“Not certain, but I’m guessing someone involved with Grison, which means he somehow discovered I’m here.”
“Shit.” Cael prodded at the healing starburst mark on his stomach. “You couldn’t even protect yourself. How long have you been chasing him?”
Thaddeus tilted his head one way, then the other, loosening the muscles. “Long enough to make it down here. He had slipped into my chambers. His magical surveillance roused me. Is there any way for you to trace his energy to see how much of your home he stalked?”
Shaye nodded, lowering down to the dead Fae. He hovered a hand over his shriveled face. A few seconds later, faint, flickering strands of energy lifted from the Fae’s skin and absorbed into Shaye’s fingers.
A piercing scream shattered the silence.
His heart sank. “Rori!”
Cael vanished. Thaddeus lunged for the stairs.
Shaye grabbed his shoulder and sifted them to Thaddeus’s chambers.
Ice and fire erupted within him when he saw Cael writhing on the ground in the doorway, blood spreading across his shirt, but his world pulsed red when he snapped his head up and pinned Rori in the center of the room, another bloody Fae with his arm wrapped around her chest, holding a knife to her throat.
“We’ll see you soon, I’m sure,” the Fae taunted.
Thaddeus roared, diving toward Rori as she disappeared before his eyes. Magic whipped around him, pulling him back. He thrashed in the binds, blinded by rage, until he fellto his knees, threw his head back, and unleashed a soul-shredding bellow.
“Thaddeus—”
“Release me, Shaye. Release me from these binds, these bloody fucking cuffs, save my brother.” Thaddeus dropped his head forward and leveled a frigid glower on Shaye. The Fae didn’t as much as flinch. “He willkillher.”
Slowly, the binds retracted. “You can’t do this alone, Thaddeus.”
His power swirled like a cyclone beneath his skin. His body shook with pent-up fury. Raw fear. He was unpredictable, consumed by fury, and Shaye had to know it.
Sieving breath between clenched teeth, tempering his control behind tight muscles and clenched fists, he turned within himself, seeking comfort in the glowing bond. It beat strong and fast, the rich light pulsing brightly.
A frightening calm came over him by the time he opened his eyes. The faint lift of Shaye’s brow confirmed the shift in his energy. He tipped his head and cast a glance over his shoulder. Rihanna and Bryce hovered over Cael.
“Release me,” he whispered, lifting his wrists. “You have my word I will do no harm to you or your family as long as I live. Come with me or not, but let me save Rori.”
Shaye set his shoulders and rested his palms over the cuffs. The gold warmed, then fell away from his wrists. “I’m coming with you.”
He rose at the same pace as Thaddeus. The familiar thrum of power surged through him, rippling blue and white veins over his skin. He flexed his fingers, a sprinkle of magic falling from his fingertips.
Urgency burst through his return of magic. He manifested a simple tunic and a pair of boots, and reached for Shaye’s arm in preparation to sift.
Shaye caught his forearm, delaying their departure. The man held his hand, palm up. A shimmer started at his fingers, stretching and lengthening, the glittering light thickening as an object manifested.
Thaddeus cut his gaze up to Shaye with surprise. Shaye lifted the dagger and pressed it into Thaddeus’s palm. “It may come in handy.”
“Aye.”
He drew the familiar blade from its sheath, blue power skittering down the etching in the blade. Testing the edge, he smiled as it drew a drop of blood from his thumb, power vibrating within the silver. His blood-forged blade, recognizing its owner. With one quick swipe, he opened his palm, caught Shaye’s hand with a split-second clap, and held him steady as he bore his sincerity into his old friend.
“You now have my promise, in blood, I shall never bring harm upon you or your family. You, Shaye, have my loyalty through the end of my days.”
He never gave Shaye time to respond before he sifted them from the safety of the castle to the dark underbelly of a cavernous hell.
35
“Welcome.”
Rori spun around, stifling a gasp, the skirts of the gown she’d donned in haste scraping the rock-and-pebble ground as she searched for a face to go with the voice that echoed in this dark, damp room. The furious beat of her heart echoed in her ears, feeding her precious bond life, the wet chill in the air luring goosebumps down her arms. A pitiful fire sputtered from a rustic pit in the center of the floor, casting eerie shadows along jagged rock that arched to a point overhead. The small space contained no furniture. A single threadbare blanket lay in a heap beside the firepit, along with a metal cup that looked to have been crushed a few times.
