When we were all in the tunnel, Locke whirled toward us, his hard mask still in place.
“What is it?” Darian asked, peering intently at the vampire.
When Locke didn’t answer straightaway, Kade growled, “Locke.”
Locke’s body was stiff when he said, “That was Garan earlier. The fae are attacking.”
“Where?” Kade practically shouted back at him.
“They’ve opened a portal on the southern end of the city. Near the markets. Garan didn’t say how many warriors have come through, but I’m going to help.”
“What?” Panic seized me at the idea that Locke was going to join the fight.
“I’m coming with you,” Kade growled. Fury lit his golden eyes, and he rested his hand on the pommel of his sword.
I wanted to grab his shoulders and shake him. To tell him that fighting the fae wouldn’t bring his family back, but I didn’t. I wasn’t one to judge because if I were in his shoes, I’d want to do the same thing.
“Asher. Darian. Head back to the party and pretend you know nothing. The last thing we need is a citywide panic,” Locke said.
“We can’t just drink wine and act like nothing is happening. I can help,” I protested. I had no idea what the fae were like or how dangerous they were, but the idea of attending the party while I knew Kade and Locke were out there fighting for their lives didn’t sit well with me.
Locke didn’t even acknowledge me. “Make sure you don’t let her out of your sight,” he ordered Asher and Darian.
“You sure you don’t need more backup? It’s been a long time since we’ve had a fae attack, and you don’t even know how many are down there,” Asher said. I could tell he was about as happy as I was at the idea of going back to the party.
“A siren could be most useful,” Darian added, lifting his chin.
Locke’s gaze slid to Darian and Asher and then back to me. “Stay here. The last thing we need is someone taking out Raine. Then we’d all be fucked.”
I understood then. Locke didn’t want me to help because he thought I’d be a liability, and he needed Darian and Asher to stay and keep me in check. I mean, he wasn’t wrong—I didn’t know how much help I could even be—but it still irritated the hell out of me.
“We’d better go,” Kade growled and swept me into his arms. I barely registered the press of his lips against mine before he placed me back on my feet. “I’ll be back soon,” he ground out.
“You’d better be,” I said as my throat constricted.
The pair of them went to leave, but before Locke turned away, I stepped forward into him, my hands sliding beneath his long leather coat at the same moment that I kissed him on the cheek. He stiffened at the kiss, his eyes flaring with shock, but he said nothing as I pulled away from him.
Something like longing shone in his eyes, but then he gave me one last look and nodded again to Darian and Asher, and then Kade and he were striding away from us.
CHAPTER 26
~ Raine ~
Locke’sfoldedmapscratchedagainst my boob as we walked back to the party. For nights, Locke had peered over the map, and each time he’d finished with it, he’d tucked it into the same spot on the inside of his coat. But finally, I had it. I wanted to grab it out and look at where Kade and Locke were headed, but I didn’t reach for it.
Asher’s thumbs fidgeted with the hilts of his axes, and Darian’s brows were pulled low as if the siren was deep in thought.
“What are the fae like?” I asked Darian, and the siren blinked before turning to me.
“I was a boy the last time I saw one. I don’t remember much except that they have pointed ears.”
A boy?“Wait, but what about when they killed Kade’s family? You weren’t a boy then, were you?”
“No, but we didn’t see the fae then. By the time we’d made it to the House of Worzel, the other wolves had driven the fae back into the portal they’d come through.”
So Locke and Kade have no idea what they’re facing.I tried imagining some alien race, but every time, I pictured some of the monsters I’d met over the past nights. The fae couldn’t be any stranger than them.
We returned to the ballroom to find the party in full swing, just as when we’d left. Monsters laughed, danced, and drank wine by the gallons. None of them were aware of the fae and the battle going on in the city below.
