‘It does,’she responded with a bigger smile.
‘My love is so smart,’Gabe said to his wife, and she winked at him.
Blake rolled her eyes.‘Nat! Stop being dramatic and tell us!’
Natalie gave her sister a smirk and then nodded.‘If Averly can convince Lora to release her full power, and she can wield it against Silas in the fight, then Brayden will definitely be able to kill him.’
I inclined my head.‘That was my plan.’
Natalie gave me a knowing look.‘And then there will be a split second of chaos when you can make your move against Mace and free one of us.’
‘Why just one of us?’Blake looked disturbed at the thought.
Natalie nodded to her sister.‘Mace is the weak link of the Fae Lords. If Averly can remove his cuffs, Castiel can use the momentary weakness to break free.’
‘Why Castiel?’Axel sounded pissed.
Natalie looked at her brother-in-law.‘He’s the strongest out of all of us and you know it. By the time he uses the weakness that Mace’s death will create in the prison magic to free himself, Lora will have strengthened the rest of our shackles. If there is just one of us that can go free, it should be him.’
Momentary silence descended on the group.
‘Then I will come back another day to free you all.’Castiel looked ecstatic at the thought, but Axel frowned.
‘And what if they can’t come back, just like Brayden? What if you leave us here too?’ Axel growled.
‘That’s not going to happen,’I snarled into their minds.‘With Castiel and I at full power, plus Leah, and only three Fae Lords alive…’
Gabe looked excited.‘Three full-blown Greywolves to take on the Fae Lords might be enough.’
Castiel cleared his throat nervously.‘No offense, but you and Leah aren’t trained. We should try to get Brayden’s magic back, then we could take on the Fae Lords for sure.’
I tried and failed not to take offense to that. ‘Then train me. For starters,how do I get Mace’s cuffs off in order to free you?’
Castiel nodded.‘When Silas dies, your cuffs will automatically fall off without a living master to wear the other half. Lora will be too distraught over the loss of her lover to notice. That’s when you strike.’
* * *
The next twoweeks were a blur of sleep deprivation, bloody bruises, and a whole lot of me getting my ass kicked.
Maddy, Natalie, and Castiel were my main trainers. When Silas slept, we trained. Sometimes they attacked me all at once. Other times, like right now, it was one on one.
“Come on, freeze me,” Castiel taunted, and then ran at me.
I pulled my power from the wrist cuffs and then threw it at him before he could reach me and swipe my feet out from under me.
He froze in midair, arms out, and I whooped in excitement, getting cheers from Maddy and Natalie. The hold broke seconds later and Castiel didn’t hesitate. He collided right into me and kicked out my legs so that I fell backward on my butt.
“Hey!” I growled, looking up at him. “I did it.”
He nodded, reaching down to help me up. “You don’t have time to celebrate. Every second counts, and when your attention is divided, the Fae Lords will use that as a weakness.”
A frown pulled at my lips. “You’re no fun.”
Maddy and Natalie both stood, taking attack stances, and I groaned. It was going to be a long night.
FIVE
Today was the day of the fight and I was a ball of nerves. I barely slept. Maddy and I paced the jail house all morning as we waited for Lora or Silas to call us up.
