Page 21

I sat in the same cell I had been in when this whole thing began. I had forgotten quite how dreary the place was, and just how much I hated it.

I didn’t know what they had in store for me, but I didn’t intend on finding out. I may have gone with Ronan quietly, but that didn’t mean I was planning on staying here. I had been biding my time for once instead of acting out impulsively. When it was finally the right time, I could enact my plan.

I pushed myself to my feet and walked over to the door. Staring at the lock, I bit my lip, thinking about what I had told Will just the other day, how none of the slaves thought outside the box because we just assumed it was hopeless. Myself included. Which meant the slavers sometimes took shortcuts.

The door was magic-proof. I already knew that. But that didn’t mean it was immune to fire.

Taking a deep breath, I held out a finger and began muttering an incantation. A bright, hot, concentrated flame erupted from my finger. I crouched and began to draw it around the lock, cutting through the metal. After a long minute when I didn’t breathe, I finished cutting through the metal. I pushed at the door, and it swung open, the lock no longer attached to the rest of the door.

Giving a breathless, relieved laugh, I stepped out, looking first one way and then the other. I crept down the hall, moving toward the door, practically tasting freedom.

Just as I was about to get away, something grabbed a fistful of my hair and jerked me backward. I cried out in pain as I staggered backward against firm muscle. Peering up, I saw Ronan’s furious expression staring down at me.

“You have some sort of death wish?” he snarled. “Or are you just an idiot?”

My eyes widened as I stared up at him, breath catching in my throat as dread crept over me. With a snarl, he began dragging me back down the hall toward my cell. I cried out, struggling, trying to push him away from me. When that didn’t work, I muttered another incantation. My long hair cut itself, snipping just below where Ronan had grabbed it.

The instant I had wrenched myself free of his grip, my scalp burning, I muttered another incantation. A cool breeze washed across me, and I felt his grip loosen in surprise before my elbow slammed into his stomach.

Ronan let out an oof , and his grip loosened enough for me to get out of his grasp. I dipped away as Ronan roared in fury, hands snatching air as he tried to grab me again.

“Where the hell did you go, you little bitch?” he demanded, spinning around, his head swiveling as he tried to catch a glimpse of me. His nostrils flared, and he rounded until he faced me. With a low growl, he swiped his arm out, his fingers inches from my arm as it whooshed by.

I sucked in a breath, barely breathing as my heart pounded. I couldn’t leave. The instant the door opened, he would know where I was. I could try to lure him into a cell, but the instant he thought I was inside, he would just close the door and lock it. Which meant I needed to come up with some other way of getting around here.

Dipping away, I tried to remain silent. He could still smell me, but that would only do him so much. If I could just—

My foot nudged a pebble. Ronan snarled, spinning toward the sound and charging like a bull. He missed me by inches, the air whooshing past me. He turned on his heels and searched wildly.

Curious, barely able to speak, I crouched, picking up another rock and throwing it down the hall. He spun and ran again, so furious that he could barely control his speed.

As I crept around, keeping myself close to the wall, I kept an eye on him as my plan began to form. Ronan continued searching for me, eyes burning with anger as they darted wildly. He kept himself between me and the exit, knowing that, even if he couldn’t see me, he would be able to keep me from getting out.

Knowing I was taking a gamble, and also knowing that I didn’t have much else I could do, I picked up another rock and threw it. Ronan turned and bolted, heading toward the sound. The instant I knew he couldn’t stop, I uttered a spell, and a patch of floor turned into pure ice. Ronan ran across it. The instant his foot touched the smooth, cold surface, it slipped out from underneath him, and he kept going. He stumbled forward, continuing to move at breakneck pace. Before he could stop himself, his head slammed into the wall. He twitched, then stilled.

Panting, adrenaline pumping through me as I stared down at the body. I turned visible again. My hands trembled as disbelief swam through my head. Ronan had been this massive, larger-than-life figure. Now, he was nothing more than a cooling body.

I shook my head to clear it. I only had a short amount of time; I couldn’t stand around gawking like an idiot. I needed to get out of here. I needed his keys.

Rummaging through Ronan’s pockets, I found the keys to the cells. Glancing around, I bit my lip, hesitating for only a brief moment. I couldn’t leave all these girls in cages. They needed to be let out. Only a small number of the women were being held here, but it wasn’t like I could just walk away.

I knew it put me at risk, but I couldn’t help it. I ran to the first door, stuffed the key inside, and twisted. The door swung open. The girl on the other side stared at me, bewildered.

I kept moving down the row of cells, muttering softly to each one as they all piled out. They clustered together, waiting for me to finish unlocking the cells instead of running.

Just as I was unlocking the last cell, a rattling sound came from beyond the closed door leading to the rest of the cells. All the girls froze, myself included. A soft gasp and a sob came from one of them.

Without thinking, I raised my hand and sent another invisibility spell over us. It wouldn’t do anything to hide Ronan’s dead body or the dozens of opened cages, but I didn’t have the time to come up with anything more elaborate at the moment. I would just have to make do.

We waited as the rattling sound continued. I sucked in a breath, heart pounding, waiting to see what would come through those doors and preparing for the worst.

