“Fuck that. You know there’s going to be a lot more to say about the matter.”
“Why?” Ocean pipes in, planting her hands on her hips as she matches my stare at the vampire in question, but he simply rolls his eyes, unfazed by the emotions he’s churning inside of us.
One word, with so many possible ways to expand or explain what she wants to know, but there are too many questions whirling to decipher which one should go first.
“Did he just take her or did you hand her over?” Thorne asks, leaning back against the small kitchen counter to the right, his gaze unreadable as he stares across the room, arms folded over his chest.
“Why would he just take her? And why the hell would Kael hand her over? What don’t I know right now?” Ocean snaps, her face reddening with every second that ticks by.
“Have you ever heard of The Obsidian Circle?” I ask, and she scoffs, rolling her eyes so dramatically she could give Kael a run for his money.
“Of course I have. Who hasn’t?” She gives me a pointed look like I’m the issue and not Kael, but instead of zoning in on it, I opt to share the facts so she can redirect her sass elsewhere.
“Meet Kael, son of Yvette and Franco Forrester, the founders of?—”
“The Obsidian Circle,” she cuts in, finishing my sentence as her face turns pale. “Let me guess, Jude is trying to fill their shoes,” she mutters, finally turning her withering glare in Kael’s direction, and he sighs, running his hands over his knees as he looks down at his lap instead of at anyone in the room.
“He’s surpassed filling their shoes,” he states, clearing his throat.
“Why don’t I like the sound of that?” Ocean mutters, and I wipe a hand down my face.
“We’re getting off topic. Jude is an ass, the biggest, and we can get into all of the intricate details of why we are right to come to that assumption, but for now, let’s narrow in on the fact that he has Elodie so that we can get her back. Why and where, Kael?”
My words hang in the air for a moment before Ocean exhales, deflated from the tirade I’m sure she was about to go on, but deep down, she knows I’m right.
“Rion is right. Why is she with him?”
Kael pinches the bridge of his nose, his gaze still downcast. “Jude always gets what he wants.”
“And you couldn’t tell him no?” I grunt, only slightly aware of his family dynamic, but enough to know it’s never as simple as that.
“He used magic,” Kael offers in explanation, making Ocean frown. As if sensing the underlying questions lingering in the air, he sighs, pressing his palms against his knees as he sits tall, finally meeting her stare. “I’m a vampire, he’s my brother by blood, so…”
“He’s a vampire too,” Ocean finishes when he leaves his sentence open, and he nods. “Vampires don’t have magic.”
“Ten points for Institute Thirteen,” he murmurs, the humor hollow in his tone.
“So, how is he using magic? Or is he using somebody else to do it for him?” Ocean pushes, and Kael shakes his head.
“He channels their abilities.”
It feels as though someone has poured tar over me, rooting me to the spot as his words take effect. “How? Is that his plan for Elodie?”
“I don’t know.”
I scoff, anger vibrating through me as I shake my head. “That’s a bullshit answer and we all know it,” I snarl, but he won’t meet my gaze. “We need to save her, and we need to do it now.”
“Channels them how?” Thorne asks, remaining perched against the kitchen counter, and I shake my head at him.
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is getting Elodie to safety. Fuck knows she’s not safe now,” I bite, ready to go right this instant and wishing I had a direction in which to head.
“You can’t just barge in there. That wouldn’t be safe for her,” Kael states, and I cut the distance between us, towering over him as he tilts his head back to see the anger in my eyes.
“Youaren’t safe for her. If it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t be with him right now.”
I spy the slightest crinkle to the corners of his eyes, but he doesn’t agree or deny the fact. Instead, he slowly stands, forcing me to take a step back as he tucks his hands into his pockets.
“My brother won’t harm her, not like The Sanctum has. He’s going to push her, sure, but he’ll worship the fucking ground she walks on.”
