Beyond the closed door, there was another crash, one that sent the room trembling. It had the mind mage stopping before he could touch me, even had the older female backing away.
Something hit the door, making it rattle. The two imprisoning me froze completely.
“She’s here,” the male seethed, grabbing his comms device. “What the hell?”
He pressed a button and a noise came through the speakers. It wasn’t a strong enough connection to the cameras outside, but I knew immediately he was watching whatever was going on beyond the closed door.
When the door bowed beneath the force of the next crash, the mage backed away from me. His gaze flickered from mine towards the witch. “They’re all dead.”
If I could see her, I had a feeling I would be witnessing the colour drain from her face. “What?” she snapped, though there was no heat in her voice.
“She’s got that beast from…from the Old World. And he’s tearing apart the hallway. And there’s a Winter Fae guard. And one of the shifters from the cages. They’ve killed our guys. For her.” The mage looked up from the device, fear glinting in his dark eyes. “We’re dead next.”
“They want him,” she said, voice trembling. “We use him.”
Although the mage was scared, she was terrified. Finally, the witch moved into my line of sight. Her face was colourless, but it was her eyes that gave everything away.
He was scared for his life.
She was scared of something else.
The mage nodded once and pulled a gun from the back of his pants. The next time the door cracked, he clicked off the safety and held it to my head.
So close, I thought, feeling my power fill my bloodstream. It needed him to come closer.
My gaze strayed to the reflection of the door as it caved in.
Standing in the doorway was a bear that wouldn’t fit through it. As soon as the way was cleared, he roared, the sound deafening. I watched through the reflection as he took several steps back, allowing for the others to enter.
First came the terrible beast. His presence tickled at another memory, this one stronger. At the sight of him, I swore I could smell the ocean. When I blinked, I didn’t see eyes. But I thought I saw a flash of violet, like lightning striking the sky.
I felt the mage move in closer. He was almost touching me. His fear perfumed the air.
The second to enter the room was the Fae male. Winter Court. I didn’t recognise him, and he didn’t dredge up anything. He wasn’t tied to the stolen memories.
But he moved in, and from the doorway, the final person appeared.
My breath caught in my throat at the sight of her. Dark hair, messy and untamed, tumbled down her back. She wore a night gown that revealed her arms, which were splattered with blood. When she glanced into the reflection, I caught the dark colour of her eyes.
They were just as I remembered them.
The nozzle of the gun bit into the fleshof my temple, bringing the mage into my grasp. “Move any closer, and I shoot him,” he said, voice hardening with the threat. “You can’t save him from a bullet to the head.”
The dark-eyed female stopped, hand trembling as she held her own gun. But her eyes drifted from the male to the witch who moved to stand near my feet.
I could steal the mage’s power now. He wouldn’t have a chance to shoot me.
The witch, on the other hand, wasn’t close enough yet.
“You,” the female said, her voice breaking. She took an unintentional step forward, one that had the mage digging the barrel of the gun further into my skull.
“Not another step,” the mage warned, a slight waver entering his voice when the bear stepped into the doorway again. “He will die.”
I wanted to look into the female’s eyes. I knew that if I could just see them, I might be able to take back what the mind mage stole. I might be able to remember why I loved her.
“No one is going to die,” the female said, her voice tight. “No one else needs to die. Just let him go, and we’ll walk away.”
The male scoffed, the tremble in his hand intensifying. “You aren’t my Queen.”
