We stared at a small opening, dark and narrow, with heat radiating outward. I wiped my brow against my tunic. Jax nodded forward, about to continue, but I reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Look, if something happens to me, you have to make sure you get back to Lana.”
“Ian.”Raya reappeared hesitantly in my mind.
I have no intention of not making it back to you. Just a precaution.
I didn’t even want to think about what could happen. The thought of leaving Raya behind made my skin crawl, but Lana losing someone else made me sick. Nevertheless, this was war, and the possibility had to be discussed. “Do not play the hero. If it’s a choice between me or escape, you choose escape. One of us must live to be able to fight another day.”
Jax chuckled. “If you think Raya would let me live after leaving you behind, you’re a greater fool than me.”
“Accurate,”Raya added.
“Jax,” I said sternly. “I need you to promise. The information gets to Lana, no matter what.”
He looked at me skeptically before rolling his eyes. “Can’t she see any information we find out anyway?” He pointed to my head.
“Tell that idiot I can only see what you do.”
“She said she can only see what I see,” I relayed.
“Fucking mates,” Jax sighed. “All right, you got it. I will risk certain death returning home without you, should you fall. It’s not going to come to that though. This is a simple reconnaissance mission. We’ve got this.”
“Careful,” I grumbled. “We don’t need to tempt the Fates.” Despite cursing them for years with Lana, too many things had come together, making it impossible to deny their influence. A shiver ran down my spine. “Let’s go.”
As I waited for Jax to shimmy through the crack, the sweet notes of Raya’s voice whispered in my head.
“Stay alert.”
We’ll be back before you know it,I replied.
Once Jax disappeared into the volcano, it didn’t take me long to make my way through the entrance. The hard rock scraped against my back as I pressed through to enter and stand next to Jax.
I exhaled forcefully, taking in the enormity of the volcano. Huge walls of stone cascaded upward in a vortex, almost making it impossible to notice anything else.
A soft glow cast toward us from a pathway to our left, the ground littered with fresh footsteps in the dirt. “Only one way to go,” Jax said quietly.
We stuck to the edge of the pathway, trying to stay in the shadows as much as possible to conceal ourselves along with the footprints we left behind. The dirt transitioned to stone eventually, and the pathway bent sharply on an incline. The random sounds of rumblings deep down beneath the Earth’s surface accompanied by the distant sound of marching footsteps echoed in the chamber. They seemed far enough away that we wouldn’t immediately run into anyone, and I was grateful as we made our way forward.
We climbed up the spiraling path, not meeting another soul along the way. There was only one way forward, with noadditional rooms or trails diverging from it. If someone did come, we’d have to kill them quickly, or the sound would echo. Besides, there was nowhere to hide.
Lucien trotted behind us, but his expression didn’t inspire any sort of confidence. His snorts, normally arrogant and unbothered, came out short as he panted in the humid air.
Ten minutes later, we finally heard a deep, gritty voice coming from down the hall. Jax put up his hand and we slowed our speed.
Inching forward, we edged along the spiral pathway. Jax peeked his head around a bend in the corner, turning to me and indicating it was safe to continue. We remained silent as we rounded the corner. An opening lay ahead, and my patience wore thin as we had yet to discover anything. Agitation was a living, breathing entity crawling through my veins. At least I knew Raya was still with us, her steady presence strong in my mind.
By this point, the sweat dripping down my back was a constant flow, soaking every piece of clothing. I shifted my shoulders, attempting to find any sort of comfort. My palms were slick, not just from the heat but from my anxious nerves as well. It didn’t matter how many battles I’d fought or missions I’d completed, any time I got close to my intended target, adrenaline coursed through my veins. I spread my fingers wide and gripped them into fists again before shaking out my hands.
A heavyclunkof chains rattling against stone burst around us as a lone voice roared in pain. Jax froze, shoulders flinching upward, and our gazes met, knowing we’d both come to the same conclusion. Deep down in my gut, I knew that voice.
Kade was in the chamber ahead, and it didn’t sound good.
I gripped Jax’s shoulder. If Kade was here, chances were Thames was too.
“Careful,” I mouthed. Jax nodded once, stretching his shoulders out.
Our reconnaissance mission had suddenly turned into a rescue effort.
I took the lead, stepping ahead of Jax and sliding forward. We pressed our backs to the wall. I tilted forward, leaning just far enough to peer into the room. My stomach dropped at the sight before me.
