The window also refuses to budge.
I don’t have time for this.
I throw up a sound barrier, then summon wind as cold as ice and pour it into the lock. I use the hilt of my dagger to smash the ice into bits. And just like that, the door swings open.
I manage to slip from the cabin undetected. Not even Holly stirs on the couch as I tip-toe through the living room and click the door shut behind me. I spent all night arguing with everyone about rescuing the next execution victim. Luca and Ivan were firmly against the idea, while everyone else remained silent.
“You’ll get yourself killed,” Luca said tersely.
But what the hell is the point of living if I sit back while innocent people die? I stopped arguing and went to bed without another word, then spent the entire night planning how to sneak off in the morning.
I make it to the edge of the forest and turn back tothe safehouse. Nobody follows. I turn, preparing to somehow funnel myself to a court I’ve never visited, when a voice cuts through the silent forest.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I whirl. Asmo leans against a pine tree, one foot propped against the thick trunk behind him, his all-black outfit blending in with the dark. Dawn is still far off.
“Fuck!” I gasp. My hand flies to my chest, heart hammering against its cage.
“Well?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Nowhere,” I say.
He scoffs at the answer. “At least come up with something creative.”
“Fine. I’m going on a hike.”
He shoves away from the trunk and stalks toward me. “Mae.”
I cross my arms and plant my foot in the thin layer of snow. “Asmo.”
He reaches for me, placing a warm hand on my forearm. “If you’re going on a rescue mission, at least let me tag along.”
“Me, too,” a voice calls from behind me. Asmo’s hand tightens briefly around my arm, then relaxes when he looks over my shoulder.
I turn. Holly’s honey blonde hair catches moon beams as she walks between the trees. Like Asmo, she’s dressed in all black.
A grin spreads across my face.
“Where are we going? The truth this time,” she says, arching a thin eyebrow.
“Panthera. To rescue the citizens that are going to be executed,” I say firmly. There is no room for negotiation on this. I will not watch more people die for this war if I can do something about it. All I’ve done is sit and watch people get hurt. Asmo’s words echoed through my head all night.Do something about it.I’m done feeling powerless. I have power and I can—and will—use it to help.
“Alright then,” Holly says. She forms a portal and we all step through at once, landing in a deserted building. A hole in the dilapidated roof reveals a sliver of the moon.
“Where are we?” I ask, nose scrunching at the smell of dirt and rotting wood.
“An old barn on the outskirts of Beckinsdale,” Holly says, shuttingthe portal behind her. “I used to come here to hook up with a Panthera hybrid a couple years ago.”
Asmo grabs a knife from his boot and pulls his shirt up, cutting his sigil into his perfectly chiseled stomach. He transforms in front of me, then hands the knife to Holly. “Do you remember your person?”
“We used them yesterday,” she says in confirmation as she carves the mark. She hands the knife to me, and I cut mine into my stomach. “What’s the plan?” she asks, staring at me expectantly.
“I don’t know,” I admit with a laugh, because it’s absurd to have a rescue plan without a plan at all. Holly’s face falls and I hurriedly add, “I was thinking we’d try to find the prisoner before they can even be brought to the town square.” I resist the urge to wring my hands together. “But if I’m being honest, I have no clue where to even start looking for them.”
“Mother’s sake princess,” Asmo mutters, running a hand through his hair. “Well, they must be keeping them in the dungeons.”
“Great,” I say cheerily, ignoring the first part of his response. “Let’s go, then.”
