“I’m not leaving Xavier either,” Jared snapped.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Rance folded his arms across his chest. “If it’s nature magic, I’m going. I’ll be of more help than either of you.”
“Great. Let’s all go into the scary castle together!” Kat was done with this conversation. He stormed through the heavy wooden door, then stopped. A lone girl stood in the foyer, her eyes wide and silver. “The dungeons are fraught with the one who longs for death and destruction. Go with love in your heart. or you will lose everything.” Before they could ask any questions, she vanished.
“Well, if that wasn’t fucking terrifying, I don’t know what is,” Jared said.
“Agreed.” Kat shook his head to knock away the fog that had begun to fill his thoughts. “Rance, I don’t suppose you’d be willing to wait here?”
“Alone?” Rance scanned the empty, foreboding castle around them. “I don’t think so.”
“Fair enough.” Kat didn’t feel comfortable abandoning the teen in the courtyard despite asking.
“Shall we head to the source? I have a feeling that’s where everyone is hiding.” Jared headed for the closest staircase.
Kat pulled out his phone and texted Xavier, letting him know they had arrived. He waited a minute, but he wasn’t surprised when he didn’t get a response.
Rance looked over his shoulder. “Nothing?”
“No.”
“To the dungeon then,” Jared said. “That’s where the dryads are being kept.”
The path downward was terrifying in its emptiness. Not one soul appeared in the halls, and no other sound broke the echoing of their steps. The air stank of twisted things that had best not be mentioned or thought of out loud.
After ten minutes of descending staircases, they reached a section where the stone was rougher, the air was dangerous, and the magic swirled uneasily the closer they came.
“There.” Rance pointed to a bloody footprint. Not one that could’ve been made by a human foot. Too wide, too long, and misshapen, it spoke of unnatural things.
“Do you want to stay here? We can put you in one of these rooms.” Frantic over bringing the teen into danger, Kat opened a random door. A trio of teenage boys were frozen, their eyes wide with terror. Nothing else appeared wrong with them.
Kat slammed the door.
Rance cleared his throat. “Yeah, I don’t think I want to wait there. I’d rather go with you two.”
“I-I can understand that.” Kat wasn’t sure he should be going downstairs, but he wasn’t leaving this castle without his mate.
“Xavier will be fine.” Jared squeezed Kat’s shoulder. “He’s tough.”
“He told me he’s not a fighter,” Kat protested.
“No one is a fighter until they have to fight.” Jared walked in front as they foolishly continued to follow the frightening footprints. “And he’s been trained even if he never uses his skills.”
“Why do I think we’re heading into the monster’s lair?” Rance asked.
“Because we are,” Jared and Kat said together.
At the top of another staircase, the castle shook.
“What’s happening?” Rance grabbed a handrail to stay on his feet.
Kat stumbled before grabbing the wall. “I don’t know. We don’t get earthquakes.”
“Nothing good.” Was Jared’s comforting answer. “We better hurry.”
“Why would they put dryads underground? It’s making me itch.” Rance absently scratched his arm while giving the stone walls a disgruntled frown.
“To keep the dryad magic suppressed, if I was going to guess,” Jared said.
