“Not your fault if something’s blocking us,” Blair told him, and it eased the guilt slightly.
“We’ve searched everywhere,” Rhett said, his voice cracking in my ear. “We don’t think he’s on academy grounds anymore.”
“No.” Terror clogged my throat as the room dimmed gray. My heart battered my breastbone, and with each beat of my heart, a red tendril appeared, leading out of Rowan’s office. “That can’t be true.”
The agonizing despair that had knotted in my stomach eased as I moved toward the red light. A white tether slipped from my body, weaving with the red. The closer I got to the door, the tighter the tethers wound together. I shrugged off the hands reaching for me and opened the door.
“Let her pass.” Blair’s voice echoed in my head. I could sense hesitance in all of my bonds before my feet started moving again, taking me down the hall.
Time fell away as I followed the tether, and magic buzzed within my chest. I knew the others were following behind, but my instincts took over. I left Arcane Hall and kept walking until the tethers led to a dramatic drop.
I went to follow it down, but arms wrapped around my waist and yanked me back.
“Wait!” I blinked a few times as the light returned to my vision. I could only see the tethers very dimly, and they trickled down an enormous hole.
“What are you doing?” Rowan growled in my ear.
The rest of my mates surrounded us, looking at me like I was crazy. I let out a shuddered breath. We were in the Elemental Courtyard in between the Vinery and the Fated Dormitory. The enormous hole was created by an earth affinity supernatural, and was at the tree line of the Bestial Forest.
I squinted my eyes to verify that the tethers still led into the hole.
“You almost walked right into that,” Thorn said and screwed his face up as if he were in pain.
A wave of apprehension washed over me, but the thought of Alister being trapped down there tore at my insides. “He’s in there.”
“We checked down there,” Rhett said, and I shook my head.
“He’s down there. Take me down there.” Tears welled in my eyes, and my throat burned. “Please. Someone take me down therenow.” My fox ears sprouted on my head as my magic whipped wildly in my chest.
A sob broke from me, and the sheer dread that had been following me since we had left the academy started to ease. He had to be down there. I didn’t know how to explain it. But the red tether was leading me to Alister. The white that came out of me had to be our bond weaving together. I had never heard anything about being able to see a matebond without possessing the affinity, but I knew without a doubt that’s what it was.
Rowan’s lips pinched together in a grimace before Damien stepped forward and pulled me out of Rowan’s arms and into his.
“What little bird wants, little bird gets.” He shrugged. “We’ll meet you down there.” His shadows snaked around us, and we stepped out at the bottom of the hole.
Sunlight streamed down, but the small amount that made it to where we were was minimal.
Damien brushed my cheek with his knuckles. “See, little bird? We’ve been down here.”
“He’s here.” I focused on my heartbeat, and the tethers led into the earth. I pointed toward it. “He’s there. I know it.”
Damien glanced toward the wall of the hole and nodded.
A gust of wind appeared, loosening some of the soil and making it crumble as Thorn phased in with the rest of them.
I went to the spot where the tether led and rested my palm against the cool earth.
“Wren?” Rhett asked.
My shadow launched out of my chest and slammed into the earth. It crumbled easily, revealing an archway made of rock that led to an open cavity.
“This hole wasn’t built for rooms,” Rowan growled, and the others gasped.
The tether was now pink, having woven together. I lifted my gaze and saw Alister tied to a metal chair, with Fallon straddling his lap. She had her fangs embedded in his neck.
Static filled my ears, and my vision pulsed red.
“Wren, get away from there!” Hands gripped my shoulders, moving me back.
