“It’s Nic.I think he went out to find Parrish.”
Things moved quickly after that.Clay ushered Tamsin into the house and in the direction of the kitchen, leaving him alone just long enough to get to Rowan.When Rowan appeared, he was already on the phone, talking to someone with a serious expression.Five minutes later, people started arriving.
Tamsin didn’t know what to do.Part of him wanted to scream that they needed to move quickly.Another part wanted to curl up and cry.He was clinging to the feelings that were coming through the bond he shared with Nic, even though he wished he didn’t have to feel this bone-deep fear.
At least it wasn’t pain.That was what he told himself.Nic wasn’t in pain, which meant that Parrish wasn’t torturing him.
Yet.
“It could be a trap,” someone said, making Tamsin blink.He wasn’t surprised to see that the kitchen was a little crowded, or that the person who’d spoken was Dermot.He didn’t trust Nic.
“What kind of trap?”Tamsin asked as he rose from the chair he was sitting in.When had he sat down?
Dermot had the good grace of looking embarrassed.“Well, we don’t know if he’s really on our side.I know that he’s your mate and that you have to believe him when he says that he is, but it could be a lie.”
Tamsin slammed his hand on the table, making several people jump, and Dermot’s eyes widened.“A lie?Do you think that the fear I can feel through our bond is a lie?Do you think that the panic Nic is feeling right now is alie?”
“He could be faking them,” Dermot tried, but he wasn’t very convincing.
Clay snorted.“Please, try to feel panicked.I want to see how you do it.”
Dermot’s cheeks turned pink.He glanced away from Tamsin in the direction of the window, almost as if he was contemplating jumping out.He wouldn’t hurt himself since they were on the ground floor, which was a pity.Tamsin wanted him to hurt as much as he was.Maybe then, Dermot would understand.
“It’s no use fighting amongst ourselves,” Rowan said.“Dermot, if you truly think that Nic is betraying us, then maybe you should go.That goes for everyone here,” he continued, looking around the kitchen.“If you stay, I’ll expect you to help save Nic.”
No one moved, not even Dermot.He still wasn’t looking at Tamsin, but Tamsin didn’t care.He didn’t care about anything but Nic, and they were wasting precious time.
“We have to go,” he said, his skin crawling with the need to do something.
“We can’t go now.We don’t know where Nic is.”
“Let’s find a Nix and have them shimmer us to him.You could even call the council to ask if they can send an enforcer.”
“I don’t think they’d want us to go into this without a plan.”
It was reasonable.Tamsin wouldn’t expect his people to put themselves in danger for anyone, but this wasn’t just anyone.It was Nic, and Parrish had him.What if he decided to kill him?
“We have to gonow!”Tamsin snapped.
The windows exploded.One of the chairs cracked, and Anita ended up on the floor.The kitchen table groaned, and every single cupboard flew open.
For a moment, everyone was shocked.No one seemed to know what to say, so they didn’t say anything.They all stared at Tamsin, who was panting like he’d run a marathon.He hadn’t, though.He hadn’t done anything but stand there and yell.
“Did you do that?”Dermot asked.
“I don’t know,” Tamsin told him.It was the truth.He didn’t know if he’d been the one to do it.It was probable, but there might be another explanation.“I’ve never done anything like that before.”
“You’ve never bonded with a Kudlak before,” Dermot pointed out.“It probably has to do with that.We still don’t know how much a Kudlak can influence a Vila, but from what we know about Parrish and his mate, it’s probably a lot.”
“Are you saying that this is Nic’s fault?”
“You said yourself that you’ve never had anything like this happen before.The only thing that changed recently is him.”
“He didn’t do anything but bond with me, and he did it to help the village and the clan.”
“Enough,” Rowan snapped.
Rowan might be a new clan leader, but he had authority.As much as Tamsin wanted to continue fighting with Dermot because it gave him something to focus on that wasn’t the panic that he and Nic both felt, he pressed his lips together and waited.
