Watching him, my chest pinched with sadness. “Did you . . . did you love Mom?”
“Yes.” His smile faded. “Even more after you and Ansel were born.”
I wanted to believe him, but I couldn’t stop my next question. “But you seemed so different?”
“We were very different,” he said. “But we were both always trying to be the alphas we thought we had to be. To protect the pack. To keep you and your brother safe.”
My nails dug into my hands. She’d been trying to protect me and my rebellion had killed her.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“No,” he said, tucking my hair behind my ear. “She never blamed you for any of this.”
I nodded, wishing his words would take away the guilt that twisted like a knife in my gut.
“And your mother had a wild side,” he said. “No one could out-hunt her. When we were free in the forest, running together—those were our happiest times.”
I smiled at him, remembering the boundless joy of hunting with Shay. “I’m glad.”
“These Searchers.” He stood up, rounding the foot of the bed to stand near the window. “Do you think there’s any chance they could win?”
“Logan thinks so,” I said. “That’s why he’s giving them information.”
My father glanced at me. “He’s turned on his father?”
“I don’t think he’d put it that way,” I said, smiling grimly. “I think he’s just trying to keep his own hide intact.”
“That sounds about right.”
“Shay has a weapon,” I said. “Or most of it. The Elemental Cross.”
“A cross is a weapon?”
“It’s two swords,” I said. “Once he has them both, he can defeat the Keepers. He’ll be able to kill wraiths.”
“Nothing can kill wraiths.” He spoke the words to the swirling snow outside rather than to me.
“The Scion can.”
“How will they attack?”
I cringed, wondering if I should say anything more. What if my father was still hoping he could regain his status among the Keepers?
His fingers were twitching. Knowledge and hope bubbled up inside me. He didn’t want anything to do with the Keepers. My father was a warrior. He wanted to fight.
“I don’t know how the attack will happen.” That much was true. We’d been focused on retrieving the pieces of the cross. Who knew what the future held after that? “But we’ll need an army to back up Shay.”
My father turned to face me, tilting his head thoughtfully. “An army?”
I nodded.
“The Searchers aren’t enough?”
“No,” I said. “They’ll fight to the end, but they need help. That’s where we come in.”
“We?”
“Guardians.”
He laughed. “You expect to lead a wolf army against the Keepers?”
“It’s happened before,” I said. “It’s part of our history. The Harrowing was a Guardian revolt.”
“More secrets in the library?”
“Yes,” I said. “But I can only lead my pack . . . and there are only seven of us. Hardly an army.”
He’d gone very still.
“I’m a young alpha,” I said slowly. “We need a veteran. A leader who the other wolves will follow.”
“Calla—” There was a warning note in his voice, edged with pain.
“You’re still the Nightshade alpha.”
His shoulders were tight with fury. “I’ve been stripped of that role.”
“No one can take your pack from you,” I said, rolling onto my knees. “Are the Nightshades happy that the Keepers are calling Emile their alpha?”
He grimaced.
“I didn’t think so,” I said. “You can lead them. You have to lead them.”
“When?” His question was hardly more than a whisper.
“Soon.” I slid off the bed and took his hand. “I wish I knew more.”
“If the Searchers win, what happens to the wolves?”
I opened my mouth to answer before I realized I didn’t have one. What would happen to us if we managed to win this war? Where did Guardians belong?
The door to my bedroom swung open. Emile Laroche swaggered in, glanced at our clasped hands, and grinned.
“A Tor family reunion.” He smirked. “Isn’t this touching?”
I glared at him and he ran his tongue over his sharpening canines.
“Too bad it can’t last.”
SEVENTEEN
MY FATHER DROPPED to the ground, a gray-brown wolf blocking Emile’s path to me. Emile shifted forms, bristling and snarling. He began to stalk toward us. My father gave a warning bark, muscles bunching as he prepared to attack.
“Now, now.” Efron Bane strolled into the room with Lumine at his side. “We don’t have time to let you boys tussle.”
