Page 27

ONCE THE eggs were finished, Max put them in the oven to keep warm until Caius and Quinn were ready to eat, turning the bacon down to let it cook a bit longer. Then he turned on the news on the off chance there was anything being said about Lukas’ plane disappearing.

What he found was so much worse.

On the screen was a video of a pillar of flames, one he recognized as his, from when the Order first approached them. His magic had reacted on his instinct, afraid the mage would hurt Caius and Quinn before dragging Max off to be forced to fight for the highest bidder.

When the flames vanished, the clip switched to another, this one of the attack outside the college.

Conveniently, the part where his father’s man shot Quinn was edited out, and it only showed him burning the men to ash with a raging inferno.

The anchor was talking about a rogue mage and a new, feral shifter pack trying to settle in the city, blatantly flaunting their power and ignoring even the most basic laws.

“What the fuck,” he whispered, the remote creaking in his grip. He really wished some of his father’s men were around so he could burn them down again.

His phone chimed, and he dug it out of his pocket, frowning at the unknown number before opening the text.

If you want this to stop, come outside.

“Fuck.” He tossed the remote on the couch before stalking to the door and throwing it open.

He didn’t bother finding his coat as he hopped down the stairs and found a black SUV at the curb.

He strode all the way across the yard and stopped while still inside the warding Rían had put in place, crossing his arms and glaring at the short woman standing beside the back door. “The fuck do you want?”

“My contract would like to speak with you.”

Max narrowed his eyes. She was a mage, he could sense the magic around her if he focused, but there was no way he was getting in that car. “Where are they, then? ”

She opened the door, revealing an older man with more white than black in his hair and storm-gray eyes. The man may have been smiling, but Max recognized a predatory smile when he saw one.

“Please, get in so we can chat.”

Max laughed in his face. “I’m not that stupid.” He was, however, stupid enough to have come out here without even his familiar, much less letting Caius know the Order was apparently at their doorstep.

The man’s smile tightened as he reached across the seat and, like an actual villain, pulled a young woman with a gag forward enough that Max could see her.

“No,” he breathed, taking an involuntary step towards his sister.

“Now, get in the car,” the man ordered. “Or I’ll give her to my men.”

Angelica’s yell was muffled by the gag as she twisted away from the man, but she didn’t get far.

Max didn’t realize his hands were on fire until the other mage summoned water around her own.

“We don’t want a fight.”

He sneered at the lie, but there wasn’t much he could do with his magic. Not with Angelica in the way. Even if he only blew their tires, unless he could get her out of the car, she’d get hurt. Or worse.

He flexed his fingers as he forced his lungs to work and released the flames into harmless smoke. “Let her go.”

The man sighed and pulled a pistol from his suit jacket.

“Stop!” Max yelled, stepping forward before the man could point the gun at his sister.

“Fine. I’ll get in.” Even though his entire body ran cold at the thought of getting in that car, he forced his feet to move him forward.

There was a tug along his familiar bond as Aradia clued in that something was wrong, but he urged her to stay away.

If he was lucky, she’d be able to guide Caius to wherever they took him, even if it was only to his corpse.

He climbed in and reached for Angelica’s clenched fists, ignoring the man facing them as he burned through the zip ties and then pulled away the gag.

Angelica surged forward and threw her arms around Max’s neck.

Max froze. They’d rarely even spoken to each other without their father present, and she’d certainly never been allowed near him, as if his gayness were contagious.

He’d been sure she didn’t even see him as a brother.

He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her back, the shock twisting inside him when he felt a sharp, tiny stab of pain in his neck.

He flinched away, grabbing at his neck and knocking her hand away. The syringe clattered to the floorboards. No. No, no, this wasn’t happening.

“Papa was right,” Angelica scoffed, and Max looked up to see their father’s sneer on her face. “You’re a disappointment.”

A strange sound escaped his throat as a familiar cold numbness crept through his limbs. He should have known better. His father never let Angelica go anywhere without at least three bodyguards. There was little chance anyone could take her by force and make it here without retaliation.

Panic and adrenaline tried to kick his heart into overdrive, but the sedative was already taking hold. He didn’t have more than a few seconds. He’d been drugged and kidnapped enough times to know that. More than once on his father’s orders, even.

The first time he’d been in kindergarten. He left school and climbed into the usual car waiting for him. The guards were different, but his father routinely moved people around, so it hadn’t worried him until one of them jabbed a needle into him.

Despite how careful he’d been after that, he’d still been taken twice more by his father’s men. The last time, they’d chased him for seven blocks before catching him. That was one of the reasons he preferred his motorcycle. It was faster and more maneuverable, and no help to him now.

He managed to get one foot out of the car before the mage pushed him back inside and slammed the door shut.

The last thing he saw before he blacked out was the man with storm-gray eyes smirking at him.