A day and a half. That was all it had been since we escaped the palace at Mount Legion. Since Kade killed his father. Since I accidentally released Thames back into our world.
Since Kade had been overtaken with the darkness.
I rubbed my chest, despite knowing the aches were not something that could be magicked away. Only one thing would soothe this and he wasn’t here.
I will not lose him.
After being told mates hadn’t existed in a thousand years, I learned not only that they did, but that I had found mine. Only to have him immediately ripped from my fingers. The bond connecting Kade and myself as mates stirred with a vengeance in my soul, reacting violently to my rage and demanding I return to his side.
Wiping the sweat from my brow, I pushed past the jabbing pain in my chest, refusing to succumb to it, as we rode under the cover of night. All it would take was one misstep for me to give in and run back to Kade’s side.
Something else rumbled angrily, right alongside the gnawing pain. Something foreign and itching to consume me.
My magic.
I possessed magic.
Years of torture produced not one single drop of power, and yet it all came down to a prophecy I never believed in.With lover’s touch she shall ignite.My mate ignited it. Kade unleashed it.
I had to return to him but not yet. Not when he’d given us time to run, even if it was the last thing I wanted. With distance from Thames, we would devise a plan.
We would save him.
Through a complicated network of passageways, we traveled toward a secret safe house. One unbeknownst to Kade, formed while he was competing in the marriage trials for my hand; Jax and Raya had been anything but idle while left behind in Mysthaven.
Storm rode beside me, stress lining his features. Most of his injuries sustained from Dargan’s torture were healed enough, but deep purple and blue bruises still marred his arms. His nose sat at an unnatural angle where one of the guards broke it. In due time he would heal himself, or we would find a healer to expedite the process. We had no idea what battles lay ahead of us, so it seemed pointless to waste energy on such a menial task. All of us needed to be fully rested if we had any hope of making it out alive.
“We have to find Cassandra.” Anger laced my tone as I finally broke the silence. Pent-up energy coiled and simmered below the surface of my skin, eager to be let free. “She knows too much and has told us far too little. She needs to tell us everything. No more riddles, no more ‘what the fates will allow’ bullshit. All of it.”
When no one responded to my outburst, I snapped more forcefully. “We need to know.”
“It’s not much farther,” Jax murmured, ignoring my outrage, as he once again adjusted Raya’s semiconscious body in the saddle to keep her from falling. “We can talk when we know it’s safe.”
“Nowhere is safe, Jax.” The indignation in my tone left nothing to the imagination. “Now that Thames is free, the dark ones will continue to spread. Andras has already overtaken Brookmere, no doubt with Casimir by his side, spreading evil across the kingdom. We’re going to be fighting on all fronts, completely blind.”
I ran a hand over my neck, breathing deeply, trying to calm my racing heart. To stop from screaming at everyone that we should go back to save Kade and forget everything else. “We at least have to warn Ian and the others. They are working on building an army, but they aren’t prepared for the absolute hell that has been unleased with Thames’s release. If Raya was coherent enough…she could speak to Ian.”
Jax’s eyes narrowed on me. I didn’t think him capable of delivering such malice to anyone, let alone me. “When Raya is awake and responsive, we will see if she even feels up to talking to Ian,” Jax stated bluntly, “butonlyafter we give her time to rest. We don’t know what she will be like when she finally comes around.”
“Lana isn't suggesting we do it this instant, brother,” Storm said, placating his friend’s unusual anger. “While we wait, we can come up with a plan. A realistic plan that doesn’t get us all killed.”
I took a moment to breathe in through my nose and held it, slowly releasing the air as a distraction before I said something I would regret.
A pained groan escaped Raya’s lips and her body jerked in Jax’s arms. We halted, stopping completely as our worried gazes rested on her. Jax wouldn’t let her go, not since carrying her out of the palace. In all fairness, I hadn’t made it easy for Storm to haul me out either.
We’d hoped Raya would’ve been able to heal herself, especially now, since Dargan’s death meant she’d escaped hiscontrol. Unfortunately, she hadn’t managed to stay awake for more than a handful of minutes during our journey. None of us knew the lasting damage of mind manipulation, or how Raya would recover after what she had endured. The longer she remained unconscious, the more our fear grew.
“Ia—” Raya coughed, unable to finish even one word. She didn’t talk anymore, but her head rolled from side to side as she fought to sit upright in Jax’s grasp.
Jax murmured in her ear as he slowed his horse. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”
Did she say Ian? I couldn’t help but wonder if they’d been able to speak, even in her semiconscious state. It seemed absurd to think they could, but Fates, I had magic, so right now, anything seemed possible.
Jax’s brows furrowed as Raya laid the back of her head on his chest, her breathing shallow and erratic. He shook his head at Storm in some sort of silent communication I couldn’t understand.
“We’re almost there,” Jax said. “We probably only have about thirty minutes left until we reach Canyon City. The safe house is on the outskirts. We need to stop and see if she’ll drink something.”
Storm looked around us, giving Jax a sharp nod in agreement.
