by Rachel Jonas
“She can’t be here with him,” Beth forced out, putting her own fears aside to speak up for me. “Your son mentioned that you want her kid, right? You have some sort of … plans for it, I’m guessing? Well, I can guarantee that if you don’t move him or move us … she’ll never make it.”
Sebastian was still as a statue where we saw him through the slit in the door. “It’s being taken care of,” was his only response, so casual as our lives hung in the balance.
“I’ll return to check in later,” he promised.
One I hoped to God he didn’t keep.
“Oh … and I took the liberty of making certain those handy little flames of yours couldn’t do a number on these doors like they did on the last. You taught me quite the lesson after your nifty little parlor trick up north. Thanks to you, we were able to better prepare this time around,” he added, leaving us the next second.
Dim light filtered in through the slot his body once blocked. His footsteps, and those of a few soldiers, could be heard growing faint as the distance between them and us lengthened.
Beth slowly slid down the wall, sitting beside me again as we both soaked in the breadth of our circumstances.
In short, they were dire.
There was a fading hope in the back of my mind that someone would find us in time. With me only being able to feel Liam—but not being able to communicate with him, or sense his location—I couldn’t say for certain he could get to us. Now we’d just discovered that Nick was here, too, and Sebastian was grossly underestimating what he was capable of.
“There has to be a way out,” Beth sighed. “I’m gonna shift and see if I can … I don’t know … tunnel through the walls. I’m guessing the witches put some kind of spell on this place if they’re smart, but … it’s worth a try, right? Not to mention, it’s the only shot we have.”
After the statement, she braced her hands against the walls as if to gage their strength. I watched, not wanting to tell her how pointless this would be. I mean, it wasn’t like my abilities would work to free us either. Thanks to Sebastian taking special precautions this time around.
Beth removed her shoes, reaching for the button of her jeans next as she prepared to shift, but a sound outside the cell door froze us both in place.
“You hear that?” she whispered, creeping toward the back wall again, maybe hoping to put as much space between us and whoever might have been coming to enter. Considering Sebastian and his brood, we could be certain the visitor had ill intentions.
The steps that approached were quiet, as if this person hoped to catch us off guard. Or maybe they’d been sent to eavesdrop. Either way, Beth and I were silent.
Even when a small piece of paper was dropped in through the slot and those same footsteps made quick work of darting away.
Beth and I exchanged a glance, both confused by what had just taken place, but I was too curious to just sit there. She was on my heels, watching over my shoulder as I grabbed the paper and unfolded it, reading the words in a whisper.
‘I CAN HELP YOU.’
Neither of us had any idea who our wanna-be-savior was, or even if they were legit, but … for now, they were the only hope we had.
Chapter Sixteen
Nick
There was rock bottom … and then there was this.
The tendons beneath my arms stretched to capacity as the very tips of my toes swept across the concrete. Sweat poured from my face and neck, merging with more sweat as I hung from thick chains. The steal beams they attached to creaked and moaned with every move I made, feeling the burn from within as my body rejected this process.
This … process.
Blood poured from my mouth as I vomited more of it up. It had been the only thing I was allowed to consume for days—all part of Sebastian’s plan to sire me, to control me like some exotic pet. I overheard guards talking a few nights ago when I drifted into consciousness. Apparently, this is the Sovereigns hobby, collecting oddities within the supernatural world. It just so happened I was one such oddity.
Another?
A royal descendent—Evie.
I felt her the moment they brought her here, placing my weakness in a cell not nearly far enough away to keep her safe. That was nearly a week ago now, and every second of every day, all I could think about was killing her.
Sebastian came in to observe every so often, seemingly disappointed when he laid eyes on me, the darkness that flowed through my veins as murderous thoughts ravished me. I believed he thought I ought to have been past this craving by now, but if he felt what I felt on the inside, he would have known that was impossible. Despite the sire bond he hoped to establish beginning to take effect, I knew there would never be anything to override this feeling.
Nothing.
Ever.
A guard paced past the door where I was held, in what I imagined to have once been the cafeteria of a long-abandoned prison. The broken, overturned tables and steel-topped serving counter were a dead giveaway. Behind it, a dark kitchen that now lie dormant. I focused on the doorway again, watching as he passed for a second time.
Every second was grueling, wanting to break free from these chains and just … find her. As ashamed as I was for feeling so weak by such a dark need, I was a slave to it.
“Hey!” I called out.
He ignored me, so I called out again.
“Come here a sec,” I panted. Every breath was labored and painful as I struggled against the chains.
Heavy boots crushed small pieces of debris beneath them as he approached. Finally. He gazed up at me with a bored stare, making sure to keep his hand on his knife just in case I tried something.
“What?” he sighed.
I blinked through droplets of sweat that sat on the tips of my lashes. “I need to speak with Sebastian. Heck, I’ll even settle for Blaise, but I need someone.”
The guard looked me over quickly and scoffed before walking away. “Yeah, and I need a million bucks. Guess we’ll both die disappointed,” he grumbled.
“It’s an emergency,” I shouted back. “He brought a girl here, didn’t he?”
