by Claire Marta
Footsteps sounded on the stairs leading back to the kitchen. Fighting panic, she felt the rough wood of the lid and saw the last of her light disappear when someone turned off the overhead bulb. She was alone. Trapped in stygian darkness. Try as she might, her last hope died and true fear took hold when she realized the wood wasn’t rough because it was unfinished.
The lid to her coffin box was gouged.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The boy called Billy hurried away, headed for the closest public toilets. Darcy pulled Prince on his leash and Willow skipped alongside her, carrying her toy unicorn.
Killian followed, maintaining enough distance to be discreet while keeping them in sight. When they came to an intersection where walking paths crossed, a group of four men approached them, rudely blocking their way.
Killian thought they were simply misogynistic arseholes until one of them pulled a gun. Another grabbed at Prince’s lead. The two others tried to grab Willow.
“Run, kids!” Darcy told them.
Billy kicked the man holding Willow. She wriggled free, leaving them holding her toy while Billy grabbed her hand and they raced back in the direction of her mother.
It was Darcy and Prince against four armed hoodlums. Killian did a partial shift that would protect him from bullets and ran to her aid—
Except she didn’t need it. In moves worthy of Bruce Lee, she kicked the gun from her attacker’s hand and followed with a roundhouse kick to his head. Being a puppy, Prince was next to useless, growling and nipping but not big enough or old enough to do anything more than add some distraction. The woman took down two more just as quick but chose to not run after the fourth, who raced off with Willow’s stuffie. Instead, she snatched up Prince’s lead and headed back the way they’d come, running after Willow and Billy.
Killian was closer to them and lightning-quick with his partial shift. He was halfway to them when he saw Billy grab Willow’s arm and try to drag her off the path, headed in the direction of the parking lot, not back to her mother.
Something wasn’t right.
Willow tried to tell him they were going the wrong way but the boy wouldn’t listen. The wee colleen dug in her heels, flatly refusing to go with him.
Billy raised his hand to strike her and went flying back as if pulled away and tossed aside by unseen hands.
Killian blinked his eyes, doubting what he just saw. One moment, Willow was there. The next, she was gone, leaving a gape-mouthed boy staring at where she’d been.
Billy couldn’t believe his eyes, either.
No doubt about it, this park was bursting with Otherworldly energy, and Fae magick was afoot.
The boy turned on his heels and hastened away, heading in the direction of Raven and his little brother. Killian went to where Willow had been standing. There was a perfect, marble-sized sphere of polished brown jade in the grass.
Calodin.
Killian tucked the stone in his pocket and rubbed his face in his hands. Evidently, the Fae prince hadn’t grasped the bit about needing permission to see Willow. Now he’d gone and taken her. Well, rescued her. Either way, the girl was gone from here.
Darcy raced up to him, frantic. “What the fuck happened?” she panted. “Where’s Willow? Where did she go?”
Killian sighed. “Hopefully, she’s with her mother,” he said.
Surely Calodin would take the child back and not keep her. He prayed that was the case. If it wasn’t…, he was going to have to explain this to her mother and Aunty and there’d be hell to pay for failing to protect Willow. He needed to get her back and quickly.
Darcy was already running, headed for her cousin. Killian trailed after her, rounding the bend to see her kneeling over Cayden’s prostrate form.
Fear gripped his heart. What had happened to his partner? There were very few things that could take down one of their kind. Fewer yet if he’d managed a partial shift. A full shift made them nearly indestructible.
Nearly.
“Here,” Darcy clipped, shoving Prince’s leash at him. “Hold the dog. I’ll call 911.”
“No,” he growled, using his true voice. He needed her to listen and obey without question. “Check him out while I call Tobias and let him know what’s happened. Let’s get Cayden to yer SUV. Get him back to the Citadel. The rest of the cadre will find Raven. Willow is safe. That much I know. Ye must trust me on this. Have faith and believe that all will be well.”
