Kaj stopped, spinning around to face Mirakel. “You’re telling me Darko’s a traitor?”
The male looked pained as he nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Son of a bitch.
Mirakel gave his shoulder a shove, urging him to keep going. “We’re not safe until we’re out of here. There’s no way to vanish within the confines of this space.”
Which meant the walls were enforced with titanium. It was the only material they couldn’t move through.
Kaj heard the sound of voices coming from behind them, so he hurried his pace. It took another few minutes before they came to a set of rusty bars that led up through a hole barely big enough for their shoulders to squeeze through.
“I don’t know what’s on the other side,” Mirakel warned. “But I need you to go first so I can watch your back.”
Without hesitation, Kaj crawled up the rusted metal rungs, then pushed open the thick iron cover that sealed off the tunnel. Before he leveraged himself out, he scanned his surroundings. He sensed two males moving their way, probably a good mile off. Aside from them, there were a handful of forest animals skittering about, but no additional threats. For now.
Once he was out, Kaj waited for Mirakel. The male launched himself up and out, then shifted the cover back in place.
Kaj waved his hand over the metal plate, melting the edges so that it sealed in place. “They won’t be getting out that way.”
“We need to get out of here before Darko’s reinforcements figure out where we went,” Mirakel warned.
Had he been alone, Kaj would’ve gone back to Obsidian’s residence; however, that wasn’t an option. While he wanted to trust Mirakel, the fact that he hadn’t sniffed out Darko’s betrayal told him he needed to take this slow. Last thing he would do was put his daughter in danger. Or Acadia.
“I know a place.” Kaj drifted into molecules, projecting the coordinates into Mirakel’s mind as he did.
When they took form, it was in an abandoned warehouse in a small town south of Darkness. Kaj had secured the place before he’d ventured to the mansion in the event Obsidian had turned him away.
Although they were alone, Mirakel didn’t relax as he strolled through the vacant metal building, checking locks on windows and doors. The most those would do was stall a human, damn sure not a vampire.
Mirakel turned to face him. “The others are waiting.”
“Others?”
“With your permission, I’ll let them know where we are.”
“What others?” Kaj insisted, moving toward the enormous male, one hand on his gun, the other on his dagger.
“Four of us survived,phaal,” Mirakel said softly. “Barely.”
Unable to believe the admission, Kaj could only stare. Completely and utterly … relieved.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Two days later…
Having spent the past week holed uphere with the female, Perfidious was hoping tonight would be the night she would come around. Then again, that was his thought every single night when he came to visit her.
No, the accommodations weren’t at all what he’d envisioned for his queen, but until Asmia got with the program, he had decided this would be her new home, this cage deep in the heart of the mountain not too far from where he’d found her. It was far more secure than the abandoned warehouse he’d initially taken her to, providing more security as well as privacy. No risk of those pesky humans stumbling upon them.
Unfortunately, it seemed he and his beloved Asmia continued to endure one setback after another, the latest being her illness. Perfidious had no fucking clue what was wrong with the Fae, but for the past couple of days, she’d been under the weather.
“Do you find these accommodations more suitable?” Perfidious asked, motioning toward the enormous king bed he’d had delivered to her cell just that morning.
He’d been outfitting the space with the nicest things money could buy. After all, it was his pleasure to treat her like the royalty she was. Asmia was his queen, even if she denied her position at the moment. She would come around, he knew. She simply needed time and perhaps a bit more persuasion on his part.
Asmia glared at him but didn’t speak. Her usual response. The good news was, she was at least looking at him now.
Perfidious glanced at the padlock, then clicked it open with his mind before willing the door to swing wide. He stepped inside, wanting to be closer to her.
