“To get my mate,” I snarled over my shoulder.
Twenty-Four
Lilith
I ripped the last stitch with my teeth. Finally. I tore the seam open and pulled the slim piece of whalebone out of my corset. It was cream and made from whale baleen, bending easily without snapping.
Pressing my shoulder against the wall, I angled the end of the whalebone, about the width of my finger and as long as my forearm, into the crack between the door and the jam. I’d already spent enough time trying to wriggle out through the hinged food pass. My breasts were far too large—I was never going to get through.
So now here I was, trying the very last thing I could think of. There were four locks on this door. But if I could perhaps, by some miracle, slide the whalebone in the crack and dislodge at least one of the locks…that was progress.
A door slammed down the hall.
Surprised, I jumped. The whalebone clattered to the floor.
Heavy footfalls stalked toward me.
Heart in my throat, I backed away from the door. Was it an elder? Was I in even more trouble?
“LILITH!” His voice ripped from his body, harsh and guttural.
Castiel. My stomach dropped with relief so quickly I thought I might retch.
“LILITH, where are you?” He sounded ready to murder someone.
My heart took wing. “Castiel!” I shouted, banging on the door. “Castiel, I’m in here! Castiel, are you well?”
“Lilith?” His feet halted outside the door.
“Yes, yes, I’m right here!” Tears burned my eyes. “Gods, I’ve been so worried about you.” My hands shook as they rested against the door.
“Back away from the door, cirra. I’m breaking it down.”
I obeyed, scrambling as far away as I could.
“Ready?”
“Yes!”
He slammed into the door with a grunt. The door creaked.
“Mrs. Dalton has the keys,” I began, but he pounded the door again.
Something snapped. A sliver of wood shot away from the doorjam. I ducked, shielding my face with my hands.
Castiel breathed heavily. “Last one,” he warned.
The door burst open, hinges popping and wood flying. It fell on the ground, and I jumped on the stool in time to keep my toes uncrushed. My hand flew up to shield my face.
He stood in the doorway, chest heaving, wings slack behind him. “There you are. I’ve got you now.”
Joy bubbled inside me even while the light blinded me. I threw myself at him, arms outstretched. I struck his chest, promising myself I’d never let go of him. “Castiel,” I sobbed.
He grunted, toppling backward. Catching himself on the door frame just before he lost his balance, Castiel wrapped his other arm around me, keeping me close to him. “Lily.”
My cheek rasped against rough skin, so unlike how he normally felt. Confused, I pulled away to look at him.
My eyes adjusted, and shock rippled through me. He looked awful. One eye was bloodshot, the other fogged over. His face, arms, and chest were covered in rough, scaly, reddened skin. Other patches were shiny pink over his normally brown skin.