He prayed it would be so. Right now, he needed Lukas and Tobias to check over Cayden. Hopefully, they could bring him around soon. They needed to know what he’d seen. Until then, it was anyone’s guess where Raven had gone.
Killian called Tobias while Darcy checked the Scotsman’s vitals. His pulse and respiration were normal enough to make her breathe easier. Something had rendered him unconscious, though. Unable to wake him, Killian gave the puppy back to the woman and picked up his partner. Feck, the man weighed a ton. It was like his body had done a partial shift in his sleep. There’d be no way to explain his weight if they went to an emergency room.
He followed Darcy to the parking lot. She fully reclined the front passenger seat of her SUV. He managed to strap Cayden into it. Taking a seat behind Darcy, he could reach Cayden and monitor his condition as they drove. Prince rode beside him, pushing against his side, seeking attention. Petting the dog to keep him quiet helped calm his own anxiety.
Theo was waiting at the gate to let them in. Lukas and Tobias had a gurney just inside the door. They strapped Cayden to it and raced him to the infirmary for a thorough examination. Lukas took off Cayden’s shirt, revealing dried blood at the site of an already-healed puncture wound.
“He’s been drugged,” the German said. Cayden was the cadre’s medic but Lukas had training, too. “A toxicology report should tell us what they used. I can send one to Eden’s lab. With luck, he’ll regain consciousness long before the results are back.”
While Lukas drew blood, Killian recounted the events at the park as he knew them.
Tobias was disturbed that Calodin had taken Willow but relieved to know that she was safe with him. No one knew where Raven had gone. It was possible that Calodin had her, too, but if the blackmailer was behind Willow’s attempted abduction, he may have gone after her mother as well.
Their superior crossed his arms and snared him with his gaze. “I need you to go to the powder magazine. Leave a message for Calodin and wait for a response. I’ll know where to find you if Cayden awakens sooner. I need to hear what the Fae prince says. See if he knows what happened to your mate and ensure that her daughter is safe and well. With fairy glamour, he can make it look like the playhouse of her dreams down there and she’ll be none the wiser.”
Killian nodded. “He would have been waiting for our answer to his proposal this morning. When we didn’t show, he must have decided to watch over Willow.”
“My concern is getting her back,” Tobias confided quietly. “He might not be willing now that he has her. We must be more diplomatic than demanding. Do not lose your temper when dealing with him.”
Leaving the infirmary and Cayden in the good hands of the others, he hustled down the hall, headed toward the entrance. In a hurry to reach the powder magazine, he was forced to slow down when he saw Darcy on one side of the foyer, holding the puppy’s leash and arguing with Zana.
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on around here but you can’t stop me from reporting their abduction to the police.” Darcy’s eyes were narrowed dangerously, her finger jabbing into the Persian’s chest.
Capturing her wrist, he used it to tug her toward him. “Raven and Willow are dear to us. We will ensure they come home safely. Please, trust us. Trust me even if it's just a little.”
Too wrapped up in each other, they didn’t notice Killian slip past them. After seeing her handle herself today, the Irishman knew Zana was going to have to watch himself. Raven’s cousin was no damsel in distress. He and Lukas were going to have their hands full with that one.
Moving sw
iftly through the garden, he made his way toward the vaulted stone structure. Nothing stirred. There was no sign of the Fae or Willow. Pushing open the door, Killian stepped gingerly inside, on guard so close to a portal that led to another realm. Although he could sense it now that he was close enough, the wall remained solid. Pressing his palm to the surface, he frowned,
The stone was warmer than it should be.
“Calodin, I know ye took Willow. Her mother is missing. Are they together with you? We need ye to bring them back. They aren’t meant for yer realm. Ye may be the girl's mate but she’s not eighteen. Not yet. Yer claim is only valid on that birthday, not one day sooner.”
Shuffling back, he stood staring at the wall intently. Minutes passed and nothing happened. Raking a hand through his hair, Killian paced the small interior.
