Long Isle Iced Tea by Gina LaManna

Author:Gina LaManna [LaManna, Gina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gina LaManna Publishing
Published: 2017-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

“I REALLY CAN’T HAVE more,” I said, waving Zin off as she attempted to pour me another Caffeine Cup. “This would be number six for the day.”

“Ah, you were up early with X?”

I nodded, filling Zin in on the morning events—the paparazzi attack, Peter’s disappearance, the scare last night.

She frowned. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that yourself. If I’d been here, maybe—”

“It worked out fine. It’s unusual to see a storm like that on The Isle, and I suppose it freaked me out. I’m sure last night was nothing more than a strong wind.”

“No, Lily, I mean it.” Zin’s hair framed her face, the dark strands making her pale skin stand out further. “I was being stubborn and stupid, and I’m really sorry.”

“Forget about it.”

“No! It’s not okay. Ever since I found out I was a Shiftling, I’ve been feeling...I don’t know how to describe it. Off.”

“In what way?”

“I don’t know—just different.” Zin looked up from her mug and found me there. “It’s a combination of things. Part of me thinks I don’t belong. Not here, not anywhere. Another part of me feels this huge pressure. Like I am expected to be something extraordinary because of my Uniqueness, and I’m just not.”

“You are.”

“That’s what I mean! People keep telling me that, but I didn’t do anything to become a Shiftling! It’s like being born with...I don’t know, two different colored eyes. Red hair. Long legs. I can’t help it. I don’t feel any different, and I don’t act any different. Except maybe stupider.”

“You’re not acting stupid, Zin, you’re readjusting to a huge piece of information. It’s a big thing, whether it feels like it or not.”

“The pressure, though, to do amazing things—”

“Stop! When I said you’re extraordinary, it had nothing to do with being a Shiftling.”

Zin’s eyelashes fluttered. “But that’s the only thing that sets me apart from anyone else.”

“That’s so entirely false. I thought you were great from the day I first met you.”

“You did?”

“Of course!” I smiled at her and waited until she smiled back. “You’re amazing because you work harder than anyone I know. The determination you have...” I shook my head. “If I had half of it, I’d be the best Mixologist this island has ever seen.”

“Lily—”

I raised a hand. “Zin, you changed a decade old society, the Ranger Program, to include women. Do you know how big that is?”

“It wasn’t easy, I guess.”

“No, and the best part? There was no magic involved. You were worried if you even had a Uniqueness.”

“Yes, but—”

“But nothing! Generations of witches and wizards and shifters and all sorts of paranormal folk have come before you, and never once has a woman made it to the ranks of the Rangers. They still wouldn’t if you hadn’t broken through the barrier.”

“Yes, but—”

I halted her with a raised hand. “That’s why you’re incredible, and that’s why people admire you. So what you’re a Shiftling? You’re still the same Zin we know and love. Sassy and dark and brooding and badass.

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