by Becca Blake
Judging by his expression, he seemed as surprised by my admission as I was.
“I mean it. I don’t know what I’d do if I was trying to figure this all out on my own,” I said.
“Maybe it’s not so bad that we got stuck together.”
“Maybe not,” I said, smiling up at him.
***
In the darkness of the entryway, I slipped on my boots over a pair of black pants. My blade was sheathed at my hip, and my gun was holstered on my opposite thigh. I could feel Jacob beside me, shuffling around as he donned his own gear.
“Ready?” he whispered.
“Nope.”
“Yeah, me neither,” he said with a soft chuckle.
I peeked out through the curtains. The silhouette of the dark SUV stood out against the streetlight behind it. Inside, two soft blue glows suggested the men who were supposed to be guarding us were more interested in their phones.
“Doesn’t look like they’re paying much attention to the house right now,” I said. “With all the lights off, I guess they assumed we went to bed.”
“How likely do you think it is that Celia is leading us into a trap?” Jacob asked.
“I think there’s a good chance this ends poorly for us, one way or another,” I admitted. “But I don’t know what else to do. I can’t leave Orion to die. He wouldn’t leave me.”
I interlaced my fingers with Jacob’s. His palm was rough with calluses from holding his sword, but his skin was warm. Magic tingled between us as my invisibility spell cloaked us. The spell might not hold once we entered the town hall, but it would at least get us across town.
Hopefully.
I slid open my kitchen window, careful not to make too much noise, and shimmied out into my backyard.
Jacob and I crouched down low as we crept through the grass, which was still damp from the day’s rain. I paused as we passed the sidewalk to glance over my shoulder at the SUV. The interior was still lit by the glow of their phones.
Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, the passenger door swung open, and I froze in place.
I was invisible, but they would still be able to hear me just fine. A single footstep could trigger their suspicion and ruin everything.
“What’re you doing out there?” a voice from inside the SUV called out.
“Stretching my legs,” his partner said with a grunt. “And I might take a leak. We’ve been trapped in that car all day. Those kids aren’t going anywhere.”
Behind me, Jacob stilled as well, and even without being able to see him, I could sense his fear.
I couldn’t afford to let any of that fear rub off on me. If I lost my hold on my emotions, I would lose my hold on the spell, too.
As the guard strolled down the sidewalk in our direction, I sucked in a breath. His heavy footsteps approached me, and I realized I was standing right in his path. As I slid to the side, my boot caught on the curb.
My elbow slammed against the concrete as I tumbled onto the sidewalk. I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out in pain, hard enough that a trickle of blood dripped into in my mouth.
The guard stopped, his brow furrowed as he looked in my direction. At first, I thought I may have lost my grip on our invisibility. But the moment passed, and he decided whatever he heard wasn’t worth his time.
He faced the bushes, and I took advantage of the noise from his zipper to let out the breath I’d been holding and draw in another.
Once he finished, he zipped his pants back up and returned to the vehicle.
A black cat walked in front of me, flicking its tail as it let out a soft meow. It looked up at me with its unblinking eyes, as though it could see me despite my invisibility, and meowed again.
He must have thought this cat made the noise, I realized. That was the only reason he hadn’t investigated. We would need to be more careful. If someone noticed so much as an unusual rustle of grass, it would be over. And we couldn’t count on lucky black cats crossing our path again.
Though my heart was pounding, I hadn’t lost control. Jacob and I were both still invisible, and we made it through our first obstacle.
Still, we had a long way to go before the night was over, so we had to keep moving. My house was only a half mile away from the town hall, but we’d have to move slowly to stay quiet.
We kept to the shadows, trees, and alleyways, taking the long way around as we traded speed for stealth. According to the clock on the town hall’s tower, it was nearly two in the morning by the time we made it to the building. Just as Celia warned us, a security guard stood near the entrance.
We crept around the back of the building, taking extra care to stay as silent as possible. When we found the area where we emerged from the hidden door, I felt around the stones on the wall. Beside me, Jacob did the same.
“I could have sworn this was the right spot,” I whispered.
“It’s hard to tell in the dark,” Jacob said. “Or, maybe it doesn’t work from the outside.”
We searched for the hidden door for half an hour before giving up. I walked along the wall, dragging my hand on the stones until I reached a window. Standing on the tips of my toes, I peered inside. It was too dark to see much, but it looked like a long hallway, just like the one Celia led us through the day of Orion’s trial. “We’ll have to find a different way in, then.”
The window creaked in protest as Jacob pushed it open, and we both stilled. For several agonizing minutes, the only sound was the wind whistling through the streets.
We waited, but no one came to investigate the noise.
“Go ahead,” I whispered.
Jacob waited until a strong gust of wind blew through the Courtyard before pushing the window the rest of the way open.
I dropped our invisibility before we entered the building. It was safe to assume that a simple invisibility spell wouldn’t be enough to conceal us in the town hall, so there was no point in holding it up.