What was taking so long? Was this a snub because of the way they’d treated the prince earlier? His way of getting back at them? Didn’t he realize how worried sick they all were? Didn’t he care?
Spine meeting the adjacent wall, Killian slid down to sit on the dusty stone floor. His mind was plagued by panic and worry. Where was Raven? She was pregnant and alone. They hadn’t even gotten a chance to talk to her. It didn’t help that he could feel her fear. For herself or her daughter or both? he wondered.
The thought of never seeing her again almost choked him. He’d failed to protect Willow, the daughter he and Cayden had taken as their own. What kind of father did that make him? What kind of mate? What if they never came back?
He watched the sunlight change through the crack in the door, marking the hours that crawled by. Finally, when the shadows began to stretch like long boney fingers across the floor, the Fae emerged.
Calodin strode from the swirling portal alone.
Leaping up onto his feet, Killian growled, ignoring the cramps streaking up his legs. “Where the hell have ye been? Where’s Willow and Raven?”
“My princess is safe, and I have only just received your message,” the youth told him haughtily.
“And her mother?” he questioned, clinging to hope.
Calodin shook his head. “She is not with us. When you failed to contact me about our arrangement, I sent my falcons to watch over Willow. They saw the ambush and informed me. I plucked my future bride from the danger that was around her. It’s obvious you can’t be trusted to protect her.”
Gritting his teeth, Killian counted silently to ten in his head. Losing his temper and punching this cocky boy would only make things worse. He was barely keeping it together as it was.
“Ye need to bring her home. She needs to be with her mother. Willow will resent you for keeping them apart as she grows,” he replied, hoping to appeal with logic. “Is that how ye want your mate to see ye?”
The arrogant expression on the Fae’s handsome face shifted to worry and back to consternation. His mouth tightened grimly. “No. And I intend to do as you suggest… except her mother isn’t here, now, is she?”
Bloody bastard. He was throwing it in his face that Raven was missing. Was he expecting them to beg for his help in finding her?
Before Killian had a chance to consider it, Elijah burst through the door, looking relieved to see Killian here and unharmed and only a little surprised by the Fae prince’s presence. “He’s awake!” he blurted. “Come! You, too,” he told Calodin. “Our superior wishes to speak with you.”
The youth hesitated. “If this is a trap and anything happens to me, you will never see Willow again. This gateway will be sealed and there will be no way to bring her back.”
“It’s not,” Elijah assured him. “We only wish to know the truth of what’s happened. Learn who the enemy is.”
That got the Fae’s attention.
The three of them returned to the infirmary, Elijah in front and Killian bringing up the rear where he could keep an eye on the prince and make certain he didn’t disappear. Calodin took everything in, avoiding metals that would weaken his energy. It sapped his strength too much to enter the infirmary with all the stainless steel, so they compromised, propping open the door that led to the hallway where they could talk through it.
Killian was relieved to see Cayden sitting up with an ice pack on the back of his neck. It looked like whatever they’d shot into his system had given him a headache.
Eyes narrowed with pain, he gave them a scowl when he saw them. “Where’s Willow?”
“Calodin here rescued her when some men tried to take her from Darcy. Right now she’s safe in his kingdom,” Killian explained, lowering his voice when the Scotsman winced.
“And who’s wie her if ye're here?” Cayden demanded of the prince.
“My mother,” Calodin answered, suddenly looking embarrassed. “The child is safe. No harm will befall her. You have my word.”
“I dinnae like it but it’s probably fer the best right now.” Huffing a breath, Cayden adjusted the position of the ice pack. “Raven was taken by her ex-husband. When I tried tae stop him, they injected me wie a sedative. I believe it was meant fer her. Zana tracked Raven’s purse to a trash bin at the park. She had Willow’s unicorn with the tracker inside but he's lost the signal for it.”
Killian stilled. Was Colin her blackmailer? Was this payback for not following orders? He felt sick at the thought of what the mobster might be doing to her. Raven’s fear was still there, clawing at the inside of his skull but still too elusive to latch onto. Feeling it was one thing. They’d need to be closer to track it. Their mate could be anywhere. By the time they got a lock on it, it could be too late.
