*And you knew I’d say that. Didn’t you?*
*Yes.*He pulled her close to kiss her forehead.
Francine sighed. *At some point I’m going to get tired of you understanding me,*she complained.
*I look forward to it.*
She shot him a dirty look and turned to Lance. “What do I remember from before I woke up today? I remember—” She pressed her lips together. Her mind touched his—and then she spoke out loud, instead. “The fortress was disintegrating. We managed to hold it together once the mate bond formed, until—” Her voice wobbled. “Everything exploded. But we rebuilt it. Didn’t we?” *Weren’t we just talking about this?*she added to Julian. *What went wrong?*
“We restored the enchantment. And then Eloise Fairchild set off explosives that broke through what we’d restored of the prison.”
“How did we get out?”
“I might have had something to do with that,” Moss cut in.
Julian met Moss’s eyes. They were a warm brown, but something darker lurked behind them. “The ocean rushed in, and you plucked us out of the prison. How is that possible? We’re miles from the water here.”
Moss cleared his throat. “The, uh. The ocean finds a way?”
Next to him, Carol winced, and Julian got the feeling he’d missed a reference to something.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Moss continued. “It’s not something I want to do again. The kraken can move through different parts of the ocean like the distance doesn’t exist, but when that ocean isfrozen …We’re lucky we all got out of there.”
“And now we need to find out whether the Soul-Eater is dead or missing,” Lance said gravely. “And I don’t know which option terrifies me more.”
“Missing, he could reappear anywhere, with his full powers,” Francine said.
“Dead, he could reappear anywhere, unrecognizable until his powers reassert themselves.” Julian’s jaw clenched. “There are no good options here.”
“That’s how it stands. The most dangerous threat shifterkind has ever faced could be entombed in the ice on the other side of the shadows, down where the prison used to be. Or he could have escaped when Moss here tore a hole in the world.”
“Let’s not describe it that way. Please.” Moss’s brown skin went gray.
“Eloise—” Francine stopped herself before she said more.
“I’m sorry.” Lance’s voice was heavy. “There’s been no trace of her or any of the others who were down there. Juliancounted three guards and Ms. Fairchild’s colleague from her pharmaceuticals company?” He shook his head. “Even with the prison level inaccessible, if they were alive, we might have been able to reach them telepathically, or using Carol’s powers. But we’ve heard nothing. I’m sorry.”
A complicated expression passed over Francine’s face. “Me too.” She leaned against Julian, and he folded his arms around her. This miracle. His mate coming to him for comfort, and him being able to give it. As much a miracle as her decision to voice her uncertainties out loud, rather than hide them.
“Pree-ee!”
Maggie bounded over to them, demanding to be a part of the cuddles. She wriggled up under their arms, pressing her snout against Julian’s neck. Pillowy feelings of comfort and happiness buffeted his mind.
His niece. Yet another miracle.
Francine raised her head. “You say the prison is inaccessible? What does that mean?”
“It means they’re going to need our help,” Julian told her.
Where the central stairwell had once dropped away into darkness there was now a smooth circle of obsidian stone.
Julian walked out onto it. Maggie was still swinging from his shoulders, and as he ventured further onto the floor, she looked back and chirped at the others to follow.
They all stayed on the steps. He didn’t blame them. The floor was solid but gave a distinct impression of walking on thin ice.
“This shouldn’t be here.” Francine marched after him and, to his slight terror, stamped on the obsidian floor.
Julian knelt. The floor was like glass beneath his fingers, cold and reflective. And impenetrable. If there were still any lights below, no sign of them shone through.
