Change of Darkness (The Change Series Book 3) by Jacinta Jade (best new books to read txt) 📕

scars she had received during the battle in the desert. She reached up now to brush her fingertips against those visual reminders of the close call she’d had, her fingers running over the raised lines across her temple, eye, and cheek. It could have been much, much worse.

Survive, Siray thought to herself. Survive, and endure. That was the key.

Genlie sucked in a breath, clearly bracing herself for what was next. ‘Well, do what you can for me.’

Siray nodded and rinsed more of the torn strips of shirt in the basin of water before laying a number of them along the length of Genlie’s wound.

When she had finished, she helped Genlie bind herself up with the new wrappings the Faction had provided, then assisted in easing a clean shirt back over her friend’s head.

‘Right—your turn,’ Genlie said.

Siray winced a couple of times as Genlie assisted her to remove her own shirt and wrappings.

After some careful scrutiny in the little light they had, Genlie declared, ‘Well, it’s obvious that the brief stint in your yeibon form today has helped. Your wound already looks a day or so old.’

Siray smiled grimly to herself. At least that was one good thing.

Genlie cleaned the wound and dressed it with the remaining strips of material, then helped Siray dress again.

Their new clothes were thin and contained some holes, but at least they were cleaner than the ones they had been wearing.

Siray clasped Genlie’s arm. ‘Thanks for the advice.’

Genlie gave one of her small, sweet smiles. ‘Anytime.’ The female turned away again to open the door of the small washroom and walked out into the cell area where the males were.

Then she stopped still.

Concerned, Siray quickly stepped around her, enough of the dull glow from the washroom spilling out into the cell to show her why Genlie had frozen.

She chuckled.

Their cell, although not large to begin with, was now decidedly crowded, with a cripwof, a rilander, and a fiorify taking up almost all the available room.

‘So,’ Genlie started, ‘where are we supposed to sleep with you three hogging all the space?’

The cripwof that was Kovi huffed and carefully backed itself up a little towards one corner before laying down and looking back up at Genlie.

Genlie gave an amused sigh. ‘Well, at least I’ll be a lot warmer tonight.’ She walked over to where Baindan was taking up a third of the space in his large rilander form. ‘Mind if I grab a blanket?’

Baindan obediently lifted one of his large six legs, and Genlie snatched a blanket from beneath him before making her way around the room to Kovi. Once by his side, the female lowered herself down, positioning her back against his Kovi’s furry side.

The cripwof’s contented grunt and Genlie’s tired sigh as they both settled in for the night made something in Siray envious.

She turned her eyes away and saw that both the rilander and golden fiorify were both watching her intently.

‘That’s not off-putting at all,’ she mumbled. Then she looked more closely at them both. ‘Well, with you two and Kovi taking up so much room, I don’t think Changing into my yeibon form would be such a good idea.’

The fiorify gave a quick shake of its head before it languidly stretched out its large wings, their span almost reaching from wall to wall.

Nodding to herself, Siray pivoted back to the washroom and walked in to flip off the emitter switch on the wall, plunging the washroom and the cell into complete darkness.

Closing the door to that small space and turning back to face the cell, she moved carefully along one wall towards a spot where there had been a tiny bit of free space, navigating her way cautiously.

Once there, assuming it was safe enough with the cell completely black, she Changed. Not into her yeibon form—which would have been risky, anyway, with its horns and them all being packed in so tightly—but into her sevonix form.

In the darkness, Siray heard three different sniffs in the dark, then a breathless silence fall as the three males realised that she had Changed.

Kovi and Baindan would know the scent, but Zale, never having seen her in this form, might not.

And there were special advantages to this form. With her sensitive ears, she could hear the quiet breaths of everyone in the cell, and noted the muffled sounds from Wexner and the others in the cell next to them. Even in the pitch dark, she could still make out the vague outlines of her friends, although her predator sense of smell meant she could pinpoint them easily even without visual cues.

Siray heard Baindan shift a little, and she knew that, even with the darkness of the cell and the lack of watching eyes, he was anxious about her being in this form, in this place.

But she had to recover quickly and being in this form would help. The stronger they each were, the stronger they all would be.

And who knew what tomorrow might bring.

Siray turned on the spot twice before finding a suitable position and then curled herself up into as small a ball as possible in the corner.

Across the cell, she saw Zale’s feathered form settle down to roost on a blanket, whereas Baindan, she knew, would remain standing all night, given that rilanders slept on their feet. She only hoped he wouldn’t shift and stand on anyone during the spans ahead, which would be painful, since he was so heavy.

Curling her long tail even more closely about her, Siray felt her eyes drifting shut and finally let herself succumb to a more complete darkness.

***

Later that night, Siray was awoken by someone moving up beside her in the dark. Her excellent hearing had picked up the sound, and even before the person had come close, she knew who it was by scent.

Zale had Changed back.

She could hear Genlie’s steady breathing, the quiet snorts coming from the cripwof, and the rumbling breaths of a rilander deeply asleep.

Siray lifted her feline head from the ground.

Moving up beside