Page 21

QUINN

W e ran.

The only thing guiding us through the forest was the faint, flickering trace of magic that lingered in the air—the only tether we had to Violet. It was weak, fragmented, barely enough to track, but it was all we had.

Elphias had taken her.

When we’d opened the restroom door, they were already gone, only leaving a fresh trace of magic behind.

We had been too late to stop it.

Nicholas released a sharp, vicious curse, his magic crackling like lightning in the air around him. "This is bullshit." His voice was low, furious, each word a growl of frustration. "How the fuck did this happen? Kenji, your spells—"

“They held” Kenji interrupted, his voice deadly serious. He didn’t even look at Nicholas, didn’t spare him a glance. His gaze was on the trail ahead, sharp, unwavering. “Elphias isn’t just any threat. If the Claustra couldn’t contain him, nothing we had in place was ever going to.”

It wasn’t an excuse. It was the truth.

And yet, it didn’t make any of this easier to swallow. To accept.

I gritted my teeth, pushing harder, running through trees as fast as I could. My lungs burned, my heart pounded with a singular, all-consuming need—to reach her. To make sure she was okay.

Because she had been taken. Because we had let it happen. Because the thought of her in his hands, helpless and afraid, made me sick.

“Can’t you try the location spell again?” I panted, turning to Kenji. “The trace is fading.”

He curtly shook his head. “It’s not working.” He waved, a frustrated sigh escaping his lips. “It’s full of protection barriers. I could work around them, but…”

He didn't need to finish the sentence: I knew what he meant, we all did. We didn't have time to waste. Violet was probably being stripped of a part of herself, of her magic, right that moment, while we ran around practically aimlessly.

Now I understood that urge to save her friend—that willingness to do absolutely anything in her power to bring her back home. I understood, because I felt the same. I wasn't a violent person by any means, but at the moment, I was ready to burn the world to the ground just to get to her. I was prepared to betray, torture, kill. All for her, just for her.

“Where the fuck did he take her?” Nicholas snarled, running beside me. “I feel the trace, but—”

He trailed off.

I knew what had made him stop talking.

The magic was... shifting, growing bigger. What had once been a frail trace, a vague aftertaste we kept losing track of, was now thrumming with an intensity that was impossible to ignore.

Kenji was the first to slow down, his gaze narrowing. “There. It’s close.”

As we ran, faster than before, I found myself praying and hoping Violet would be okay. Safe. That the Exiled had done nothing to harm her in any way.

Kenji and Nicholas stopped, and I skidded to a halt beside them, my breath uneven as I took in the sight before us.

A bunker entrance in the middle of a clearing.

Or at least, what had once been a bunker entrance.

Now, the ground was torn apart, the earth fractured and scorched, as if something had ripped itself free from the inside out.

The magic in the air was thick, pulsing, strong enough to tingle against my skin like static electricity.

And yet—

It felt familiar.

Nicholas stepped closer, his jaw clenched. “This magic…” His fingers curled at his sides, his power unfurling around him as if to test the presence lingering in the air. “It’s Violet’s, isn’t it?”

Pointless question. We all knew it was. The nature of it was clear, undeniable.

Kenji didn’t waste another second. He moved toward the broken entrance, shoving aside debris as we followed close behind.

Inside, the air was thick, humid, laced with the stench of burnt magic. The bunker was dark, the only lights coming from the outside and from the faint, flickering runes carved into the walls. They kept giving out, like they couldn’t gather enough power to stay on.

And in the center of the room, firmly tied against a column by thick ropes—

Elphias.

Unconscious. Bloody. Defeated.

A sharp silence fell over the three of us.

“Well, shit.” Nicholas let out a slow breath, his gaze assessing the scene before him. “She did it.”

Kenji stepped forward and stopped before the man. His fingers barely brushed Elphias’s chest before he pulled back, his brows furrowed in something close to disbelief. “She knocked him out cold.”

A slow, almost incredulous laugh slipped out of my lips.

Our Violet. Our love.

The girl who had once struggled to summon her power, who had been at the mercy of her own magic, of fate, of everyone who thought she was nothing but a pawn—

She had taken down the Exiled.

She’d used her powers to protect herself, and she’d succeeded.

"She's getting scary" I murmured, unable to hold back the slight, proud smirk tugging at my lips.

Nicholas scoffed. “She’s always been scary.” His gaze flickered to Elphias, and his expression hardened. “The world’s just finally seeing it.”

But there was no time to celebrate.

Violet wasn’t here.

We all seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time: we stared at each other and then looked around the room, following the trace of magic she’d left behind. I saw it almost immediately: a gate opening in one of the stone walls. “There” I said, pointing in its direction. “Let’s go.”

Without hesitation, we stepped through.

The tunnel was narrow, humid, the scent of damp stone and moss filling my lungs as we hurried through. The walls seemed to vibrate with magic, with something ancient, something alive.

And then came light.

The tunnel opened up into a massive cavern and, at its heart—a lake—a big, round lake filled with glowing water.

And in the center of it, Violet.

She was standing in the water, submerged to her waist, hands lifted.

Relief crashed over me so hard and fast that I nearly sank to my knees.

She was alive.

She was okay.

And she was about to cross into the fae realm.