My question made the guard’s steps halt, but he didn’t turn.
“A hybrid,” I added. “He made a mistake, though. She can’t be here with me. It’s just a matter of time until I can’t control this and I lose it. If that happens, these chains may as well be made of straw,” I warned.
He seemed to get a kick out of that—me thinking I could break free.
“Oh, yeah? And who exactly is gonna help you?” he taunted. “Cause last I checked, you were locked down pretty good.”
I didn’t have time for this. “Get Sebastian,” I demanded. “When he hears what I have to say, you might even get a gold star for being a good little pup.” When I finished, I laughed, seeing that the comment had gotten under his skin.
He came close again, but this time it wasn’t to talk. Instead, he pounded his fist into my gut and air rushed from my lungs, forcing more blood up from my stomach with it. As I writhed and coughed, he retreated again, keeping his gaze trained on me.
“Keep your mouth shut and this’ll go a whole heck of a lot smoother for all of us,” he warned, sending the rage within me through the roof.
Letting them keep me in these chains was getting harder by the second and, soon, I wouldn’t be able to keep the beast on its leash.
He’d be here soon, and when that happened, there wouldn’t be a lycan or dragon alive who could stop him.
Not even me.
***
Liam
She was nowhere. Like she’d been wiped clean off the face of the Earth.
Only … I knew that wasn’t so because the tug at the center of my chest said otherwise. It’d been the only thing that kept me from losing myself completely after a full week since she’d been taken. It’d been the only way I knew for sure Nick hadn’t gotten to her. However, we were on borrowed time in that respect, with Sebastian thinking it was a bright idea to hold Evangeline any
where near the Liberator.
“We’ll find her.”
I paused, glancing up from the bag I packed to find Elise watching. Her eyes were rimmed red and there were dark circles underneath them. A week not knowing where her daughter was had been almost as heart-wrenching as it had been for me.
Almost.
I didn’t respond because I was honestly out of things to say. Sebastian’s witches had done a great deal to keep Evangeline hidden from me, to keep our connection severed. I hadn’t slept in so long I was delirious, unable to form a coherent thought as I went over the night again and again, wondering how I let this happen.
Wondering how I failed.
Elise stepped closer and took a seat as I shoved a flashlight into the side pocket. She was quiet at first, and then decided to say more.
“It’s not your fault,” she insisted, speaking kindly as if wanting to avoid offsetting a trigger. “I’ve listened to you explain it to my boys, to Dallas, and there was nothing else you could have done. Evangeline took off because she thought she could help, thought it was the right thing to do, and the Sovereign exploited her heart’s weakness,” she explained. “If we’re to be angry with anyone, it’s Sebastian. Not ourselves.”
I heard her, loud and clear, but there wasn’t much she could say to convince me this wasn’t on me. Therefore, I didn’t deserve to be made to feel better. I needed to carry this pain and frustration at full force and use it to push me to find her.
I scoured the area all day and all night, every day and every night. We’d even been back to Ridge Borough several times, to the warehouse, hoping we’d find her, or at least someone we could torture an answer out of, but … no one.
Every time, we came up empty.
I’d opted to spend nights out in the woods. Not only was there no time for sleep, I also couldn’t imagine lying in my bed without her, knowing she was out there somewhere. I patrolled mostly, keeping an eye out for some of Sebastian’s rogue soldiers or witches who might wonder into the area looking for trouble. If they crossed paths with me, they were sure to find it. There wasn’t much I wasn’t willing to do to bring her back.
Hiking the bag onto my shoulder, I moved toward the stairs, taking them by two as I headed toward the front door. I had every intention to leave without responding to Elise’s statement, but when I reached the foyer and her fingers linked around my wrist, my respect for her forced me to stop and listen.
“I only want to know that you have a plan,” she sighed.
I didn’t look her in her eyes because that deep stare reminded me too much of Evangeline’s.
“My only plan is the same as it’s always been—I’ll find the bastards who took her, and then … I’ll kill them. End of story,” I seethed. “But I don’t have time to talk. The guys are still out there searching and the Stokes’s are on their way. I only came in to re-up on supplies before the sun sets, so …”
“I understand that, but … what happens next, after you’ve found her? What of the soldiers? The witches? More specifically, the one who cast the spell on the weapon that injured Ivan?”
She threw all these questions at me and I knew she was right to worry about the execution of our plan. However, I wasn’t exactly in the right frame of mind to answer. I was unhinged to say the least. Every thought in my head was dark, every feeling was of causing someone pain, so, no, I didn’t have the details worked out.
“Liam,” she pressed, “I’m asking for your word that you aren’t just roaming around out there from sunup to sundown like some madman with nothing to lose.”
“There is nothing left to lose!” I shouted. “Not anymore. The one thing I did have to live for has been taken from me … again, Elise. So, no, having some mapped out script to follow isn’t exactly top priority at the moment, because all I can think about is her. All I want is her,” I breathed, feeling like I’d reached my breaking point.
When I slumped and took a seat on the bottom step, Elise didn’t let my outburst push her away. She knew me like she knew all her children and, instead, sat right beside me. She knew the one thing that could make me come undone at the seams was her daughter, and that was the exact effect this week apart had on me.