“Zana has started looking through footage around the park,” Tobias told them quietly, his expression grim. “Hopefully he can find a license plate or something we can use to locate her whereabouts.”
“She’s been gone for hours,” Killian despaired. “Anything could be happening to her. They might have even left the city.”
“I know where she is.” Calodin’s words were soft and sure. “I sent a pair of falcons to watch over Willow. Only one has returned to me. The male circles above the trees. I see a house below.”
The Fae’s silver eyes swirled, a far-off look in them as if he was seeing beyond the room.
Hope renewed, Killian watched him closely. He was still feeling tendrils of her fear, but they were too fragile to grasp and pull them to her, and she was too far away for the tracker in Willow’s unicorn to work. “Can you tell us where it is? A town name? Street name? Anything?”
Calodin shook his head. “No, but I can guide you to my falcon. He will not leave until I tell him to.”
Tobias ordered Lukas to remain with Cayden, who growled and griped at the command. He wanted to go, but when Tobias had him test his wings, they hung limp as a eunuch’s phallus. Unfortunately, there was no little blue pill for that. The drugs that they’d given him had rendered him impotent until they worked their way out of his system.
“We’ll get her,” Killian promised his partner. “We’re going to find her and bring her home, safe and sound.” He couldn’t promise how soon or what kind of shape she’d be in when they found her. The sharp spikes of her fear made him wonder.
Aiden was left to assist the three women—Casey, Morgan, and Darcy, who was pacing in the communal living room with Prince at her heels. The rest of the cadre assembled, ready to fly.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Raking her fingernails weakly against the wood of the coffin for the millionth time, Raven closed her eyes. The sobs she’d descended into had quieted. Her throat was raw from crying, and her cheeks were wet with tears.
Hours had passed since they’d left her.
Cramped and trapped, she couldn’t breathe. It felt like she had no air even though logic told her that she did. Fear had her gripped in a hysterical frenzy. Raven was desperate to get out. Her limbs were numb and stiff.
The darkness made everything worse. Without her sight, all her other senses were sharpened. She could smell the wood from the box around her, feel the roughness against
her skin. Every time she tried to move, it would creak, her knees and elbows scraping the sides.
Her thoughts went to Willow and Darcy. She was terrified that she might not see them again. She’d never see Cayden and Killian or hold the baby she was carrying.
She’d die with empty arms.
Her heart ached for the new life growing inside her that might never get a chance to really live.
The fetus that her body would expel after her death.
A coffin birth, they called it. More horrific because, in their case, it would be true.
The muffled sounds of a door opening drew her attention to above her. Fingertips touching the edge of the air holes on either side of her head, she listened intently. Metal scraped against metal, and the floor door above her swung open. Light flooded in, streaming through the holes and making Raven blink the one eye that could.
“Rae, darlin’, would you like a drink?” Colin’s words were slurred and slow.
Footsteps thudded above her, the noise of someone getting closer.
Tilting her head to look through an air hole, Raven turned it back when something was poured through. Whiskey. The smell hit her nose, the liquid landing on her shoulder and soaking the material of her top.
Licking her dry lips, it took two attempts to find her hoarse voice. “Colin, let me out…, please.”
A laugh came from above. “Not yet. Not until you learn your lesson. You have no idea how quickly a mind can break when you’re in the box.”
Swallowing hard, Raven felt a spark of anger when he refused to let her go. “Why are you doing this? Why are you so hell-bent on tormenting me? People will be looking for me. You have no idea who you're dealing with.”
Colin snorted. “Trust me. Neither do you, slut. Seriously, you have no fucking clue. All you had to do was hand over Willow. Now I have to use my resources to find the little bitch.”
She curled her fingers into the palms of her hands, nails digging into her skin. “Who wants my daughter? Why do they want her?”