Page 31 of Blood Skye (Skye Druids #6)

Chapter Thirty-One

Song leaned heavily against the wall. Her wig had fallen off somewhere in the fight with the sentinels. Strands of her hair were stuck to the sides of her sweat-soaked face. If she hadn’t experienced Shane’s course for herself, she never would’ve gotten through the encounters after entering the stairwell.

She pressed her cheek against the wall and closed her eyes. She was exhausted. The temptation to slide down the wall until her bum met the ground was so tempting her knees bent. Song slapped her hands against the partition to stop herself. She had to remain on her feet. Once she was on the ground, she likely wouldn’t get back up.

Despite her training, getting through the gamut had taken every ounce of strength, determination, and skill she had. It was a miracle she was still on her feet. There were no live guards. There were only sensors that prompted an assortment of attacks. Sometimes , all at once.

Her body throbbed, ached, or stung everywhere. Her head felt as if someone had stuck their hand inside and squeezed. The worst part of it all was that she didn’t know how much farther she had to go.

Tears stung her eyes. She wished she wasn’t alone. No . What she really wished was that Carlyle was with her. And to think, she had believed herself capable of finding Thomas and her sister on her own. She wouldn’t admit it aloud, but she knew her dream of getting herself and Jai away from London was nothing more than a delusion.

The chances of her actually locating her sister were so slim they wouldn’t show up on a chart. Devon had spent the last decade planning and scheming, but it had all been for naught. Even if she and her sister managed to escape, how long would it be before London found them? What came after would make them both long for death.

A tear ran down Song’s cheek. She was still that scared little girl, waiting for her parents to return. Always waiting.

And always alone.

Except she hadn’t been. Carlyle had stood beside her. Sure , it was because they were after the same thing, but the reason didn’t matter. It was the fact that he had stood with her when no one else would have. She wondered if Finn had found him yet. It was difficult to tell how much time had passed when she’d been trying to stay alive. Surely , Carlyle and Finn were on their way back to the Isle of Skye and far out of the London Druids ’ reach by now. At least, she hoped they were.

Carlyle would only remain safe if she carried through with her promise to find Thomas . And she couldn’t do that if she didn’t get moving.

Song opened her eyes and used her hands to push herself away from the wall. She attempted to take a step only when she could stand on her own. It was more of a shuffle, but it was movement. The second step wasn’t much better. On the third, she lost her balance and slammed her shoulder into the wall.

She bit back a cry of pain yet somehow stayed on her feet. What little energy Song had was fading fast. If she had to face one more guard, she wasn’t sure she would make it. But she couldn’t linger. Others would find her.

The elders had manipulated her, shaped her, and used her. Only one person had ever considered what she wanted. Carlyle .

Enemy turned ally.

Song thought about him and her sister when she put one foot in front of the other. She slid her shoulder against the wall since it provided the support she needed to stay upright and meant she didn’t have to exert more energy to keep her balance. That way, she could save it for the next battle.

“ You’re hurt,” Esther said breathlessly as she eyed her brother.

All three of them sported various wounds. Carlyle pressed his hand against his left side and felt the unmistakable warmth of blood on his fingers. If he had kept his balance, he would’ve been able to spin away from that side hit. Instead , he was bleeding.

Henry held up a hand when Esther started toward him. “ I’m fine. Just bruised a bit. Carlyle is the one who’s bleeding.”

“ I’ll be okay,” Carlyle argued when she moved to him.

Esther moved his hand aside. “ If we don’t stop the blood flow, you won’t be much good for anything or to anyone.”

He didn’t want to take the time to deal with his injuries. Not only didn’t he know how many more trials they had to go through, but he also wasn’t sure how far ahead Song had gotten. Or if she was hurt.

“ Bloody hell,” Carlyle said between clenched teeth as Esther pressed against his injury.

