“Give me five minutes.” Emile snorted. “I’ll bring her around.”
My father’s fist balled up, but Efron put a hand on Emile’s shoulder. “Now, now. World’s turning, rapidly shifting circumstances, remember? We won’t be able to spare you a round of fun with the girl.”
Emile shrugged Efron’s hand off. “This is a mistake. The little bitch is a traitor and should die.”
I watched their exchange, increasingly perplexed. What was happening?
Lumine crossed the room, assessing me with her gaze. “Apparently you’ve earned some friends among the Searchers, Calla.”
“And they have something we want,” Efron added.
“Your son was a fool to let himself be captured,” Emile spat. “You should leave him to rot in a Searcher hole.”
Emile rocked back on his heels when Efron cuffed him. “Remember yourself, wolf. The son of your master deserves your respect.”
Emile glared at him, but bowed his head in submission.
My mind reeled. Logan? Logan was claiming he’d been kidnapped. What the hell was going on?
“Come with me, Calla.” Lumine beckoned. “We don’t want to be late.”
I glanced at my father before walking to her side. She reached up, fingering tendrils of my shorn blond locks.
“It’s such a pity about your hair,” Lumine said. “What were you thinking?”
I didn’t answer her.
“Stephen, wait for me to return,” she said, pursing her lips as she watched my father. “You and I still have things to discuss.”
“Of course, mistress.” He bowed his head.
As I followed Lumine out of the room, I resisted the urge to look back at him. Right now I was supposed to be a headstrong, rebellious daughter who had no respect for her father. I couldn’t let the Keepers know that only two out of those three things were true.
I couldn’t see out of the dark tinted windows of the limo, but we drove for about an hour. My mind was still back in Vail. I wished there were some way to talk with my father. He would help us. He would fight the Keepers. But how could we possibly link his pack with the Searchers?
My body was exhausted. My mind in a frenzy. I still had no idea where I was being taken or what would happen when we arrived at our destination. No matter how confident I wanted to appear, curiosity won out when the car pulled to a stop.
“Where are we?”
“A terribly inconvenient location insisted upon by your friends.” Efron set down the glass of brandy he’d been sipping during the ride. “We should be commended for our cooperation.”
Emile growled quietly. He’d been staring at me for the entire trip. I knew he wanted to intimidate me, but it only made me hate him more. When he climbed past me, following Efron out of the limo, I whispered, “Someday I will watch you die.”
He smiled at me. All fangs. “Too afraid to try and kill me yourself?”
I slid a hard smile back at him without flinching. Fear had no part in it, but there were a number of people on the list of Emile’s enemies who deserved revenge more than I did. Including my father. Including Ren.
“Move along, Calla,” Lumine said, flicking me with her long nails.
I climbed out of the car. Emile stayed at my side, playing the role of prison guard, while the Keepers spent time smoothing the lines of their respective Chanel and Gucci suits. The driver and another man exited the car. I recognized both as elder Banes. They took up flanking positions beside the Keepers.
I looked around, trying to figure out where we were. We stood at the edge of a small meadow that broke up the pine forest. In the distance I could see the outlines of mountain peaks where snow-laden clouds curled around jagged rock. The air was too fresh to put us near any city, but we weren’t in the territory around Vail either.
We’d driven out of the storm as well. Here the occasional icy flake drifted past, but there was almost no sign of wind and the snow only reached our ankles in depth.
I caught the sign of movement in the trees across the open space. Figures emerged from the forest, coming toward us.
When I recognized the tumble of chestnut hair and long duster, I almost called out. Connor was alive. Just seeing him gave me hope that maybe the mission in Eydis hadn’t ended in disaster. Without thinking, I stepped toward him. Emile grabbed my arm, his fingers digging into my flesh hard enough to bruise. I ignored the pain as my eyes moved over the rest of the party, but I didn’t find who I was looking for. The two people I’d expect to lead an effort to rescue me, Shay and Ren, were nowhere to be seen. Neither were Bryn or Mason or Nev.
Connor was leading a slumped figure, who stumbled through the snow. Logan looked in much worse shape than the last time I’d seen him. When he got close, I saw his swollen, split lip and black eye.
“Father!” Logan cried out. Connor shoved an elbow into his ribs and Logan doubled over coughing.
“How dare you lay a hand on my son!” Efron shouted, eyes blazing. I saw power rolling over his shoulders like lightning and hoped Connor knew what he was doing. Even if an exchange had been agreed upon, if a wraith was in the mix, I didn’t have a lot of faith in our chances of getting out of this alive.
Anika glanced at Connor, shaking her head. “Enough.”
Connor continued to hold Logan’s gaze and dragged a finger across his throat. The young Keeper cowered and threw a pleading gaze at his father.
Quite the show they’re putting on for the Keepers. Please let it work.
Even though I wasn’t in on the plan, I trusted it was a good one.
A proud, stiff figure whose wrists were cuffed with steel kept pace with Anika. Sabine’s eyes were bloodshot, limbs trembling in the cold.
Sabine? What is she doing here? And why does she have metal restraints on her wrists?
Two more Searchers, armed with crossbows, took up the rear of the small party. They kept their weapons trained on Emile and the other two Banes. The small party came to a halt when they were about five feet away from us.
“I’d offer you refreshments, but you turned down my offer of hospitality,” Efron said to Anika, though he was watching Sabine. He looked as puzzled as I was by her appearance. His gaze was hard, shifting from fury to curiosity as she kept her own eyes downcast.
“Your offices hardly make a hospitable meeting place to us, Efron,” Anika said with a cold smile.
