He was absolutely terrified.
This was nothing like the pricks of anxiety I’d been feeling. The sensation had been building slowly, but I thought it’d been Aiden’s fear at seeing his mother. What filled me now was…
“Rafe,” I gasped again, then blinked as I tried to reach his mind.
Where are you?!
My knees buckled, and Aiden held me as I slid to the ground.
Dungeon.
Fire.
I jolted, my affinity pushing me to my feet.
“There’s a fire in the dungeon. Rafe and Wyatt are down there.”
Raaz cursed viciously, then started barking orders into a radio at his side.
Trapped.
“He’s trapped!”
“Let’s go,” Aiden said, pulling me to my feet and following as I stumbled up the hall. “I can put it out.”
Good. That was good. But I had no idea where I was going. I’d never been to the Palace. But Rafe needed me. I had to help him.
We came to the end of the hall, and I eyed the keypad alongside the door. My affinity could handle that–
Aiden slammed his hand down on the keypad, and sparks flew. The sound of electricity surging rang through the quiet hall, the sconces on the wall flared bright and then the doors slid open.
Raaz was right behind us, barely breaking a sweat as he strode through the doors.
“Come with me. The Palace is going on lockdown.”
“Lockdown?”
My affinity bristled.
I didn’t know the layout of this building. I didn’t know where anything was, and blueprints of a castle weren’t a thing. This Palace was a rabbit warren. The kings of the past were varying levels of paranoid, adding different wings every time they got twitchy.
“Ah, there she is. Raaz, thank you for bringing them to me.”
Aiden and I froze. My blood ran cold.
It was the Crusader.
Aiden pushedme behind him right as Raaz stepped in front of us.
“I’ve done no such thing,” Raaz was quick to snarl. “My loyalty is to the Crown.”
A woman stood near to Crusader, picking at her nails. She looked exhausted, with the kind of dark bags beneath her eyes that makeup couldn’t hide. Her dark hair and fair features looked oddly familiar to me.
Oh, fuck.Aiden said.
Who is that?
It’s–