Her hand was warm against my back and it was only somewhat comforting. It was nice to have her sympathy, but changed nothing.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “Dallas mentioned you all had done some strategizing during your search last night. I just thought that … maybe you’d come up with a way to settle things once and for all.”
She was tired—tired of worrying about her family, tired of having to question who could be trusted. I understood that because we shared the same sentiment.
“I might have a solution, but I can almost guarantee you won’t like it,” Dallas cut in, surprising Elise and I both when he stepped into the foyer.
“What do you mean?” Elise piped up, turning to face him now.
“It would put us on a very strict timeline, adding pressure to an already tense situation, but … I think we would all be willing to take a risk or two if it means putting this war behind us,” he shared.
“Absolutely, but what sort of risk are we talking here?”
He sighed before answering Elise’s question. “Well, to start, we need Hilda and the Elders, which will mean Sebastian can easily spy our plan if we don’t move quickly, before he does that little … head-hopping thing Hilda explained to us. If we move too fast, we can get ourselves in a heap of hot water. Move too slowly and Sebastian will see it coming and use our plan against us,” Dallas explained. “So, we’ve got to do this just right. Timing is everything.”
Elise was on her feet the next instant. “I’ll get Hilda back here right away and I’m certain the Elders will cooperate as long as what we propose is in the best interest of the clan.”
She left us the next second to make arrangements.
With Elise out of the room Dallas and I were left on our own. And it was then I realized there was more, something else he maybe hadn’t wanted to mention in front of her.
“What is it?” I asked.
He peered up and, being a soldier at heart, he made quick work of concealing his emotions again.
“I didn’t want to get Elise’s hopes up, but there’s been new info,” he started. “The kid I told you about, the one we snuck into Sebastian’s camp—he’s been busy.”
My brow tensed. I recalled him mentioning something like that during our first mission to Ridge Borough, but honestly hadn’t given it much thought since then. A Damascus Facility student had been recruited to act as our eyes and ears among Sebastian’s men. Until now, that was all we knew, but apparently Dallas was about to change that.
“He saw them,” Dallas whispered. “Evie, Beth. They’ve been in Ridge Borough since the night Blaise and the gang passed through.”
But … that didn’t make sense. We’d checked there several times, combing every inch of woods, every street and alley. Was it possible that we missed them?
Seeing my mind reel, Dallas interjected to say more.
“Before you ask, it’s a spell. The kid says Sebastian’s got a whole army of witches and they live for the sadistic tasks he gives them. So, we could have gone there a million and nine times and still would have come up empty.”
“I need the exact location,” I said in a rush, feeling like this sudden sense of urgency would eat me alive if I didn’t move.
“Easy now,” Dallas piped. “Since we’ve got ourselves a bonafied plan for once, we have to be careful. We stand to make a real mess of things if we aren’t smart. One stupid move and the whole plan’s shot to hell.”
I heard him and understood the stakes, but couldn’t accept what he proposed, that we just … wait. When I took a step toward the door, his hand planted firm in the center of my chest.
“Whoa, whoa … did you hear what I said?” he asked, his expression turning sympathetic when his gaze landed on me.
I was desperate and beyond having
enough pride to hide it. I was a broken man, one on the verge of self-destruction.
His hand fell away, but he held my gaze.
“We have to give ourselves the best possible chance of succeeding, Liam. And as hard a pill as this is for you to swallow … the way to save Evangeline is not to storm into Sebastian’s town like a runaway train,” he reasoned. “Getting her out unharmed is gonna take stealth, precision, and wisdom. Any of those elements goes lacking and the whole thing blows up in our faces.”
I couldn’t fathom his request. It sounded like he expected me to wait, wanted me to leave Evangeline out there while we waited for all the pieces to fit together.
I shook my head as words tumbled from my mouth. “I can’t … just … stop looking for her,” I breathed.
It didn’t matter that I knew magic hid her and going in alone would be an impossible task. The only thing that registered was that I now had confirmation of the general area where she’d been taken. At the moment, that sounded like more than enough.
Dallas didn’t budge. “Under normal circumstances, I’d never expect you to wait,” he sympathized, “but you know what we’re up against. We need every ace we’ve got if we stand a chance at pulling this off. So, if you rush in, guns blazing and blow the roof off the entire operation … there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to get her out of this, no guarantee we’ll take down his entire army, no guarantee we’ll get what we need to help Ivan.”
His reasoning would have made perfect sense to a sane man. Only, I didn’t exactly meet those specifications at the moment.
My fists were clenched tight. For the most part, I didn’t disagree with his logic, but my heart wasn’t giving in as easily. It couldn’t seem to settle on the idea of more time passing, more time away from her.
Dallas and I stood facing one another in the foyer at a stalemate when Elise returned. The look of accomplishment she wore made it clear things on her end had gone according to plan.
“Well, I managed to get a call in to Hilda and she’ll be here by midnight.”
“And the Elders?” Dallas asked, finally pealing his eyes away from me.