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“You’re not my dad.”

Just as she was rallying her magic, the solar pendant lighting up under her shirt, those ocean eyes flicked over her shoulder.

A hand clamped over her mouth.

That hand held a rag that reeked of chemicals.

She passed out instantly, magic retreating back into her core, pendant turning cold, as the chloroform flooded her airways.

—

Max wasn’t answering his phone. Neither was Conrad.

This was the third time Darien had called them in the last two minutes.

Voicemail picked up—

“Shit.” Darien hung up. Strode to the bottom of the stairs in the entrance hall, the others stepping aside to let him through. “Atlas!” he called. No answer. “Tanner!”

Another long moment passed before Tanner rushed down the stairs, boots thumping.

Darien spoke before he had a chance to. “I need you to go to the school. Check on Max and the girls—” Darien’s voice tapered off, brow furrowing at the look on Tanner’s face. “What’s the matter?”

Tanner pushed his glasses onto his head. “I know this is lousy timing, but I have to tell you. I’ve been looking into Nolan for a couple days—”

“I thought you said you found docs on him.”

“Darien,” Jack tried. “It’s getting pretty red out there.”

Darien held up a silencing hand.

Tanner blurted, “Finn’s been leading you on.”

Darien’s thoughts disintegrated. The others murmured behind him.

“There is no Detective Nolan,” Tanner went on. “I ran a reverse image search—the MPU was using some random guy’s photo. Someone who died fifty years ago. That Blood Stave attack at the school, the one that killed all those kids—one of those kids was Finn’s son. We didn’t know—none of us knew, we didn’t hear about it because his son had a different last name. Finn must’ve asked you to help take down Gaven to get revenge for his kid dying.” And Gaven manipulating Darien for power and monetary gain had only helped Finn’s case, the threats Gaven made on his home, family, and life pushing him to agree to help Finn. Tanner’s breathing shifted to a pant. “I’m sorry, Darien. It was my fault. I didn’t look close enough. I was distracted. I should’ve—”

Darien took out his phone and made a call. The line rang three times before a woman picked up.

“Thank you for calling Angelthene’s Magical Protections Unit. How can I help you?”

“Put me through to your Head Detective,” Darien said.

“One moment please.”

There was a pause, and then a familiar husky voice came through the speaker. He sounded tense, as if the last thing he had time for right now was a phone call. “Solace—”

Darien hung up. The room spun as anger flooded his veins.

“I’m sorry,” Tanner mouthed.

His phone started vibrating in his tight grip. He barely felt his own body react as he answered the call. “Cassel.”

Max’s voice ripped through the speaker. “Loren’s gone, man! I don’t know what hit me, but I got knocked on my fucking ass, I don’t know what by—I couldn’t move. Conrad too. Shit, man, she was taken by the imperator—”

Darien felt like someone had shoved his head under water. His surroundings bled away, panic threatening to swallow him whole.

If something bad happened to Loren, he would never forgive himself.