He opened his eyes to find Cass crouched on Cole’s other side. “Did you stop it?”
“It’s contained for now.” He started to shift but stopped when he saw the salt line and series of interlocked chalked runes that encircled him and Cole. There was athame at Cole’s feet, a flickering candle to Grayson’s left, and a wooden bowl with burning herbs at Cole’s head.
But it was the softly glowing palm-sized green crystal resting on Cole’s chest that eased some of Grayson’s worry. “You found one.”
“And an amethyst.” Cass motioned to the chunky purple crystal near her. “Is he going to be okay?”
“If we can get him to a healer.”
“You can’t reverse it?”
He shook his head.
“I called Zane and filled him in,” Cass said. “He’s about fifteen minutes out.”
“Good.”
She looked at Cole. “Once Zane is here, you can get Cole help.”
A hot edge of alarm rushed through him. “You’re not going after Dana on your own.”
She shot him a look and, with studied patience, said, “No, that’s why I called Zane.”
He started to argue, but Cole let out a groan as his lashes lifted. It took a second for awareness to replace the haze, but he reached out and covered Grayson’s hand on his chest.
“What the hell happened?” His voice was rough.
Grayson didn’t sugarcoat it. “Dana poisoned you.”
Shock slackened Cole’s face, but the furious edge of betrayal wasn’t far behind. There were a million questions in his eyes, but he didn’t ask any of them. He let Grayson go and tried to sit up.
Grayson stopped him. “No, lie still. I’ve got a counterspell in place, but it’s barely keeping this shit in check.”
Cole resettled, his jaw clenched as a grim darkness hardened his face. “Where is she?”
“Gone,” Cass said. “There was a Slider. He took her through a portal.”
Cole looked between Cass and Grayson. His reaction wasn’t long in coming. He grabbed Grayson’s hand. “I need you two to go after her,” he said coldly. “I want to know—” He started again. “Her engagement ring. So long as she’s wearing it, she can be tracked. She doesn’t know it’s spelled.”
Cass’s eyebrows rose. Grayson couldn’t miss the flare of excitement in her eyes.
“The council’s consideration was enough to put a target on me and anyone close to me,” Cole continued. Emotional pain burned through the icy fury in his eyes. “I wanted to keep her safe—wanted to know, no matter what, I had a way to get to her.” He squeezed Grayson’s hand then let go to fumble at his watch, whose wide face was inset with four stones. “This is keyed to her ring.” He removed it and handed it to Grayson. “You know how to use it?”
“A tracking spell? Sure.” Grayson took the watch. The metal links were still warm from Cole’s wrist. “We’ll need a paper map.”
“In my office.”
On the outside of the circle, Cass got to her feet and made her way to Grayson, careful not to smudge any of the lines.
Cole continued with his directions. “Down the hall, take the elevator to the second floor, third door on the left. It’s in—” A harsh cough interrupted him.
Grayson handed Cole’s watch to Cass then helped the man roll to his side as he continued to cough. Cole curled over, his legs drawing up, his arms clutching his stomach. Grayson shifted his attention back to the magic, checking his counterspell. The poisoned hex had redoubled its efforts and was chipping away at the barrier. He reinforced his counterspell and seared through another onslaught of twisted vines. They retreated, protecting their roots. He didn’t dare push forward, afraid that if he did so, he’d leave an opening for the hex to slip through. For the moment, the temporary fix would have to do.
He came back to the sound of Cole’s harsh breathing and had a moment to be grateful the older man wasn’t coughing. “We need to get you to a healer.”
Cole’s face was pale and sweaty. “This Zane person—you trust him?”
“He’s a Hunter,” Grayson said. “So yes.”
