Page 68 of Beastkin

We found the main staircase, a sweeping monstrosity of polished wood and gilt railings. The golden thread floated upward, confirming what we already knew, Phoenix was on the second floor.

“Wait,” Caden whispered, grabbing my arm before I could start climbing. “Detection charm on the third step. And the seventh.”

Elias nodded, his eyes narrowed in concentration. “Standard security configuration. Step only on the even-numbered stairs.”

We carefully made our way up, avoiding the hexed steps. I was trembling with the effort of restraining myself, of not charging ahead like every cell in my body was demanding. The golden thread was growing brighter the closer we got, pulsing like a heartbeat.

At the top of the stairs, the thread led us down a long hallway lined with closed doors. I could hear voices now, muffled but distinct, coming from the third door on the left, exactly where the thread disappeared.

“That’s it,” I breathed, my claws extending fully. “He’s in there.”

Atlas grabbed my shoulder, his grip firm. “Remember the plan. We need to be smart about this.”

Wild slipped forward, pressing his ear against the door. “Three people inside,” he confirmed. “Two standing, one sitting. I think they’re arguing.”

My breath caught as I strained to hear what they were saying. I caught snippets of Phoenix’s voice, defiant and angry despite whatever they’d done to him. Pride surged through me, followed immediately by a wave of protective fury. He was fighting back against them,even now.

Elias pulled a small vial from his pocket, the contents swirling with an iridescent light

“It’s a sleeping draught,” Elias whispered, holding the vial up. “One drop will knock them out instantly. We need to get them away from Phoenix first.”

I nodded, every muscle in my body coiled tight with anticipation. My mind raced through scenarios, each one ending with Phoenix safely in my arms. The voices inside grew louder, and I could make out more of what they were saying.

“—absolutely unacceptable behavior,” a woman’s voice hissed. “I can’t believe you’ve cursed your own bloodline!”

“Good,” Phoenix’s voice came back, defiant despite sounding exhausted. “I meant every word.”

A male voice, deep and commanding, cut through the argument. “I checked with my colleagues, and the curse can be broken. We just need to start the ritual now, before it takes deeper root.”

That was it. Whateverritualthey had planned, I wasn’t going to let it happen. I looked at Atlas, my decision made.

“New plan,” I growled, keeping my voice low. “I’m going in first.”

Before anyone could stop me, I pushed past Wild and threw my shoulder against the door with all my strength. The wood splintered around the lock, and I burst into the room with a roar that shook the walls.

The scene before me burned into my brain in an instant. Phoenix was sitting on a bare mattress, his wrists bound with glowing magical rope. Beside him a tall, distinguished man in an expensive suit who could only be his father and a slender woman with Phoenix’s same amber eyes with a look of shock and disgust on her face.

“Karrick!” Phoenix’s voice broke on my name, his eyes filling with tears.

Time seemed to slow as his parents whirled toward me, their hands already moving in patterns of defensive magic. I didn’t care.Nothing they could throw at me would stop me now. I charged forward, my claws extended, tusks bared, magic crackling around my massive form as everything I’d been holding in burst out all at once.

Chapter 27

Phoenix

“Karrick!” I cried as my mate, the last person I ever expected or hoped to see again, burst through my bedroom door in a shower of splinters.

But I didn’t have time to say anything else before my parents were already forming offensive spells. I only caught snippets of their chanting, but their movements left little to the imagination. They meant to kill Karrick, and fast.

Karrick, however, was faster.

With a sudden burst of light, I watched as his claws extended, his eyes filled with rage, and all that untapped elemental magic inside him burst forth in spectacular fashion.

The room exploded into chaos.

Ice crystals burst from the floorboards beneath Karrick’s feet while vines erupted through the walls, their thorned lengths wrapping around my father’s legs before he could complete his spell. My mother shrieked as a gust of wind slammed her backward against the window, her carefully styled hair whipping around her face. Glass cracked, but the frame held her weight before she slipped to the floor in a heap.

But Karrick wasn’t done. He roared again, a sound that was more beast than man, and I watched in awe as flames danced along his claws. Not just any flames, they burned with the same golden orange color as my own fire magic, as if our bond, though dampened, was somehow amplifying his power.