She glanced up at him. Her hair was disheveled, and her shirt sleeve was torn. She ripped off the sleeve and used the material to wrap around him to stanch the blood. He bit back a grimace when she yanked it tight.

“ Was Shane’s course as difficult?” Henry asked.

Carlyle nodded. “ We ran it many times. The moment he thought Mason and I were beginning to predict the attacks, he changed things up. A few parts of the course were stationary, but most moved around.”

“ Sounds fun,” Henry replied with a grin.

Esther shot him a dark look and went to inspect his injury. “ Yeah . This is so much fun.”

“ We got hurt,” Carlyle said, returning to memories to help take his mind off the pain. “ But there were ways out if things got to be too much. Neither of us ever liked to give up. We were so stubborn, Shane had to stop the training a few times to see to our wounds.”

Henry wiped the side of his face against his shoulder. “ I just wish I knew if he’d trained you two because he thought you would be elders or because he suspected you might need to infiltrate this place.”

“ He never said. And we asked. A lot.” Carlyle leaned his head back against the wall.

Esther rose and went to Henry . “ Does this mean Shane created all of this?” She gestured at the area around them.

“ Maybe . I don’t know,” Carlyle admitted. “ It would make sense, though.”

“ Goddammit ,” Henry said and yanked his arm away from Esther . “ That hurts.”

“ Then be still,” she chided.

Carlyle drew in a deep breath, then immediately regretted it as agony tore through him. “ There’s a way to shut these off. I can’t see the elders going through the maze as it is. The traps are set to stop others.”

Esther finished with Henry and looked at Carlyle . “ Perhaps Song knew how.”

“ I hope so.” Carlyle used the wall to get to his feet.

Henry looked back in the direction they had come. “ How many more do you think we have to face?”

“ Your guess is as good as mine,” Carlyle replied.

Esther tucked her hair behind her ears. “ We need to keep moving.”

“ Let’s go, then,” Henry murmured.

Song didn’t know how far she had gotten when she heard the voices. They were muffled, making it difficult to recognize them. She kept walking toward them, and the nearer she got, the more distinct the words became. One was a woman, the other a man. No , two men.

She kept her hand on the wall for balance but straightened. She was about to come face-to-face with Druids and needed to show strength. Even if she didn’t feel it. Song spotted a door slightly ajar ahead. She walked toward it while checking behind her every now and again. Magic pooled in the palm of the hand she held by her side, ready and waiting.

As Song neared the door, she could no longer hear the woman’s voice. She inched forward slowly and then looked behind her, but there were no other doors. The hallway stopped at the one she was walking toward. This had to be where they were keeping Thomas . Or at least a way to get to him. She paused and gathered herself, then dropped her hand from the wall. Magic swirled through her and filled both palms. Its smooth power dulled her aches and pains and eased her fears to give her composure and serenity.

Song closed the distance to the door and looked through the crack. She spotted a man in a hunter green shawl cardigan with his back to her. He had a head full of graying blond hair that brushed his neck and shoved a hand through the length. Something about that action seemed familiar. She leaned to the side and tried to see if any others were in the room, but the crack hampered her vision.

She returned to studying him. He wasn’t an elder, but something told her she knew him. Song silently pushed the door wide and stepped into the room. The man turned. Their eyes met, and the world tilted as she gazed into the face she hadn’t seen since the night she’d agreed to leave her parents’ house. The man before her was the very one she had begged to allow her sister to come.

“ Well . You do surprise,” he said as he looked her over. “ Though you are worse for wear. Still . I’m impressed you got through all the sentinels.”

“ Who are you?” she demanded.

One side of his mouth curved upward. “ There are many ways I can answer that.”

“ How about the truth?”

“ Truth ?” he asked, his brows raising. “ I don’t think you’re ready for that. I’m glad you returned to us, though. There was a slight misunderstanding before. You are important to the organization. We would never turn against you.”

