The Shifting Price of Prey

His eyes turned solid gold with my Glamour. I lowered my lips to his in a searing kiss.

The steady beat of Fi

Only I couldn’t remember any of it.

Stu

I couldn’t remember what we’d done.

Was this some sort of cosmic joke? Had someone stolen my memory? Or hexed us, or maybe just me— Crap. The Morpheus Memory Aid. One of its side-effects was memory loss. Why the hell did it have to hit now? Then something more horrifying hit me. I’d Glamoured Fi

Fuck. I’d forced him. Disgust whirled through me. It didn’t matter that he might have said yes if the circumstances were normal; he hadn’t had the chance. I was as bad as his ex, the Witch-bitch Helen.

I started to move then found myself flipped over and a very awake-looking Fi

‘Sorry,’ I muttered, ashamed heat burning my face. ‘I didn’t mean that.’

‘Hey.’ He gri

‘Yeah, about that—’

He silenced me with a long lingering kiss, one that made my toes curl and made me want nothing more than to take this where he thought it was headed. As he started moving, my heart cracked a little and I broke the kiss, turning my face away.

He stilled above me. ‘Gen?’

‘I’m sorry,’ I said, staring at the back of the cave, noticing the leather collar and its broken padlock. Fi

He gently turned my face to his, brushing his thumb across my wet cheek. ‘Gods, Gen, what’s wrong?’

‘Fi

‘You’ve Glamoured me?’ He gave me a perplexed look as he shifted back slightly.

‘Yeah,’ I said, feeling strangely reluctant to lose my co

‘Gen,’ he said earnestly, ‘we talked about all this last night at length. I’ve told you before, and I explained then, you can’t trap me. See?’ He closed his eyes, took a breath and when he opened them again, they were his normal moss-green. ‘It’s just more fun sharing magic.’ He gave me a brief half-smile. ‘I know you were knocked sideways with the effects of that stupid cambion’s magic coming on top of the fertility spell and all the ambush stuff, but we didn’t do anything either of us didn’t want to last night, or at least—’ His expression turned troubled. ‘Are you saying something different, Gen?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I can’t remember. I’ve used two of those Morpheus Memory Aids in the last few days. I think their magic’s—’

‘Morpheus Memory Aids usually cause spotty memory loss, like forgetting if you’ve locked the door, or where you left your keys. It doesn’t strip away a whole night.’

‘Well, it has.’

Distress crossed his face. ‘Gen, we didn’t just have sex, we talked about stuff. A lot of stuff. Nicky, Helen . . . us. Don’t you remember any of it?’

‘Seriously, Fi

His expression turned horrified, and he was gone so fast I felt a breeze. A fur landed on top of me and I hugged it as I sat up. He had his back to me. Sleek sable hair coated his hips and thighs, and a black tuft nestled at the base of his spine: his tail. The fact that he was too upset to hide it sent my pulse spiking with anxiety. It sped faster as I saw he was tearing Carlson’s backpack apart, ripping off all the smaller pockets. He tossed it aside then sca

‘What are you looking for?’ I asked, hating that my voice shook.

‘Something that would explain why you’ve lost your memory.’ His gaze fixed on the fire. He grabbed a stick and poked the ashes. ‘Nothing.’ He rushed back, his jeans appearing as he did, and crouched down next to me. ‘What’s the exact last thing you remember, Gen?’

I looked into his worried face, tamped down my own panic. ‘The swampies were outside the cave, I could hear them, and something like a fight, then Gold Cat dragged you in, pushed you into the circle.’ I frowned. ‘I remember wanting to talk to you, but instead I kissed you. Then nothing until I woke up.’

Fi

‘Gold Cat. It’s a primal spirit, an animus,’ I said slowly, unease clutching my gut. ‘The ritual went wrong and I somehow made an ùmaidhand the animus bonded to it.’

‘I don’t know anything about primal spirits, Gen,’ he said worriedly. ‘But you have to sever part of your soul to make an ùmaidh. It’s not something you can do without the right knowledge. What’s this cat look like?’

‘Same size as the shifters’ cats. but not as chunky, and it’s gold with black stripes, not dark grey. It brought you here.’

Fi

‘You were unconscious when it brought you in,’ I said, trying to stay calm, but hearing my anxiety in my voice.

‘Yeah.’ His eyes flickered down at my arms, at the fading needle-marks there. ‘Gen, we talked about this last night, how you couldn’t remember much about what happened after the ritual went wrong. But you were sure you were okay. Maybe I was a bit hasty believing you. I think—’

‘You think what? That Gold Cat isn’t real? That I was hallucinating it or something? Fi

He frowned. ‘I said that to you, but you reminded me this is Between. Said we could spend a week here and make it just an hour in the humans’ world if we wanted. That we shouldn’t waste the opportunity. You wanted us to get rid of the fertility magic, and to sort things out between us, before we went back. You never mentioned any gold cat, Gen. And we talked about . . .’

I stopped listening as Gold Cat padded silently through the cave entrance. I grabbed Fi