“I know,” I replied as I stood and turned to Amethyst.
“I think Holly’s possessed by a royal demon’s ghost, and the ghost sent Alex somewhere against his will. Can you tell me if she’s possessed or has been?”
Amethyst wasted no time running over to Holly. I followed, and together we dropped to our knees and flipped Holly onto her back. Amethyst’s hands began traveling the length of the girl’s body, and despite being right next to her, I couldn’t hear the incantations she quietly murmured.
But when she gasped and jerked backward, I sure as hell heard that.
“What happened?” I asked, my heart thumping hard.
Amethyst’s brown eyes latched onto mine, frantic. “You were right. A possessed ghost—I can’t tell which of the royals possessed it—was living inside her. It’s done a lot of damage. Honestly, it’s a miracle she’s still breathing. She must have an aptitude for spirit walking and talking.” Amethyst’s gaze dropped to the girl sadly, and even though Holly had just sent Alex to God only knew where, I felt a little bad for the girl too. I doubted that she knew what she’d gotten herself into.
“She’ll be okay, though?” I asked Amethyst. “Is the ghost gone?”
My friend nodded. “Yes on both accounts. If Alex is gone too, I bet the ghost transported him through the spirit realm. It’s kind of like warping, but only ghosts and their passengers can do it.” Amethyst gulped. “We should get her to the infirmary quickly so the healer can assess her health.”
“Right,” I said. “Do you think she’d be able to tell us where she sent Alex?”
Amethyst shook her head. “I doubt it. It will probably take hours or days for her to even wake up.”
I bit my lip. There was no way I was sticking around for hours until Holly regained consciousness. I needed to act now.
“Odette,” someone spoke up behind me, and I turned to find Diana watching me.
“Yeah?” I asked, my mind still on the issue of getting out of the tower to wherever Alex was and saving him.
“I told you once that if shit went down, you needed to ask me for help. Is now that time? Because if it is,” Diana gestured back to the champions, some of whom were huddled over Hunter, and some whom were watching me.
My eyebrows furrowed when I noticed that Sam and Andre seemed to be missing, but I didn’t have a second to question it because Diana kept talking.
“You have a squad behind you. The fae, shifters, . . . shit, even thevampireswant to help.”
“Try not to sound so surprised,” Simone said coldly.
Diana rolled her eyes. “We’re all behind you. Sam and Andre have already gone to get their hell blades. I grabbed mine upstairs. We’re ready. What do we need to do?”
I stared into her serious blue eyes as the seconds ticked on. Things were coming to a head, I could feel it. But most of these people had just learned what was going on. Did they truly realize how dangerous helping me would be?
“Seriously,” Diana urged. “Let us help.”
As if her final words broke the spell, I nodded and gestured to Holly. “Someone help Amethyst get Holly to the infirmary. I’m going to grab some shoes and clothes I can fight in. I’ll get stuff for the others too.” My eyes flitted to Simone in her silk nighty. It would not do for what I suspected was about to go down. “Once everyone returns, we’re going to find Alex.”
Chapter Forty-Five
By the time the vampires and Amethyst returned from taking Holly to the infirmary, I had a plan.
And holy universe, I hoped that it worked.
“If you want to come, get behind me,” I instructed.
I waited and was shocked to find that every single champion and Amethyst moved to stand at my back.
Tears threatened to cloud my vision. After I spilled the truth of what was happening, I thought that it would only be only a matter of time before the others ditched and only Eva and Hunter remained. They would have been enough, but to know that others believed me meant a lot. Although I still wasn’t sure they understood just how dangerous it would be—which was something I needed to rectify immediately.
“You know you don’t have to. I won’t judge—”
“No way, witch,” Simone cut me off. “You aren’t getting rid of any of us, so stop trying. Amethyst expanded on your story. She told us all about the first ghost. It seems like this is the real deal. The calm before the storm, if you will.” The black-haired vampire looked to her teammates. “This is what we’ve all trained to do, and we’re coming too.”
“The shifters second that,” Dasha stepped forward.