My father’s fist balled up, but Efron put a hand on Emile’s shoulder. “Now, now. World’s turning, rapidly shifting circumstances, remember? We won’t be able to spare you a round of fun with the girl.”
Emile shrugged Efron’s hand off. “This is a mistake. The little bitch is a traitor and should die.”
I watched their exchange, increasingly perplexed. What was happening?
Lumine crossed the room, assessing me with her gaze. “Apparently you’ve earned some friends among the Searchers, Calla.”
“And they have something we want,” Efron added.
“Your son was a fool to let himself be captured,” Emile spat. “You should leave him to rot in a Searcher hole.”
Emile rocked back on his heels when Efron cuffed him. “Remember yourself, wolf. The son of your master deserves your respect.”
Emile glared at him, but bowed his head in submission.
My mind reeled. Logan? Logan was claiming he’d been kidnapped. What the hell was going on?
“Come with me, Calla.” Lumine beckoned. “We don’t want to be late.”
I glanced at my father before walking to her side. She reached up, fingering tendrils of my shorn blond locks.
“It’s such a pity about your hair,” Lumine said. “What were you thinking?”
I didn’t answer her.
“Stephen, wait for me to return,” she said, pursing her lips as she watched my father. “You and I still have things to discuss.”
“Of course, mistress.” He bowed his head.
As I followed Lumine out of the room, I resisted the urge to look back at him. Right now I was supposed to be a headstrong, rebellious daughter who had no respect for her father. I couldn’t let the Keepers know that only two out of those three things were true.
I couldn’t see out of the dark tinted windows of the limo, but we drove for about an hour. My mind was still back in Vail. I wished there were some way to talk with my father. He would help us. He would fight the Keepers. But how could we possibly link his pack with the Searchers?
My body was exhausted. My mind in a frenzy. I still had no idea where I was being taken or what would happen when we arrived at our destination. No matter how confident I wanted to appear, curiosity won out when the car pulled to a stop.
“Where are we?”
“A terribly inconvenient location insisted upon by your friends.” Efron set down the glass of brandy he’d been sipping during the ride. “We should be commended for our cooperation.”
Emile growled quietly. He’d been staring at me for the entire trip. I knew he wanted to intimidate me, but it only made me hate him more. When he climbed past me, following Efron out of the limo, I whispered, “Someday I will watch you die.”
He smiled at me. All fangs. “Too afraid to try and kill me yourself?”
I slid a hard smile back at him without flinching. Fear had no part in it, but there were a number of people on the list of Emile’s enemies who deserved revenge more than I did. Including my father. Including Ren.
“Move along, Calla,” Lumine said, flicking me with her long nails.
I climbed out of the car. Emile stayed at my side, playing the role of prison guard, while the Keepers spent time smoothing the lines of their respective Chanel and Gucci suits. The driver and another man exited the car. I recognized both as elder Banes. They took up flanking positions beside the Keepers.
I looked around, trying to figure out where we were. We stood at the edge of a small meadow that broke up the pine forest. In the distance I could see the outlines of mountain peaks where snow-laden clouds curled around jagged rock. The air was too fresh to put us near any city, but we weren’t in the territory around Vail either.
We’d driven out of the storm as well. Here the occasional icy flake drifted past, but there was almost no sign of wind and the snow only reached our ankles in depth.
I caught the sign of movement in the trees across the open space. Figures emerged from the forest, coming toward us.
When I recognized the tumble of chestnut hair and long duster, I almost called out. Connor was alive. Just seeing him gave me hope that maybe the mission in Eydis hadn’t ended in disaster. Without thinking, I stepped toward him. Emile grabbed my arm, his fingers digging into my flesh hard enough to bruise. I ignored the pain as my eyes moved over the rest of the party, but I didn’t find who I was looking for. The two people I’d expect to lead an effort to rescue me, Shay and Ren, were nowhere to be seen. Neither were Bryn or Mason or Nev.
Connor was leading a slumped figure, who stumbled through the snow. Logan looked in much worse shape than the last time I’d seen him. When he got close, I saw his swollen, split lip and black eye.
“Father!” Logan cried out. Connor shoved an elbow into his ribs and Logan doubled over coughing.
“How dare you lay a hand on my son!” Efron shouted, eyes blazing. I saw power rolling over his shoulders like lightning and hoped Connor knew what he was doing. Even if an exchange had been agreed upon, if a wraith was in the mix, I didn’t have a lot of faith in our chances of getting out of this alive.
Anika glanced at Connor, shaking her head. “Enough.”
Connor continued to hold Logan’s gaze and dragged a finger across his throat. The young Keeper cowered and threw a pleading gaze at his father.
Quite the show they’re putting on for the Keepers. Please let it work.
Even though I wasn’t in on the plan, I trusted it was a good one.
A proud, stiff figure whose wrists were cuffed with steel kept pace with Anika. Sabine’s eyes were bloodshot, limbs trembling in the cold.
Sabine? What is she doing here? And why does she have metal restraints on her wrists?
Two more Searchers, armed with crossbows, took up the rear of the small party. They kept their weapons trained on Emile and the other two Banes. The small party came to a halt when they were about five feet away from us.
“I’d offer you refreshments, but you turned down my offer of hospitality,” Efron said to Anika, though he was watching Sabine. He looked as puzzled as I was by her appearance. His gaze was hard, shifting from fury to curiosity as she kept her own eyes downcast.
“Your offices hardly make a hospitable meeting place to us, Efron,” Anika said with a cold smile.