It wasn’t until the door cracked open and a familiar, comforting scent, one of oak and vanilla, wafted toward me that I realized who it really was. A moment later, the door flew open, and Will, Chris, and Nolan all barged in.

They blinked for a moment, looking at what they perceived as an empty room, save for a dead body, with dozens of open cell doors. Will went pale, then his fists clenched. I could sense the rage and panic radiating off him.

“Fuck!” Will snarled, running his fingers through his hair as he looked around wildly.

“Did they move them?” Chris asked.

I stared at Will’s panicked expression as he looked around wildly, his nostrils flaring as if hoping to catch my scent. A flurry of emotion washed over me, my heart thundering in a way I wouldn’t have expected as his scent filled my nose. I hadn’t realized until just this moment that I had been thinking about how badly I wanted to see him again.

“Not quite,” I said. A shimmer rippled through the air as I dropped the invisibility spell.

Will’s head had whipped in my direction the instant he heard my voice. When I came into view, relief spilled over his face.

We stared at each other for a long moment. I had come up with a dozen different things I wanted to tell Will while I had been in the cell. Only now, none of the words I wanted to tell him would come, despite my best efforts.

It turned out that it didn’t matter. Without a single word, he stalked forward, his eyes locked on me. He grabbed my wrist, tugged me toward him, and pressed his lips to mine, his hand going to the back of my head, locking me in place as his mouth claimed mine. His grip on me tightened, as if unwilling to let go of me, worried I would vanish into the ether, never to be seen again. I melted into his embrace, relishing the taste of him, relieved to be this close to him once again after worrying that I would never see him again. For the briefest moment, nothing else mattered, only him and I, and the fact that we were both still alive and okay.

“That’s cool,” Nolan said, raising his eyebrows and giving a grin. “Makes you wonder what else witches can do, eh?”

He moved to nudge Chris in the ribs, who ignored it. I didn’t pay them any attention, instead tightening my hold on Will as I let myself drown in his scent, nuzzling into his neck as I inhaled that sea breeze and cedar scent. My wolf growled, her tail trashing in pleasure. For a moment, nothing else but the two of us mattered.

“I’m sorry I let them take you,” he said, his voice soft as he murmured into my ear.

“It’s not your fault,” I said. It was the only thing I could think to say as a whirl of emotions ran through me, muddying my words. All I wanted in that moment was to stay here for as long as possible.

And I realized with a jolt that, despite everything, I should have been listening to what my wolf had been trying to tell me all along. I was in love with Will. Part of me wanted to scream it out right then and there, while the other part of me wanted to hold onto it and not say it in front of everyone else. Either way, it didn’t seem to matter all that much. Will was here, right here next to me. That was all I cared about at this moment.

A moment later, we broke apart, and the spell was broken. We stepped away from one another, and the reality of all the problems plaguing us crashed back into place. We stood in the middle of what was effectively a jail, with a bunch of slaves I had just freed, Morgan nowhere in sight. And, unless Will had something up his sleeve, we had no plan on how to get her or the rest of the girls out of here without getting caught.

“We have to get out of here,” Will said.

“I know,” I said, but Will shook his head.

“No, I mean we need to leave. We need to get to the portal. Cain’s closing it.”

My breath went shallow, the words swimming in my head. Of course, he was closing it. It was his best move. But if he was going to do that, then…

“Morgan,” I said, my voice tight with emotion. “She’s… I can’t…”

I expected Will to tell me it was too late, that we had to leave. But he squeezed my shoulders and nodded, his eyes piercing into mine.

“I know,” he said. “And I know you’re not going to leave without her. We’re going to get her. Don’t worry.”

I stared up at him, my mouth dropping slightly. Then, because I couldn’t help myself, I wrapped my arms around Will again and brought his lips to mine.

The second our lips brushed against one another, he let out a growl and pulled me against him, arms wrapping around me as he held me tight. I relished the taste of him, not realizing how badly I had missed it until it was on my lips once again.

I could have stayed against him for an eternity. A gentle but blatant cough snapped me back to reality. We broke apart to see Chris and Nolan staring at us, an amused smirk playing on Nolan’s lips.

“Let’s get Morgan,” Will said.

“Where is she?” Chris asked.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I muttered an incantation, waiting to get a view of Morgan, hoping to see some sort of clue that would tell us where we could go, where we could find her. But instead of the normal reflection rippling to reveal my sister, the ripple showed nothing but blackness.

I stared for a long moment, barely able to breathe as my mind raced, unable to figure out why I couldn’t see my sister. Panic began to spin and spiral inside me. My breathing went shallow as realization struck.

I closed my eyes, wanting to scream. “He set up enchantments around her so we couldn’t look for her,” I explained, my fingers curling into fists. “Most likely, he had Lucas do it. He probably did it after we found her the first time.”

“Do you have any idea where he might have taken her?” Chris asked.

“There’s the door in the receiving room,” I said. “Maybe there?”

“Worth a shot, since we don’t have any better leads. Nolan, you go with the girls,” Will ordered. “Make sure they get to the portal safely. Then leave and make sure Declan knows what’s going on.”

