Xerxes. The demon had spoken his name, a name I hadn’t known before today. He’d never actually given it to us back in the Old World.
But was that his actual name, or something Dante gave him?
It probably didn’t even matter. With the way he held me against him and the sparks of electricity rushing through me at his touch, he didn’t appear all that worried.
It should have been impossible to feel the remnants of a bond. I had no magic, and my back…
My back was carved with runes that cut me off from my mates.
But then there was the collar. It warmed, a threat and a promise wrapped in shiny metal, carved with ancient runes Dante should never have accessed.
The ground shifted beneath our feet, more rubble breaking free and crashing into the arena. Well, it wasn’t much of an arena anymore. The soldiers who entered it to stop Xerxes and Thor from leaving now fled, jumping over the widening crack in the earth slowly caving into what looked like more caverns below. Some disappeared altogether, like they’d done in the Old World.
“The only way out is going up, but they’ve likely started shutting everything down,” Jack Frost said, his voice cutting through the rumbling and crashes happening around us. “The compound will go on lockdown and elementals will be down here in minutes to stop whatever…hedid.” His eyes darted up to the creature holding me.
“All I did was use the power gifted to me by the earth,” Xerxes growled, tightening his hold on me. “What has started cannot be undone.”
“Then we have to go,” Icy-eyes said, pulling his weapon from his belt. “Now.”
I glanced up at the Primal, heart racing, and pulled away. “We have to find Hawk first. Where would Dante take him?”
Xerxes growled again, though I doubted he would fight me on it. From the corner of my eye, the bear moved in closer, throwing looks over his shoulder towards the big opening in the cave that led towards the cages. A lump formed in my throat as I followed his line of sight. There was no way Dante would set anyone to free the shifters.
“Someone needs to go set the shifters and prisoners free,” I said, looking over at the two Fae males. Neither looked all too thrilled by the idea, though there was something in their eyes that looked like hesitation. “They don’t deserve to die down here.”
Jack Frost, surprisingly, was the first to break. He shookhis head as he took several steps back. “The half-Fae will likely be in the isolation chambers having his memories rewritten by one of the other mind mages. It could be too late for him.”
Bile rose in my throat at the image it conjured in my head. Hawk, alone in a cell similar to where I’d been kept when I was first brought here, having someone fuck around with his head. Erasing memories that made him…him.
I swallowed thickly, pulling out of Xerxes’s hold entirely. “I won’t leave him. But thanks.”
“Cato, go with them. I’ll handle the shifters.” With that, Jack Frost turned on his heel and ran out of the arena. There were shots fired after him, guns going off in all directions. Xerxes covered me with his large body, Thor moving to cover me on my other side, the warmth of his fur strangely comforting.
A shiver prickled my skin as Icy-eyes,Cato, moved to the edge of the Pit. “Follow me,” he said. The darkness wouldn’t hide us from the sight of the dozen or so remaining soldiers inside the arena.
And yet, Xerxes, Thor, and I dragged ourselves into the shadows behind him. As soon as we were at his back, a shield of ice went up between us and the gunfire coming from the others. I flinched each time a bullet lodged in the ice, but there was no room to stop.
With Xerxes in front of me, large paw holding my hand, and Thor still in his shifted form behind me, we followed Cato through the corridor of ice towards the back of the Pit. I’d watched Dante disappear somewhere around here after Hawk was dragged away, but where my cage was situated hadn’t allowed me to see much.
But the closer we got, the more I saw; rows of chains, an entire wall of runes I couldn’t understand, shackles meant for the shifters who were brought here to fight.
And elevator doors.
The mountain became even more unstable; shouts from beyond the ice wall sounded like they were calling for help.There was more trembling beneath our feet, then another loud crash that sounded like a cave in.
“The Pit is no more,” Xerxes said, his voice low. “The ring is gone.”
A chill rolled down my spine, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel bad about it. I looked over my shoulder at the bear shifter who lumbered behind me on all fours. He remained close to my back, head lowered. As if sensing my stare, dark brown eyes lifted to meet mine.
I quickly looked away. It was a little strange he decided to follow, though part of me was glad he hadn’t taken off with Jack Frost.
Cato stopped a couple of feet away from the elevator, forcing us to a halt. Standing in front of the doors was a familiar, unwelcome face.
Zephyr. My heart thundered with anger and disgust at the sight of the vampire. His dark hair was dusted with dirt, and there was blood splattered across his jaw and cheek. There was no sign of the unhinged male I’d come to know too well.
He was calm, controlled, standing with a gun hanging loosely from his fingertips, head cocked like a predator tracking his prey. I doubted he’d ever had control of himself, though. Why else would he betray Hawk and the rest of his team? I hadn’t seen any of the others down here. And I still had no idea why he’d done it all in the first place.
Ahead, Cato raised his gun, pointing it directly at Zephyr’s chest. “Move,” the Fae male growled, the air growing colder around us. “Don’t make me put you down, vamp.”