Jacob hoisted himself up through the window and reappeared a few seconds later to pull me up. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness in the narrow corridor, we navigated through the building to the front lobby.
The guard patrolled inside, his footsteps echoing as he paced across the room. He had a sword sheathed at his hip, but it was impossible to tell whether he was trained in magic, too. Usually, the guys who stayed behind to work security in Haygrove were those who didn’t make the cut to work out in the field, but with such a high-profile prisoner downstairs, we couldn’t take any chances.
In any case, it would be best to avoid him.
We crept past him and down the staircase that led to the basement. A strip of lights on the floor bathed the hallway in bright lighting that cast strange shadows on the walls.
“Still can’t believe Orion is a traitor, of all people.” The voice came from somewhere near the bottom of the stairs, though I couldn’t see the guy who was speaking.
“Yeah, well. You never know with people.” Footsteps accompanied the second voice, which moved closer to us with every word. “I’m ready to take my break. Are you coming with?”
Jacob pulled me into a closet under the staircase, the only place the light didn’t touch. We squeezed together in the tiny space, surrounded by mops and brooms as my chest pressed against his. I felt the soft push of his body against the rapid rising and falling of my chest, and his warm breath prickled my skin.
“Nah. At least one of us has to stay down here,” the first voice said.
“I don’t see why we have to hang around here all night. He ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
“Maybe, but they want to make sure no one comes for him, you know?”
“Nobody’s gonna be dumb enough to try breaking in here,” the other said. “Come on—you’re really going to make me take a break alone? With just Dugan up there?”
“We shouldn’t go up at the same time,�
� the first guard insisted. “We’d be leaving the prisoner alone.”
His partner grunted his displeasure. “You know Celia Lawrence—the new Councilwoman? She messaged me a bit ago, said she left a homemade cake in the break room if we wanted any. That woman’s a damn good cook.”
“Yeah?” the other said, a hint of curiosity in his tone. “Well, I suppose it can’t hurt. Let’s make it quick.”
“Sounds like Celia figured out we’re here,” Jacob whispered once their footsteps disappeared up the stairs.
“Let’s make the most of it.” I squeezed out of the narrow closet and found the hallway with the holding cells.
Wooden doors lined the long corridor, each with a space at the top cut out to fit iron bars. I paused to glance inside each of the doors we passed until we found the cell holding Orion.
He faced the wall, huddled on a cot that was much too small for his body. He still wore the white button-down shirt he’d had on under his suit the day of the trial, crusty brown blood stains and all, though he’d since removed the suit jacket and tie.
My knees went weak with a mixture of relief at finding him alive and pain at seeing him in such a pitiful condition.
“Orion?” I called out to him softly.
His eyes snapped open as he turned over to face us. “What are you two doing here? You need to leave—it’s not safe.”
“We’re not leaving you.” I tried the handle, but of course, it was locked.
Jacob gestured for me to stand aside as he moved to kick in the door. It took him a few tries, but eventually, the wood splintered.
The strip of lights in the hallway turned red, and an alarm blared through the speakers.
“Guess that’s the end of our good luck,” I muttered.
Jacob cursed under his breath. “It would’ve been nice if Celia warned us about the alarm.”
“I assume the two of you have a plan and didn’t just run in here completely clueless.” Orion said.
Jacob and I exchanged a nervous glance. We planned out how we would get here, but we didn’t know exactly what we would find when we arrived. We’d been hoping to rely on stealth to free Orion and get him out of the building. The wailing alarm blasting through the air wasn’t part of the plan.
“Incoming,” Jacob called over his shoulder, freeing his gun from its holster.
The two guards from earlier rounded the bend. When they saw us, they broke into a sprint.
“Stop there!”
Jacob passed Orion a gun, then ducked into the cell across the hallway with me.
I peeked around the corner and took a shot, and opposite us, Orion did the same.
The two men from earlier were making their way toward us—not running, but not walking, either. They held up a magical ward in front of them as they advanced. It caught my bullet in the air and sent it flying harmlessly against the wall.
“Help me break this ward!” I said.
We continued firing down the hall, but none of our shots made it through the powerful barrier the men were holding. They pushed through to the end of the hall and stood in the doorway, backing us into the cells. I dropped the useless firearm in favor of my sword.
Before I could get to it, a fist caught me in the chest, and the air left my lungs. I doubled over, gasping for breath.
Jacob continued firing until he ran out of shots. The other guard allowed him no time to reload as he dropped his ward and closed the distance between them.
As the guards cornered us, a powerful scream tore from Orion’s throat, and blue light flooded the hall.
“What the—” one of the men shouted.
Bolts of energy streaked from Orion’s hands. The men collapsed, and their bodies convulsed under the electricity until they went still.
Orion stared down at his hands, eyes wide with fear and shock.
I gave his arm a rough shake. “We need to go.”
He squared his shoulders and became Commander Orion again—composed, decisive, and strong. “Right. Follow my lead.”
