There was no more time to hesitate, no time to question. I ran.
“Hey!” Rad shouted behind me. He said something else, too, but I was already too far away. Rad could take care of himself. Even Alastor, wherever he was, was capable of handling any situation he encountered. But Marigold… Marigold was vulnerable. Innocent.
Why is she even here?The bridge shouldn’t have pulled her through. She should have been safe, in her own world, without us to put her in danger any longer.
I barreled over a pile of tumbled boulders, sword hilt still clasped in my hand. In my days as a warrior, before I’d been exiled to another world, I’d never been the fastest, but I’d more than made up for my speed with my strength and endurance. I was a little older now, and I’d had limited chances to use my skills while living as a billionaire, but I was pleased to see I still maintained many of my physical abilities.
There was another talent I hadn’t used in some time, a side of myself I hadn’t accessed in ten whole years. I hungered to tap into it, to release the beast within me, but it was too dangerous.
Right now, my one and only focus was on getting to Marigold.
When I reached the base of the ridge, I paused at the edge of the plain. When Falconridge Keep had perched atop that rocky outcropping above me, we’d considered the plain a geographical advantage. It had allowed us to see anyone or anything who approached our hideaway long before they reached us. But it hadn’t stopped the Circle, in the end. And now I was acutely aware of how exposed I would be the moment I stepped clear of the boulders at the bottom of the slope.
“Alastor!” Marigold’s shout carried across the open grass. “Alast—”
I didn’t wait to see what had cut her off. I charged across the plain, not caring if I opened myself to attack. I aimed for that decimated patch of forest.
But I wasn’t fast enough. When I reached the place where the trees had been blown away, there was no one there, though I could see marks and hoof prints on the dusty ground that suggested I’d just missed a small band of people and horses.
A footstep sounded behind me, the soft scuff of a shoe against dry soil. I spun around, bracing to attack—
And found Alastor emerging from the trees.
“Brother, it’s me,” he said, but his own sword was clutched in his hand, the tip wet with blood, and his eyes were darting this way and that, still looking for any lingering threats.
“Marigold,” I said.
I didn’t need to elaborate. Alastor said, “She’s here. I don’t know why, but she came through the portal after me.”
“I heard her screaming.”
My brother’s face was solemn. “She was taken.”
“You saw this happen?”
He didn’t flinch. “They were riding off as I came through the trees. I couldn’t have stopped them. It was too risky, exposing myself.”
Rage built inside me. “You didn’t even try to stop them? She’s only in danger because of us! She shouldn’t even be here!”
“That’s right—sheshouldn’tbe here.” Alastor’s voice, like his expression, was hard and emotionless. “I don’t know why she decided to jump through after me. But if she’s in danger now, it’s because of her own reckless choice.”
That was cold, even coming from Alastor. I was grateful he was alive, but that didn’t temper my disgust for his callousness.
“How can you be so heartless?” I demanded. “After everything she’s done for us?”
“My priority lies with my kingdom,” he says. “Now and ever. No woman, no matter what she’s done for us, will change that. I’m not heartless, I’m pragmatic. I couldn’t have stopped them, not on my own. Getting myself killed or worse wouldn’t have helped anyone, least of all her.”
“I never thought I’d see the day when you downplayed your own abilities,” I said. “I’ve seen you take down two dozen men on your own.”
“This wasn’t two dozen men.” Alastor’s eyes darkened. “This was Laitha.”
The back of my neck went cold.
I should have seen this coming. I only knew of ten people who were powerful enough to wield the essence I’d felt here at the edge of these woods, and they were the same ten people who’d cursed my brothers and me.
The Circle of the Hidden Stars. And Laitha was one of the most dangerous of them all.
“We have to go after her,” I said, spinning around and scanning the forest on all sides. “Which way did they go?” I didn’t wait for Alastor to answer. It had been a while since I’d needed to use my tracking skills, but I hadn’t forgotten them. And Laitha and her goons had made no effort to hide their tracks.
