “Probably.”

Jensen bumped his head against Meredith’s side. He was exhausted and he wanted to be gone from this place.

Meredith glanced down at him. Her brow was still furrowed in an adorable frown, clearly irritated by her inability to figure out what he was, but he must have looked pathetic enough to garner some sympathy anyway. “I think my rescue dog needs to get home ASAP. Are the kids ready to go?”

Why he’d been in a cell below a house filled with children was another question for another time.

“Yeah,” the redhead said. “the bus from The Refuge just arrived. I’m going to ride back with them and get them settled in.” She looked at Jensen again. “Are you sure I can’t—”

He growled, but it was drowned out by Meredith’s firm, “No. Absolutely not. I will nurse his ugly hide back to health, but you are not touching him in your condition. Whatever that condition is.”

“Do you even know how to take care of a dog?”

“I’m not an idiot. And there’s the Internet.”

The redhead sighed. “Don’t let him eat or drink too much at first or he’ll just vomit, and he should definitely be seen by a vet.”

“Noted.” She picked him up and mercifully hauled him outdoors. The bright sunshine hurt his eyes after months of darkness, and he squeezed them shut. But he could still feel the sun on his fur, smell the fresh air, feel the blissful lack of walls closing him in.

He opened his eyes against the sun just long enough to see Meredith drop him on the back seat of a Jeep and climb in next to him. He was so desperate for contact after months of isolation that he used the last of his energy to crawl forward and place his head in Meredith’s lap. Then he gave in to the inexplicable sense of safety her presence brought and let sleep drag him under.