Chirp!
“Hey, time to muzzle the pets,” Warwick grumbled, his physique coiled and tensed, his head darting around, even wary of the group behind us.
Luk and Kek were in the middle, while once again Tracker and Ava were guarding the rear, which did not settle Warwick at all.
I placed Bitzy and Opie back into Ash’s pack to be safe, with the rule that he couldn’t design any more outfits from the book.
Gesturing, I headed us toward the main tunnel, my intuitionleading the way. With every step, I was aware we could be caught by a soldier, by the ruler himself, or even worse, by Nyx. That bitch would slice me down without hesitation. And oddly enough, I wasn’t sure I blamed her. I killed her lover, and Warwick almost killed her. She kind of had a reason to hate me.
My boots tapped lightly over the stone as we rounded a corner, air sticking in my throat when I saw the room with the altar at the end. My heartbeat doubled against my ribs while we crept closer. Everything was exactly like I saw it in the book, but now that we were here, I didn’t know what to do. If Killian knew it was around here but hadn’t found it, how would we? Even if Killian didn’t know, it still wouldn’t be out in the open.
Where did we even start?
My curiosity drew me up to the altar, the small table filled with peculiar objects. Feathers, bones, crystals, and herbs were all placed around a symbol, which looked like a star lightly carved into the table. Warwick and Ash came up beside me, peering down.
“Holy... shit,” Ash muttered, his eyes widening at the articles on the table.
“What?” His tone spiked anxiety in my gut, intensifying the knot in my stomach I had since the book took me here.
“That altar is a?—”
“A Druid altar.” A crackly voice came from in front of us, yanking our heads up to an outline in the murky shadows. Warwick and Ash pointed their guns at the silhouette, but I didn’t move. A realization hit my chest before it fully unspooled in my mind.
The figure shuffled out of the shadows, a fire bulb flickering across his weathered features and distorted frame.
A sharp gasp burned down my lungs, my eyes taking in what I already knew deep down.
“About time you arrived, my girl.” His blue eyes found mine.
Wearing exactly the same dirty white outfit I saw him in last, his hair even greasier, was the Druid.
Tadhgan.
Chapter
Twelve
“Tad?” My voice squeaked, my brain tripping and rolling over itself, trying to make sense of his presence here.
A soft smile pulled at his mouth as he hobbled closer to us, ignoring the guns pointed at him.
“Looks like the gang is together again.” He nodded at Warwick and Kek. “Should have known they would gravitate toward you like the sun.”
“Hey, old man.” Kek smirked, flicking her head at the Druid. “And I should have known someone as stubborn as you wouldn’t die. Not that lucky, I guess.”
He grinned back at her. “Death will come for me soon enough, but not today.”
“Wait.” I held up my hands. “Wha-what are you doing here?” My head shook, not all the pieces clicking.
“Doing here?” He scoffed, lifting one arm in a general motion. “I never left here.”
I took in his ratty hair and the soiled white Halálház uniform he still wore, his trusty cane gone.
“This is where you’ve been hiding since Halálház was bombed?” My mouth parted. “That was, like, a month ago.”
“Was it?” His white brows curved up. “Time means so little to me.”
“How?” I shook my head. “Weren’t the doors to the tunnels magic-locked?”
