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invisibility infiltrated the camp and the fae’s cell unit. He murdered a doctor posted to observe the fae. And beat the shit out of me.” Broken nose. Rib that barked with each breath. And a slice across his shoulder that he didn’t remember getting. “The shadow stopped him … spectacularly.”
    “Is he in custody or dead?”
    “Disappeared.”
    A pause. “And Ms. Russo?”
    “A credit to Segue.”
    “And why is a linguist asking for a transfer?”
    “The shadow speaks fae.”
    The admission brought Col. Langer’s head around.
    Cam turned so he could concentrate on the call. “I wanted a linguist’s input on how to proceed with my next interview before I send the fae and the shadow into Twilight tomorrow to search for the missing boy.”
    A longer pause on the line from Thorne. Then, “I’m very sorry, Dr. Kalamos. You can’t head a team staffed with people who have a higher clearance than you do. I know you prefer the lab and study, which suits Ms. Russo as well, but I’m going to have to promote you out of your lab-based position. There is just too much need, and not enough qualified people. I hope I won’t see your resignation on my desk again.”
    There’d been damn good reason for Cam to resign before. His plan had been to take Ellie away from the escalating dangers of Segue but … well … that was the hard part. Where did one go with a woman whose soul was split in two? Who would possibly understand?
    “I’m going to take your silence as acceptance,” Thorne said. “Especially since your new staff will be flying in tonight. You got beat up, and now you’ll have no sleep. I wish I could say it gets better, but I won’t lie to you.”
    “My priority is and will always be Ellie,” Cam said. That much had to be understood.
    “Good to hear it,” Adam said. “Do you need anything else?”
    Cam thought about it. “A metallurgist would be nice, though not as pressing.”
    “Come again?”
    “The mage left behind an interesting dagger.” That’s all Cam was going to say with Col. Langer present. Cam wasn’t going to worry about the full disclosure thing until he had to. One touch of the strange black blade, a hum on the surface, and he’d known that the metal was somehow infused with Shadow.
    Thorne sighed. “Fine, I’ll find you a metallurgist.” A little humor in his voice there. “That it?”
    Cam grunted yes.
    “Okay, I’ll put the promotion through immediately, with a commensurate pay raise, though you won’t have the time to spend it for the foreseeable future. Congratulations and welcome to Hell.”
     
     
    When all was quiet in the main room of the mobile command post, Ellie cracked the door. Cam had been speaking to people and making arrangements for the last three hours. At one point he’d stopped in quickly to let her know that they would not be interviewing the fae that night. They were going to wait until the morning, when a linguist from Segue would arrive.
    The night was for pacing and watching the woods for invisible intruders. She was light-headed from keeping her shadow with her in the small box of the mobile unit’s side room.
    Cam, glaring into a laptop screen, looked as bad as she felt. He glanced over at her, and the lines on his forehead eased somewhat, then completely. “You should know I’m a little possessive myself.”
    He was echoing what she’d said before. Why?
    He smiled and held out an arm. “I won’t be letting anyone get close to you who you don’t feel comfortable about. Not the ones scared of your shadow—”
    Cam’s remarks confirmed Ellie’s fears. She held back from his outstretched arm and wanted to lock herself in the room again.
    “—or the ones who think you’re a total rock star,” he continued.
    She tilted her head in rebuke at his joke. He was trying to make her feel better.
    “I’m serious,” he said. “Ms. Parson says you’re an angel. Sent from God. She used the words beautiful, powerful, and ass-kicking. I like