Page 54 of Kingdom of Chaos (Creatures of Chaos #2)

Thirty-Three

Kade leaves to start rallying his forces for tomorrow’s battle just after we release Kerrim’s lacky with a message for his boss.

It’s not five minutes after we watch the bloodied creature stumble into the trees and out of sight that a frantic Becks barrels into the small clearing, breathless and wild-eyed.

There’s a sheen of sweat on his brow; his hair looks like he’s run his hands through it a dozen times too many.

His phone is clutched tight in one hand, screen still lit up with missed calls.

His gaze darts from face to face, desperate. “Where is she?” he asks, but I can see in his eyes that he’s terrified of the answer.

“Kerrim has her,” Titus answers.

Becks’ face goes white. “We have to get her back.”

“We will,” I say, speaking up.

Becks angles in my direction, but he won’t meet my eyes.

It hurts, but I can’t blame him.

“If he uses that dagger on her . . .” he says, and the words hit like a punch to the gut.

I feel the blood drain from my face too.

It hadn’t even crossed my mind. But he’s right.

If Kerrim stabs Ensley with Shadow Striker, it won’t just hurt her, it’ll strip her magic.

Just like it did to Becks.

“We have a plan to lure him out to the park tomorrow rather than in a couple weeks. We sent a message back to him with one of his goons to?—”

I don’t get the rest of the plan out before Becks erupts.

“You had someone and you let him go?” he shouts, his furious gaze finally locking on me.

It’s not a look I’m used to seeing from Becks, sharp and burning. It hits hard enough to make me instinctively step back.

“You could have made him talk. You could have found out where they’re keeping her.”

Becks takes an aggressive step toward me, and Talon shifts slightly so he’s standing at my side, a clear warning without uttering a single word. Becks’ nostrils flare.

“He didn’t know where they were taking her,” Titus says, speaking up. “Trust me, we got all the information out of him that we were going to.”

I cringe inwardly, remembering the shape he was in. Bloodied, broken, barely conscious. Whatever Titus did to make him talk, it worked.

But I don’t feel bad for the creature. They took my best friend just to get to me. He deserved every second of it.

“You could have been here to question him yourself if you’d answered your phone,” Titus says, clearly annoyed.

Becks’ gaze flicks to me, and a flash of guilt twists in my chest. “Yeah, well, I didn’t know it was you that was calling.”

“Then next time pick up and check,” Titus snaps.

“Yeah,” Becks says, the fire draining out of him all at once, leaving only raw pain behind.

No matter how he feels about me right now, we both love Ensley with everything we have. Ensley may not be my sister by blood, but she’s my sister in every way that matters. If anyone understands what he’s going through, it’s me.

“Becks.” I take a cautious step closer. “We’re going to get her back. I swear.”

He goes still, fists curling at his sides, but he doesn’t look at me. “You swear, huh? I’m not sure how much your word means to me right now.”

The words hit harder than I expect, carving straight through the guilt already tearing me up inside. But I can’t argue. Not when he’s right to hate me a little.

“Hey, watch it,” Talon warns. “She’s hurting too.”

Becks finally lifts his head, his gaze bouncing between the two of us. Me, still trying to stand my ground, and Talon, unmoving at my side.

His jaw tics.

“Yeah,” he mutters. “Looks like she’s doing just fine.”

“Okay, what is going on here?” Imogen asks, and I glance over to see her and Titus watching the three of us with sharp, suspicious eyes.

“You’re acting like—” she cuts herself off, eyes suddenly widening.

And just like that, I know.

She’s figured it out, or at least come close enough to the truth.

She crosses her arms. “I see. So this tension isn’t about the missing sister, it’s about who Locklyn kissed.” A pause. “Priorities.”

Titus’ mouth drops open, and my face goes hot with embarrassment.

Becks turns away from all of us, but not before a glint of shame crosses his face.

My heart aches.

Ensley’s abduction is more important than anything that’s happened between us, but that doesn’t mean he’s not allowed to be affected by what I’ve done.

All I want is to go to him, to reach out, to say something that might make this less awful. But he won’t let me close. Not now.

“You said that we’re moving the plan up to tomorrow,” Becks asks.

“Yes,” Talon answers before I can. “Locklyn offered herself up in exchange for Ensley.”

Becks’ head snaps toward me. Despite the anger still lingering in his eyes, there’s something else beneath it. Fear.

“Can you be ready that fast to face him?” he asks.

I lift a shoulder. “I don’t have a choice.”

I can see the conflict written all over his face. He wants his sister back, desperately, but he knows how dangerous this is going to be for me. Even if he wants to argue, to beg me not to, he also knows he’s lost the right to tell me what to do.

Becks exhales through his nose, his mouth a hard line. “Then you better come back in one piece,” he mutters.

It’s not quite forgiveness, but it’s a start.

“I intend to,” I say.

Beck’ gaze softens and he nods.

“Does Kade know about all this?” he asks Titus.

“Yeah,” Titus says. “He’s gone back to Order headquarters to rally his people and speed up their planning.”

Becks nods again, more firmly this time. “Okay. I’ll go and see how I can help.”

I blink, caught off guard. “Seriously? You’re going back there?” Even earlier today, the thought of stepping foot in the Order’s headquarters again made his blood boil. “After everything they did to you?”

He shrugs, but there’s a grim steadiness in his eyes now. “I’m not exactly overflowing with magical usefulness these days.” A faint smile ghosts his lips, bitter but resigned. “If they’ve got a job for a guy without powers, I’ll take it. Ensley’s out there. I’m not sitting this out.”

For a moment, none of us say anything. Even Titus seems surprised.

Imogen breaks the silence first. “Don’t get too excited. They’ll probably have you filing paperwork.” But there’s a glint of reluctant respect in her eyes.

Titus studies Becks for a long second, then gives a small, approving nod. “The Order could use someone with firsthand knowledge of Kerrim’s tactics. Especially someone who’s fought him before and isn’t afraid to call them out on their crap.”

Becks’ mouth lifts in the ghost of a grin. “That I can do.”

Talon, still at my side, adds, “They’ll take one look at you and know you’ve got skin in the game.”

Becks gaze shifts to me, then back to Talon. “I do,” is all he says.

With that, I watch him turn, ready to walk away, and a tight ache clenches in my chest. He only gets a handful of steps away before I’m calling his name and jogging to catch up.

He pauses, shoulders tense as I reach him.

“I know going back there isn’t easy. So . . . just . . . thanks for not letting that stop you.”

What I really want to say is Thank you for still caring about me , even though you’re hurting . Because I know he’s going back there as much for me as he is for his sister.

But I don’t. I can’t.

He dips his head slightly, like he’s acknowledging the weight of it. “It’s not about me,” he says. “It’s about getting her back, and doing what I can to protect the ones I love.”

He meets my eyes then, and the look that passes between us sends a jolt straight through me. “That’s all that matters.”

His gaze lingers just a second too long before he turns and walks away.

I don’t stop him. I just stand there, heart pounding, the weight of everything between us pressing down on me.

It’s complicated. It’s painful. And it’s far from over.