I stepped over the bodies of the men Orion killed, trying not to look too hard at their charred skin, or the way their faces were still contorted in pain. After using their keys to remove the chains, Orion snatched weapons from the dead men.
We started up the stairs to find another guard waiting for us, his arms shaking along with the rifle he held. “Where are Jackson and Ellis?”
“Let us go, Dugan,” Orion said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I can’t let you out of here.” Dugan lifted the rifle and pointed it at Orion.
Anger surged through me, warming my arms up to the tips of my fingers. We didn’t have time for this.
I shot a blast of fire that caught Dugan in the chest. He dropped, writhing in pain. I rushed up the stairs and plunged my sword into his gut.
“We have to move,” I said. “Get Orion to the exit. I’ll be right behind you.”
“What are you doing?” Jacob asked.
“Just do it!”
Once they disappeared down the hallway, I let the rage take me again. For the first time, I called the power to me willingly—not out of a moment of passion in the heat of battle, but because I wanted to harness it.
If the Council would name me an enemy and an Oathbreaker no matter what I did, then I would become exactly what they feared. Instead of fighting to suppress the dark magic, I would embrace it.
My arms glowed with orange fury, and I let it all free.
The flames raced across the wooden floors and crawled up the walls as I set the entryway of the town hall alight.
Chapter Twenty-Two
As I ran, the magical fire followed me down the hallway, devouring everything in its path.
I left it to do its work as I leaped out the window. My boots slipped on the slick grass as I landed, and I rolled forward.
Orion pulled me to my feet, and the three of us sprinted into the trees behind the town hall.
I crouched low behind a bush. Sirens sounded in the distance as Haygrove’s fire department headed our direction.
“That was reckless.” The orange glow from the raging inferno we left behind lit Orion’s features as he glared at me like I’d gone too far.
“It’s a distraction,” I said. “We need to get you out of town while everyone focuses on the fire.”
“Get me out of town? What about you two?”
“We just need one more day,” I said. “The enchantment should be finished tomorrow.”
“You just lit the town hall on fire.” Orion waved his hand toward the burning building, as though I’d forgotten about it. “The Council won’t let you walk away from this.”
“The cameras won’t survive that fire. They won’t be able to prove we were here.”
“Do you think that will stop Marcus Thorne?”
Jacob shrugged. We both knew Orion was right. Marcus didn’t care about making sure he had evidence. If he wanted us to be guilty, we would be guilty. Still, I hoped he would at least give his son—and by extension, me—more of a chance than he’d given Orion.
It was another gamble, but we were due for a win.
“If we leave this enchantment behind, everything we’ve risked will have been for nothing.” Before he could start arguing again, I pulled a small envelope out of my pocket and held it out for him.
“What’s this?”
“A car key from Celia,” Jacob said.
“And a phone number for someone who can help.” I pressed the envelope into his palm until he took it from me. “Ayla is alive and hiding out in Omaha. We’ll meet you there tomorrow night.”
Orion looked as though he might continue arguing, but he sighed in defeat. He stepped forward and pulled me into an embrace, kissing my forehead. “Be careful, Riley.”
“You, too.”
&nb
sp; “Check over this way,” someone yelled as a group moved in our direction.
Without another word, we parted ways. As we fled to opposite ends of Haygrove, I sent out a silent plea that none of the hunters looking for Orion would succeed.
***
When we finally reached my kitchen window, I pulled myself in first, with Jacob following behind me. Just as his feet landed on my kitchen floor, a heavy pounding came from out front.
I bit out a sharp curse. We’d been planning on changing into pajamas as soon as we got home to make it look as though we’d never left the house, but we were out of time. The fire was a great distraction, but between that and the alarm that went off, we’d lost our chance to return home before anyone noticed anything was wrong.
Hell, we were lucky they were only just now knocking on my door.
I gestured for Jacob to follow me up the stairs. As soon as I got to my room, I stripped out of my gear and kicked everything under the bed. Jacob averted his gaze and raised a hand to shield his eyes.
I appreciated the effort, but my work partner seeing me in my bra was the least of my worries.
“Open up!” The pounding on my front door continued.
“Take your shirt off,” I snapped.
“What?”
A crashing noise came from downstairs, and footsteps flooded my entryway.
“Just do it,” I said, hoping the urgency in my voice would get through to him.
Jacob pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside as I climbed into bed.
I patted the space next to me. “Hurry up.”
He hesitated, but as the guards’ footsteps started up my stairs, he joined me in my bed. The twin-sized mattress wasn’t built for two, and for the second time that night, our bodies pressed together. Maybe it was because of the chill on my skin from our evening outside, but his body was warm and pleasant against mine. The moonlight coming in through my window highlighted the hard lines of his chest and the scar on his shoulder. I resisted the urge to run my hands over his skin.
I had no time to linger on those thoughts, as the guards rushed down my hallway and stopped outside my room.
I pulled the covers up above my chest and let out a feigned gasp.