“I’ll agree to the first half,” Nolan said. “I’m sure as hell coming back after they’re out.”

Will rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath, but nodded. With a short jerk of his head, Nolan ushered the other girls out, guiding them down the hall and toward freedom. Will, Chris, and I took a different route, running through the massive halls toward our destination.

Our footsteps echoed in the massive receiving room as we hurried in. It was empty. No sign of Cain, no whiff of his scent or Morgan’s. I pushed the sickening dread that we were wrong down, stuffing it deep. I had to keep trying. Taking a deep breath, I hurried to the room where I had seen them drag Morgan through what felt like a century ago.

I was only halfway across the room when a voice cut through our footsteps. “You should have left when you had the chance.”

Our heads whipped around. Lucas strolled toward us, hands in his pockets, as he gave a sickening grin.

He came to a stop some ways away, far enough that if any of us lunged toward him, he could dart out of the way without trouble.

“This is what I don’t get about you,” he said. “You had the chance to leave and get away without any trouble. Several times. Hell, Cain probably would have even let you live if you had managed to free Kendra. But you had to get greedy. You freed all those other slaves, who we now have to track down. And on top of that, you think that he would let you come for his favorite slave? You had to know he wasn’t going to stand for that.”

“Where is she?” I hissed.

“Gone.” Lucas examined his nails, seeming almost bored.

“Bullshit. Tell me where she is,” I demanded, trying and failing to keep my rage in check. But a kernel of panic sank into my stomach. It didn’t seem like Lucas was lying.

“It doesn’t matter. You aren’t going to get to her.”

The confidence in his voice made my stomach twist and churn. I could hear my own breathing go ragged.

“That’s for us to decide,” Chris said. “Tell us where she is before we tear you to shreds.”

Lucas barked out a laugh that made my insides run cold. “I told you, she’s gone. She and Cain aren’t here anymore. She made them both a portal. They went through it about thirty minutes ago, and now there’s no way you can get them.”

The words rang in my ears, reverberating over and over again. I couldn’t breathe. Morgan was gone. Somewhere, I couldn’t get to her. Cain had taken her, and I couldn’t get her back.

I’d failed, and I would never see my sister again.

The room spun as the words kept screaming in my head. It couldn’t be true. It being true meant that there was nothing I could do.

“You’re lying,” I accused, my voice breaking.

That earned another mocking laugh from Lucas. “Do you really think that?” he sneered.

I had to. The only other option was to believe him. And if I believed him, that meant Morgan was gone and I couldn’t get to her.

When I didn’t answer, Lucas rolled his eyes. He held out his hands. A shimmering ripple appeared, a mirror into another place, one far better than I could make. My heart went into my throat as I saw Morgan curled up. Her head lifted, and her mouth dropped open as she saw me.

“Kendra?” she asked.

“Morgan—” I ran toward it, my hand outstretched. My fingers went through the image.

“Tell her what happened,” Lucas ordered Morgan.

She jumped and looked over at him. “Cain took me away,” she said. Her eyes went wide in realization. “Kendra, just run. Get out of here while you still can.”

Pain and anguish ripped through me, tearing me to shreds. It was all I could do to stay on my feet. I knew when my sister was lying. She couldn’t tell a lie to save her life. She was telling the truth.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, my voice breaking. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

“It’s not,” Morgan said firmly. “This would have happened anyway. But if you really want to make it up to me. You’ll get out of there before anything happens to you. Please. Don’t think about me. Just run.”

I couldn’t just not think about her. This was Morgan. A lump formed in my throat as I slumped.

“I love you,” I said. “I’m going to find a way to get you out of there at some point, Morgan. I promise.”

She gave a tired smile. “I love you, too.”

I opened my mouth to say something else. Then the image flickered and vanished, leaving nothing but the wall. I barely breathed, my head swimming as I rocked back and forth.

“So he just gave up his entire operation?” Will demanded, not bothering to hide his skepticism. His hand went to the small of my back, comforting me. “That doesn’t seem like him.”

Shrugging, Lucas said, “He can always come back. He plans on it, once you three are dead. He’ll open a different portal, and things will go back to the way they were before you came traipsing in.” He gave a sickening grin that made my insides churn and bile rise in my throat. “In other words, you failed.”

“Not yet,” Will snarled, his fingers curling into claws as he stared Lucas down.

Lucas regarded Will with some interest, his head cocked. “You know, it’s really a pity,” he said. “You would have been a valuable asset if you hadn’t made all the stupid mistakes you had. I think Cain would have enjoyed working with you.”

“Funny. Because I sure as hell wouldn’t have enjoyed working with him.”

Lucas yawned. “This self-righteousness is boring,” he said. He snapped his fingers, and every door slammed open. Several guards strolled in, some already shifted into hulking wolves. Every entrance was now blocked.

Will stepped in front of me, one hand gently nudging me back toward the wall. Of course. Because I couldn’t actually hurt any of them, I was a massive liability.

That didn’t mean I was useless.

“Let’s get this over with,” Lucas said.

Then a bright orange, perfect sphere of flame appeared in his hand. He gave an amused grin and, without another word, hurled it directly at us.