The warning hangs there. Callum shifts against me and I glance up to see his mouth opening, ready to bite back, but Dante’s voice only hardens as he continues.
“You think I don’t know what happens when you try to run?” His eyes flick, dark and burning, to the walls around us as if the cameras themselves are listening closer now. “I tried once. I made it as far as the gate before his team caught me and brought me to him.” His jaw tightens, the muscle in his cheek pulling sharp. “I woke up three days later, broken, bleeding, barely able to breathe. He left me alive with the warning that there’s nowhere in this world he can’t touch.”
The corridor feels colder with the words, the fluorescent lights above buzzing faintly, too loud in the silence that follows.
In the cage of Callum’s arms, my breath stutters shallowly, every ragged inhale slicing between disbelief and calculation.
Dante tried to escape this place.
Which means he knows the paths, the locks, the cameras.
The fear etched in his voice doesn’t soften me, because my survival hinges on his knowledge. If I ever want a true chance to cut myself out of this place, I need someone who’s already tried.
Callum’s grip tightens around me. “Then we do it together this time,” he snaps, voice softening in the wake of his cousin's admission. “We’re stronger together. You know it, Dante.”
Elias’s voice follows, low but steady, “With you on our side, it’s not just a suicide run. There’s a chance. You have more control and power here than anyone besides your father.”
Dante doesn’t so much as blink, but I can feel the tension bleeding off him. For a moment, the hall holds nothing but the sound of our unsteady breaths and the hum of the lights overhead.
I can see the thought terrifies Dante. More than Elias and Callum could ever understand, I understand the way this is likely dragging Dante back into memories he’d rather bury.
Dante’s stare fixes on Callum, on Elias, and then on the walls as if he can already feel his father’s eyes boring through the cameras. When he finally speaks, it’s quieter than before and full of pain.
“There’s nowhere we can run,” he says, voice low and gutted. “Nowhere he can’t reach us. You think freedom exists outside these walls? It doesn’t. He’ll find you with his endless resources and contacts. And he won’t leave either of you breathing after you risked his most precious possession.”
His gaze cuts to me and I narrow my eyes at him.
There is somewhere his father can’t reach. They just can’t get there without me.
The words burn in my throat at the thought of taking them with me. But I need them for now.
“There is a place,” I whisper.
CHAPTER 16
BRIAR
“Ijust need the ring I came here with and I can get us there once we’re out of this building.”
I haven’t been able to reach for Kael or Lyra, so there’s likely some block on magic in the building, but if we can get out of the building with their joint knowledge…there’s a chance I can get us to my realm.
All three pairs of eyes settle on me at once, and for a breath, the corridor feels smaller under the weight of them. Callum’s grip locks tighter around me like he thinks I’ll vanish. Elias’s stare is calculating and cold, as though he’s already running through the possibilities of my words. Dante’s gaze is sharp and disbelieving, like I’ve lost my mind entirely.
They’re looking at me as though what I’ve just said is madness. Or as if I’m setting them up for a trap.
The rage that’s been simmering in my chest erupts before I can choke it back.
“My life is hinging on this plan too!” I snap, fury threading through every syllable. “So maybe have alittlefaith in the magic that your human brains can’t even begin to comprehend.”
The silence grates until Dante cuts through it, his voice rough and pitched low. “I still haven’t agreed to help with your escape.”
Callum’s chest expands with a deep breath, the air shuddering out of him like he’s ready to break apart on the spot, but it’s Elias who responds first. His stormy blue eyes snap to Dante, his tone menacing and like he’s run out of what little patience he’s been able to drum up to this point.
“Then make up your fucking mind, Dante,” he bites out, each word clipped. “Because if you keep standing here wavering, it won’t matter what side you’re on. I’m sure there will be whispers from whoever is in surveillance already, and if there aren’t yet, there will be in minutes.”
There’s so much tension in Dante’s biceps and shoulders, he’s like a wire ready to snap. I just hope for our sake he breaks in our direction.
“You weren’t always like this,” Callum says, his soft words such a harsh change from his brother’s. “I grew up with you. I remember the cousin who laughed with me, who cared when no one else did. The one who wasn’t afraid to be soft, even in this house.”