Song had asked for the truth and received lies. That’s what the London Druids did. Well , not all of them. Carlyle didn’t. Though he wasn’t part of the organization anymore. Mason probably hadn’t either until they got to him. She imagined Carlyle’s father didn’t lie either.

“ A room is waiting for you upstairs,” the man continued. “ Why not get cleaned up and join the festival?”

“ A team was sent after me.”

His smile was tight, as if his patience were wearing thin. “ As I said, it was a misunderstanding.”

“ By whom? I want to know who issued the kill order.”

“ Now , Devon , we both know you aren’t in a position to ask for such things.”

She cringed inwardly at the use of her other name, then lifted her chin. “ I’d like to see my sister. I’m owed that, at least.”

Henry moved in front of Esther to block a blow from a sentinel after she twisted her knee. “ Carlyle !” he shouted.

Carlyle grabbed Esther and hurriedly pulled her out of harm’s way as Henry dealt with the final guard. Carlyle set Esther against the wall. Her face was white and pinched with pain, her breathing erratic.

“ This isn’t good,” Henry said as he squatted beside his sister.

She swallowed loudly in the silence. “ Give me a moment. I’ll be okay.”

“ You aren’t standing on that leg as it is now,” Carlyle said. “ Call for Melisse . She’ll get you both out.”

Esther touched Henry’s arm before he could call for his mate. “ What if they’ve warded the building against the Fae ?”

“ Melisse is half-dragon,” Henry said proudly. “ Nothing will stop her.”

“ And if she can’t get in, Balladyn can since he’s a Reaper ,” Carlyle said. His attention was diverted from the siblings when he heard voices. The longer he went without finding Song , the more worried he became. “ Do you hear that?”

“ Hear what?” Esther asked.

Carlyle looked over his shoulder and saw a thin beam of light stretch across the hallway. There was a door around the next corner. He cocked his head to the side and strained to listen. He heard the voices again.

He stood and turned. For just a moment, he thought he heard a woman’s voice. He took a step forward. Elation shot through him when he heard the voices again. Because he recognized Song’s .

He had to get to her.

“ Carlyle ,” Henry whispered loudly.

He looked back at the siblings to find Melisse next to them. Carlyle had been so wrapped up in the voices he hadn’t known Henry had called for Melisse . He pivoted to face the trio. “ Henry , Esther , thank you for coming this far, but this is where things end for you. Melisse , get them out. Now .”

“ I’m not going anywhere,” Henry stated and got to his feet.

Carlyle pointed behind him. “ Song is in there. I can hear her. There might be a chance for us to get out.”

“ And if there isn’t?” Esther asked. “ You’ll need help.”

There was no denying that. Carlyle ran a hand over his chin. “ You ’ re no good to anyone in your current condition. You need a Healer .”

“ Then I’ll stay,” Henry replied.

“ You know the elders are in the room with Song ,” Melisse said.

Carlyle nodded reluctantly. “ Probably . We’ll need help getting out of here. Set up at the exits and watch the building. Please ,” he added when none of them said anything. “ The only way she gets out of this with her life is with me.”

“ What do you intend to do about the elders?” Esther asked.

Carlyle released a long breath. “ I’ll handle them. Don’t worry. I won’t give in.”

“ You may not have a choice,” Melisse stated.

“ There’s always a choice.” Carlyle shrugged. “ And there’s you and Balladyn .”

Henry shook his head. “ I don’t like this. You shouldn’t go in alone.”

“ Did you not enter into the deadly vine forest alone?” Melisse asked.

Henry looked at her. “ I did, indeed. For you.”

“ What do you think Carlyle is doing?”

Esther used the wall to stand, keeping her weight off her injured leg. “ This is shite. Henry never should’ve gone in alone after you. And Carlyle shouldn’t remain here alone.”

“ I’ll call if I need you,” Carlyle promised Melisse .

The Dragon Queen gave him a stern look. “ Don’t make me regret this,” she said, right before she put her hands on Henry and Esther . In the next second, they were gone.