I can’t help thinking he dropped it deliberately.
But if he did, why?
I remember that time we spent in bed together when he offered me this ring – the ring that had belonged to his dad. He knew I wouldn’t forget that moment. It was special and intimate between us. If he dropped this ring for me to find, it was to let me know he was thinking of me, that he cares for me.
I’m even surer the others are wrong. Fox wouldn’t do anything to harm me. If he stepped through one of those rips in time and space, he had no choice. If he’s out there now in the demon wastelands, he was forced there.
By her!
I’ve seen the madness in her eyes. I’ve seen how much she wants him. I’ve felt the extent of her hate for me. She’s taken him from me.
Overwhelming panic soars up from my stomach and wraps itself around my throat. It tightens and strangles, restricting my windpipe.
I can’t breathe.
My heart beats furiously in my chest and white noise rings in my ears.
She has him. Madame Bardin has Fox, and who knows what the hell she’s going to do to him.
I think of my sister, ripped from my grasp by that bitch.Mysister – beautiful, brave, unique – sucked dry by that monster. I think of her coffin, plain and dull and nailed shut.
I’ll be damned if I let the Madame do it again. She won’t steal another person from me.
My breath rasps in my throat. My lungs burn. The world swims in and out of focus.
I won’t let her.
I won’t!
My body shakes. I gasp for air. My nails pierce my palms.
I have to find him. I have to help him. I have to follow him out to the demon wastelands.
Because I will not let her hurt him. I won’t give her the chance. Which means I have to go; I have to go now.
The question is how? How can I get there?
As that question forms in my mind, the magic in my veins tingles, and I have a feeling …
I peer towards the dull horizon, where heavy thunderclouds are gathering, and, yes, I’m right.
“Kitten,” Dray says, eyeing me with concern as the first bolt of lightning streaks across the sky, illuminating our anguished faces in a stark momentary brightness.
“No,” I gasp, as thunder rumbles menacingly away in the distance, “Fox wouldn’t betray me and I’m going to prove it. I’m going to find him.”
“Find him?” Beaufort says with confusion. “He’s out in the demon wastelands – beyond the safety of our realm’s boundaries! There’s no way to reach him.”
“Yes, there is,” I say, watching as a faint silhouette in the sky swoops closer.
Blaze.
The beat of his wings catches the others’ attention, and they swing their gazes up to the sky, watching as the dragon – my dragon – sails our way, fat droplets of rain beginning to fall down onto our faces. A few at first, barely noticeable, and then suddenly many streaking from the sky in a stream of heavy water as the thunder roars above our heads.
I don’t care what they say. I don’t care if they try and stop me. I have to go. I have to find him. I can’t let her take him from me. They have to understand.
“Briony, no!” Beaufort says, standing to block my path with his large frame, his shoulders already wet, water running down his face. “That’s suicide. You’re not thinking straight.”
“I am! Don’t you see? I have to help him!” I rant desperately. “I have to go now before it’s too late!”