The two alphas were still facing off, fangs bared and hackles raised.
“Enough.” Lumine’s command snapped through the room. “Shift back at once.”
Both wolves reluctantly obeyed, their snarls giving way to angry glares when they returned to human form. My father still stood in front of me, his body shielding mine.
“Have you had any success, Stephen?” Lumine asked.
He shook his head. “A terribly stubborn girl, mistress. I can’t bring her around.”
“Give me five minutes.” Emile snorted. “I’ll bring her around.”
My father’s fist balled up, but Efron put a hand on Emile’s shoulder. “Now, now. World’s turning, rapidly shifting circumstances, remember? We won’t be able to spare you a round of fun with the girl.”
Emile shrugged Efron’s hand off. “This is a mistake. The little bitch is a traitor and should die.”
I watched their exchange, increasingly perplexed. What was happening?
Lumine crossed the room, assessing me with her gaze. “Apparently you’ve earned some friends among the Searchers, Calla.”
“And they have something we want,” Efron added.
“Your son was a fool to let himself be captured,” Emile spat. “You should leave him to rot in a Searcher hole.”
Emile rocked back on his heels when Efron cuffed him. “Remember yourself, wolf. The son of your master deserves your respect.”
Emile glared at him, but bowed his head in submission.
My mind reeled. Logan? Logan was claiming he’d been kidnapped. What the hell was going on?
“Come with me, Calla.” Lumine beckoned. “We don’t want to be late.”
I glanced at my father before walking to her side. She reached up, fingering tendrils of my shorn blond locks.
“It’s such a pity about your hair,” Lumine said. “What were you thinking?”
I didn’t answer her.
“Stephen, wait for me to return,” she said, pursing her lips as she watched my father. “You and I still have things to discuss.”
“Of course, mistress.” He bowed his head.
As I followed Lumine out of the room, I resisted the urge to look back at him. Right now I was supposed to be a headstrong, rebellious daughter who had no respect for her father. I couldn’t let the Keepers know that only two out of those three things were true.
I couldn’t see out of the dark tinted windows of the limo, but we drove for about an hour. My mind was still back in Vail. I wished there were some way to talk with my father. He would help us. He would fight the Keepers. But how could we possibly link his pack with the Searchers?
My body was exhausted. My mind in a frenzy. I still had no idea where I was being taken or what would happen when we arrived at our destination. No matter how confident I wanted to appear, curiosity won out when the car pulled to a stop.
“Where are we?”
“A terribly inconvenient location insisted upon by your friends.” Efron set down the glass of brandy he’d been sipping during the ride. “We should be commended for our cooperation.”
Emile growled quietly. He’d been st
aring at me for the entire trip. I knew he wanted to intimidate me, but it only made me hate him more. When he climbed past me, following Efron out of the limo, I whispered, “Someday I will watch you die.”
He smiled at me. All fangs. “Too afraid to try and kill me yourself?”
I slid a hard smile back at him without flinching. Fear had no part in it, but there were a number of people on the list of Emile’s enemies who deserved revenge more than I did. Including my father. Including Ren.
“Move along, Calla,” Lumine said, flicking me with her long nails.
I climbed out of the car. Emile stayed at my side, playing the role of prison guard, while the Keepers spent time smoothing the lines of their respective Chanel and Gucci suits. The driver and another man exited the car. I recognized both as elder Banes. They took up flanking positions beside the Keepers.
I looked around, trying to figure out where we were. We stood at the edge of a small meadow that broke up the pine forest. In the distance I could see the outlines of mountain peaks where snow-laden clouds curled around jagged rock. The air was too fresh to put us near any city, but we weren’t in the territory around Vail either.
We’d driven out of the storm as well. Here the occasional icy flake drifted past, but there was almost no sign of wind and the snow only reached our ankles in depth.
I caught the sign of movement in the trees across the open space. Figures emerged from the forest, coming toward us.
