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There were no bars on this cell. No windows. It was a simple box with a steel door, a narrow opening in the steel. It could only be opened from the outside, its sole purpose for the guards to slide trays of food through, then promptly close it again. He couldn’t see anything beyond these walls, not even with his Sight, the spells far too thick.

So he didn’t know anyone was there until he heard the clanging of keys outside the door.

Until the door creaked open, and four prison guards, all armed to the teeth, appeared. With them was Detective Glen.

The prick gave him a cruel smile. “This place suits you,” he said, his weasel-like eyes scanning the disgusting quarters. “Even more than the van.”

“What do you want?” Darien growled.

Glen gave a cocky little smirk and said, “Follow me.”

107

Angelthene Valley

ANGELTHENE, STATE OF WITHEREDGE

“This is it,”Ivy said from the passenger’s seat, her breaths quickening as the perimeter walls surrounding Blackwater Penitentiary loomed out of the darkness. She reached behind her and clasped Loren’s hand. Looked her in the eyes and said, “You can do this. I believe in you.”

Loren drew a deep, deep breath as Finn steered the SUV toward the controlled entry point.

“We all do,” Lace chimed in. “We all believe in you.” Jack and Kylar murmured their own agreements.

Loren took out her phone and pulled up the photographs of the Blackwater staff members Tanner had sent her. He, too, had included his own words of encouragement.

Tanner

You’re not alone in this. We believe in you.

You can do this.

Loren took one more steadying breath and focused on summoning her white magic—justthe white—directing it toward the conduit tattoos on her palms the way Shay had taught her. If she failed to guide the magic through the buffer…

She could stop her own heart. And then Darien’s would stop, too.

“We’re almost there,” Finn said, his words tight with stress. “There’s no going back now—they’ve seen us.”

“I’ve got this,” Loren said, inhaling. Exhaling. The metallic sun and moon on her palms began to glow.

Part of their agreement with Finn was that he would tell no one and ask no questions. Not until after—for the questions, that is.

Not until this horrible night was behind them.

Not until Darien was back home and safe.

Another inhale, another exhale?—

“Now,” Ivy whispered.

She released her magic in a wave that rippled through the interior of the SUV like a breeze.

The illusion accomplished three things.

One: It changed Ivy, Finn, and herself into night-staff prison guards.

Two: It rendered Lace, Jack, and Kylar completely invisible. The latter was much harder to do; changing an appearance versus making it disappear entirely required a higher output of magic. She could already feel her conduit tattoos burning, her magic trembling at the edges.

Three: It transformed the vehicle into one owned and registered under the name of one of the staff members. The one who Finn was disguised as.