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He drained her veins until her heart had nothing left to pump. She looked up at him, unable to wheeze in a single breath, devoid of any essence of life. Then he threw her body down the rocky mountainside until she landed in a broken heap on the bedrock far below.

CHAPTER 28

“Dane!”Juniper raced out the backdoor, heart pounding franticly in her chest. “Dane! Where are you?”

“I’m right here.” He stepped out of the shed with a set of hedge trimmers in his hand.

“He found her! We have to go! Now!”

“Who?”

“Adriel! Cerberus has her and she’s in trouble. We need to leave,now.” She rushed inside, stuffing her books into an old leather carryon she found in the closet. “Pack whatever you want to bring. I don’t know if we’ll be back.”

“Wait. What about Ruth?”

“Ruth will be fine.”

“How did this happen? Did you do a locator spell?”

“I didn’t find her. She found me.” She hurled a bag at his chest. “Pack!”

“Tell me what happened!”

“I don’t exactly know. I can’t explain it. I’ve never felt anything like it. She was just there, in my head, telling me to find her parents.”

“Her parents?” His face pinched with a mixture of surprise and confusion. “They must be older than dirt.”

“Really fucking old.” She couldn’t deal with the added pressure of in-law stress right now. “Please start packing.”

“Why now, all of a sudden? Are you sure it was her? What if it’s him doing that traveler shit again?”

Her heart hammered against her ribs, her fingers trembling as she clutched the ancient leather-bound grimoire to her chest. “It was her.” Doubt wheedled in. “Shit. No. It was definitely her. I could hear her voice.”

Her body shook with worry. What if they didn’t get there in time? What had Cerberus already done to Adriel in the time he had her? Such questions led her to a dark and dangerous place, one she feared could destroy her.

He caught her arm. “June?”

She looked up at him, fear choking her. “We have to find her, Dane. I can’t—” Her words cut off as she sucked back a sob. “I can’t lose her like this. Not to him. I can’t bear the thought of her suffering.”

“Hey, hey, hey.” He quickly pulled her into a hug. “Don’t get worked up. If we’re going to help her, we have to stay calm and focused. We’ll findher, June. I promise.” He lifted the bag. “I’ll go pack what I need.”

They had a harrowing journey ahead of them, one Juniper wasn’t sure they would survive. She couldn’t stand the thought of her sweet, innocent Adriel in the clutches of a monster like Cerberus, whose cruelty knew no bounds.

She could still hear the fear in Adriel’s voice when she contacted her. Hints of abuse were there, beneath the sound of desperation. If Adriel wasn’t already hurt, she was absolutely terrified. It was the only reason she would have reached out the way she had in such puncturing haste.

The good news was that she was still alive. But they needed to hurry.

Juniper’s hands shook as she packed the last of the grimoires. The urgency of their mission was palpable, every second ticking away like a countdown to doom. Juniper loved Adriel with an intensity that transcended lifetimes. She would stop at nothing to save her, even if it meant delving into the deepest, darkest corners of witchcraft.

Why was she sending them to her parents? She quickly jotted down the message verbatim so she wouldn’t forget Adriel’s exact words. She said she their names were Lilias and Lazarus Schrock. Was that enough to find them?

If they were out there, they would be ancient immortals. Juniper hoped they were friendly and willing to help rescue their daughter, but she honestly had no idea what to expect or how toprepare for such a task. Her own immortal father wanted nothing to do with her, so it wasn’t like blood was necessarily thicker than water when it was also on the menu with these bloodsuckers.

Her mind raced as they quickly gathered helpful items throughout the house. Ruth watched her shows undisturbed in the den. When Juniper opened the window to let nature in, the scent of herbs and candles mingled with the bite of winter in the air. She concocted a few spells to help them on their journey—things they could grab on the go in an emergency. She stashed the ingredients in small jars throughout both her and Dane’s bags.

The link she briefly felt to Adriel had severed. It felt like she was truly gone. No matter how often Juniper tried to reconnect, nothing was there but cold, empty oblivion.

She feared they were already too late. What if Adriel was wrong, and Cerberus planned to kill her? Her hand rushed to her chest as the unbearable thought created a physical pain in her heart.