When I recognized the tumble of chestnut hair and long duster, I almost called out. Connor was alive. Just seeing him gave me hope that maybe the mission in Eydis hadn’t ended in disaster. Without thinking, I stepped toward him. Emile grabbed my arm, his fingers digging into my flesh hard enough to bruise. I ignored the pain as my eyes moved over the rest of the party, but I didn’t find who I was looking for. The two people I’d expect to lead an effort to rescue me, Shay and Ren, were nowhere to be seen. Neither were Bryn or Mason or Nev.
Connor was leading a slumped figure, who stumbled through the snow. Logan looked in much worse shape than the last time I’d seen him. When he got close, I saw his swollen, split lip and black eye.
“Father!” Logan cried out. Connor shoved an elbow into his ribs and Logan doubled over coughing.
“How dare you lay a hand on my son!” Efron shouted, eyes blazing. I saw power rolling over his shoulders like lightning and hoped Connor knew what he was doing. Even if an exchange had been agreed upon, if a wraith was in the mix, I didn’t have a lot of faith in our chances of getting out of this alive.
Anika glanced at Connor, shaking her head. “Enough.”
Connor continued to hold Logan’s gaze and dragged a finger across his throat. The young Keeper cowered and threw a pleading gaze at his father.
Quite the show they’re putting on for the Keepers. Please let it work.
Even though I wasn’t in on the plan, I trusted it was a good one.
A proud, stiff figure whose wrists were cuffed with steel kept pace with Anika. Sabine’s eyes were bloodshot, limbs trembling in the cold.
Sabine? What is she doing here? And why does she have metal restraints on her wrists?
Two more Searchers, armed with crossbows, took up the rear of the small party. They kept their weapons trained on Emile and the other two Banes. The small party came to a halt when they were about five feet away from us.
“I’d offer you refreshments, but you turned down my offer of hospitality,” Efron said to Anika, though he was watching Sabine. He looked as puzzled as I was by her appearance. His gaze was hard, shifting from fury to curiosity as she kept her own eyes downcast.
“Your offices hardly make a hospitable meeting place to us, Efron,” Anika said with a cold smile.
Efron shrugged. “Shall we do business, then?”
“As we’ve agreed,” Anika said. “The wolf for your son?”
Efron nodded.
Sabine stumbled forward suddenly, throwing herself at Efron’s feet. “Wait! You promised I could speak!”
The Banes sprang forward, shifting into wolf form. They stalked around Sabine.
Efron’s lips curled back in a sneer as he looked at the trembling girl on her knees in front of him.
I stared at her. What the hell was she doing?
“Please,” she said. “Please.”
“What is this?” Efron spat.
“That girl is useless to us,” Anika said stiffly. “But unlike you, we aren’t monsters. We don’t execute prisoners for no reason and we can’t risk her seeing our operations. She’s a liability.”
Sabine was sobbing and trying to tear out her hair through her bonds. “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry. I made a terrible mistake.”
“How pathetic,” Lumine said. “What a joy that we don’t share your burden of conscience.” She looked at the Banes and raised her hand. I couldn’t breathe, knowing she was about to give the order for them to rip Sabine apart.
“No.” Efron threw her a sharp glance. “This is for me to deal with.”
Lumine sighed, letting her hand fall. “As you wish.”
“Please forgive me, master.” Sabine stared up at him, her face wet with tears. “Show me your favor. Take me back.”
I felt sick, knowing this wasn’t real but unable to understand how it could be part of the Searchers’ plan. Why would Sabine come back to Efron? What good would come of that?
A smile slowly curved Efron’s mouth. “Dear Sabine, why would I open my arms to you? Betrayal cuts like the sharpest knife. Surely you know that.”
“I know,” she pleaded. “I didn’t understand. But I don’t belong with them. I belong with you.” She turned to glare at Anika. “They are fools,” she hissed. “I want to live. Let me come back to the Banes.”
