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Gavin sat back in his chair, carefully placing his forearms on the armrests. “Why did they build the Sun Keepthere? Why that location? And why underground?”

Tired of twisting around and craning my neck to follow the conversation, I stood and moved to stand closer to the fireplace so I could see all three of my immortals.

“Something about the minerals in the earth.” Bastian shook his head. “I don’t know all the details.”

“Manganese,” Gavin said. “It amplifies shifter power and reduces the effects of the curse.”

“They used to mine manganese around there,” Bastian said, nodding slowly like Gavin’s info dredged up some old knowledge. “Some of the tunnels run beneath the keep, but they’re flooded—on purpose—and rigged to flood the dungeons if needed. Mostly the Sun Watch just uses controlled flooding to clean the cells between rotations.” Bastian glanced at me, then down at the chair in front of him, his fingers digging into the padding as his shame rang loud and clear through our bond. “But they’ve been known to use the floodwaters to threaten or punish prisoners as well.”

Gavin let out a harrumph, looking like he wasn’t remotely surprised.

Bastian cleared his throat and straightened. “The old mine shafts are sealed and warded, both at the surface and down where they run under the dungeons.”

“The surface seals won’t be a problem,” Gavin said. “I hired a human mining company years ago to dig nearby. A few months back, they connected with the old mine shafts and were able to map those out. Once we’re out of the dungeon, we’ll easily be able to find our way to the new tunnels and up to the surface, far away from anywhere the Sun Watch knows to look.”

Bastian’s brows rose as Gavin spoke. “Okay. But the only wayintothe tunnels would be through the flood hatches, and if you open those . . .”The dungeon will flood, hung unsaid in the room. “I don’t know how to reseal the hatches,” Bastian added, sounding defeated. “There must be a lever or . . .” Again, he shook his head.

“It shouldn’t matter,” Ash said. “Once we get everyone out of the dungeon, why not let the whole place flood? That’ll keep the bastards distracted.”

I raised my hand, and one by one, the immortals turned their attention to me. “So, are we bringing scuba gear?” I asked, voicing my main concern with the plan. The undead vampires breathed so infrequently they could hold their breath for hours, and Bastian could shift into a water creature. ButIwould drown. “Because I can’t breathe underwater,” I reminded them. “And neither can the other queens.”

“We have a device for you,” Gavin said. “A tankless breathing mask. You’ll be fine until we reach the surface.”

“But—” I stalled, shaking my head. “What if the queens can’t swim? I mean, Javier was in rough shape in my dream, and the queens didn’t look much better.”

“Fresh immortal blood should give them the temporary boost they need to make it out.” Gavin exchanged a look with Ash, who nodded, silently acquiescing to donate some of his precious immortal blood as well. Gavin returned his attention to me. “The queens won’t be a problem.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Okay, but why don’t we just gointhat way?”

“The hatches can’t be opened from the outside,” Bastian explained. “You’d have to blow them up, but then you’d risk killing everyone in the dungeon above.”

My brow furrowed. “Oh, well then . . .” I licked my lips. “I guess you guys’ve thought of everything.” And here I had been hoping to delay with a few more hours of planning. I looked at each of them, settling on Gavin. “When do we leave?”

Gavin stood. “As soon as we get the ward code from Silas and prep the team.” He gestured toward the door to the hallway. “Whenever you’re ready, Sophie.”

Taking a deep breath, I straightened my shoulders. The time for talk was over. It was time to actuallydosomething. My stomach twisted as I headed for the door, mentally preparingmyself to use my powers of coercionon purposefor the first time ever.

42

Our own dungeons weren’tmuch better than what I had seen of Javier and Thane’s accommodations in the dream. I wrinkled my nose in disgust as I followed Gavin and Ash through a heavily warded door on the mansion’s main level and my nostrils were accosted by the stench of unwashed bodies and old, dried blood. At least it didn’t stink like an outhouse. Perhaps we were humane enough to include toilets in our dungeon cells, unlike the House of the Sun who, if my dream was accurate, had gone the bucket route where waste management was concerned.

I attempted to put the rank odor out of my head and psych myself up for the task at hand. I wanted to find Javier and Thane more than anything. The Sun Watch was holding them prisoner, which really pissed me off. I held on to that anger. Fostered it. Felt the need to find them become all-consuming.

We descended a long staircase and entered a wide corridor lined on either side by cell doors. Bastian’s arm curved aroundmy back, settling on my hip in gentle reassurance. I offered him a distracted smile, and his fingers gave me a gentle squeeze.

We passed empty cell after empty cell until, finally, we reached one that was occupied. Even in the shadows, I recognized the shifter lying on the narrow cot from the encounter in the graveyard.

Gavin rapped his knuckles on the bars before fitting a large, old-fashioned iron key covered in tiny glowing markings into the lock, which also displayed a small, luminous silver sigil. “On your feet, shifter,” Gavin ordered, pulling the cell door open on creaking hinges.

Silas raised his head, his eyes reflective like a cat’s in the darkness as he scanned our group.

Ash stalked into the cell and grabbed Silas’s arm, hoisting the shifter up to his feet. He wrenched the smaller man’s arms behind his back, securing them in his iron grip.

Silas tugged against Ash’s hold for a few seconds but quickly seemed to realize that fighting the hulking vampire was futile. As the shifter settled down, he glared at each of us, though Bastian received most of his ire.

“Traitor!” Silas spat, curling his lip.

Bastian’s hand clenched and relaxed on my hip, and I sensed his conflicted emotions.