Efron nodded. “You always were a survivor.”
She nodded.
“Dax and Fey would certainly welcome your return,” he continued, lazily trailing his hand through his golden hair. “Particularly since the third in your party proved a poor replacement for you.”
My blood felt colder than the air around us. Oh no.
Lumine smiled cruelly. “I told you she wouldn’t last.”
Efron shrugged.
Sabine wasn’t moving. She kept her eyes on Efron but didn’t speak.
My voice broke the silence. “Cosette?”
The question earned me a knock on the head from Emile that made my ears ring as I hit the snow on all fours.
“Keep your mouth shut, bitch.”
“Such a frail girl. Not much of a wolf either.” Efron shook his head slowly in mock regret. “One day after you’d left, we found her hanging from a tree outside the Bane compound. Only one day.”
His gaze slid over Sabine, his smile razor sharp. She didn’t flinch; instead she murmured, “Cosette was always weak.”
“Indeed.” Efron stretched his hand to Sabine. She took his fingers, letting him pull her up. “Welcome home, my dear.”
“Thank you.” She bowed her head.
“Can we move this along?” Connor suddenly bellowed, shoving Logan to his knees. “This one smells like his own piss.”
Efron glared at him. “If you’ve harmed my son . . .”
“No permanent damage has been done,” Anika said. “I assure you.”
“Give him to us,” Efron said, though he kept his hold on Sabine. “Now.”
“Not before we have the wolf,” Anika replied.
“Emile.” Efron jerked his chin toward Connor.
With a sweep of his arm, Emile lifted me onto my feet and had me stumbling toward the Searchers. At the same time, Connor kicked Logan, who began to scramble through the snow, Connor behind him. We stopped less than a foot apart.
Emile grinned at Connor. “Well, well. I haven’t seen you since a minute before I made meat out of your leader.”
“I won’t forget to show my thanks for that,” Connor said.
“I look forward to it,” Emile said.
Connor grabbed Logan
by the shoulders, thrusting the Keeper out in front of him. “Let’s just do this.”
“Happily,” Emile snarled, tightening his grip on my waist. “Sorry we didn’t have more time to chat, Calla.”
I glared at him. “Go to hell.”
Despite my outrage, my heart was pounding as I glanced over my shoulder at Sabine. We couldn’t leave her here. We just couldn’t. Then I was being shoved forward and I saw Logan tumbling past me. I threw Connor a pleading look as Emile let me go.
Connor shouted before I could catch my breath, and in the next moment I was in the Searcher’s arms and we were running through the snow toward the other side of the meadow. Light blazed ahead of us as a portal opened and I heard voices calling my name.
The Banes were already lunging after us, but the Searchers had anticipated Keeper treachery. Crossbows twanged as Connor pulled me into the shimmering doorway with Anika at our side, calling orders even as we ran from the snow-filled meadow. I twisted in his arms, looking for Sabine. Just as the portal’s light poured over me, I met her gaze and thought I saw her smile.
EIGHTEEN
“WE HAVE TO GO BACK!” I shrieked at Connor, who struggled to hold me as Adne closed the door.
“What did they do to you? Have you lost your mind?” Connor shouted as I thrashed against him. “Why the hell would we go back there? And by the way, that’s some thanks for the rescue!”
“You left Sabine!” Tears were running down my cheeks and I couldn’t stop them. I was too angry and too afraid for what would happen to her.
Connor rolled his eyes. “We didn’t leave her.” He shoved me away with a grunt.
“It’s part of the plan, Calla,” Adne said gently.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Connor glared at me.
“The plan?” I forced myself to take a breath, shuddering out my wild emotions.
“Like I said.” Connor laughed. “No confidence in us at all.”
“We needed someone who could watch the Keepers and communicate with the Guardians,” Adne said.
“And Sabine was your best choice?” I couldn’t quite keep the anger out of my voice. “Do you know what she’s been through?”
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