Nylah pulled on Bridget’s hand. “We stick together this time. I know you two just had a secret conversation.”
Lips turned up slightly, Cade ruffled the top of her tight curls. Despite the knot constricting her throat, Bridget said, “I promised you that wouldn’t happen again.”
And she’d basically made the same unspoken promise to Delphine. Nylah was her responsibility. No matter how much she wanted to help, she wouldn’t abandon her again.
Deckard rolled his eyes, a dark scowl settling on his face as he paused at the doorway. Out of the corner of his eye, he appraised the guard. “What’s your name?”
“Barrett,” the guard stammered.
Deckard’s lip curled. “Barrett, give my son your sword.”
The king stormed into the hallway. The guard’s cheeks reddened as a series of strangled noises escaped his throat. After a moment, Cade flickedhis wrist. The sword attached at Barrett’s side flew to his hand. He caught it midair.
“I don’t need this, but it’s better for you if he thinks you listened,” Cade said coolly. “You better hurry before you lose him and the Wraith finds you first.”
Barrett swallowed hard, nodded without a word, and hurried after Deckard. Once their footsteps faded down the hall, Cade turned and pressed the sword into Bridget’s hand. Then he scooped up Nylah, placing her carefully on the closet chair.
“Hop on, we’ll be able to move faster if I carry you,” he said. “Cass, grab one of the torches from the hallway and make sure it doesn’t go out.”
Nylah jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Bridget's knuckles turned white as she gripped the sword’s handle. It felt heavy and foreign in her hand. And too similar to the one in the vision. As it swished in the air, the whistling made her stomach churn. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to throw it out the window. “I’m much better with a dagger, you know. Besides, I can hardly move in this dress. This won’t do me any good.”
Bridget tried to give it to Cassia. The blonde traitorously held up her hands.
“You need it more than me. While my magic is a little erratic at the moment, it’s more than you have.”
“Just hold on to it. Please,” Cade said, eyes softening. “Cass has a point. You need to have something and that dress leaves little to the imagination. I know you don’t have any daggers on you.”
Heat traveled up Bridget’s neck as she reluctantly nodded. The moment they arrived at the tunnel she’d seen in Cade’s head, she was dropping the damned thing.
Silence wrapped around them as they stepped into the dim hallway. Shadows flickered along the walls, making the paintings seem almost alive. Cassia pulled a torch from the wall, the metallicclickof its release echoingfar louder than it should have. Nylah pressed a finger to her lips, silently shushing her, and Cassia shot her a sharp glare. Following Cade toward the main stairwell, Bridget cast a glance over her shoulder at the empty corridor behind them. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears.
“How do you think it got in?” Bridget whispered. “Quinn has to be with it, right?”
Her fingers nervously tugged at the soft green leaves of the fichus tree planted in the center of the double staircase, half-expecting Quinn to leap out from behind it.
“Now I normally don’t mind being alone in a dark room with a man, but the shrieking killed the mood.”
Heart leaping to her throat, Bridget whirled around and snapped the sword upward. Metal clinked as Finn blocked the weapon with his own before it reached Archer’s neck. Adrenaline buzzed through Bridget’s veins as she let out a frustrated huff and hit the Warlock on the arm.
“Why did you sneak up on us like that?”
“Why did you jump behind a plant?” Archer countered, brow raised. “Your boyfriend summoned us. Again, can we try a note next time?”
“Because that would be such a great use of our time,” Cade replied scathingly.
“I can’t pinpoint the Wraith’s location,” Finn said. “Every time it wails, it sounds like it’s coming from a different direction.”
“Fantastic,” Cassia grumbled. Her anxious gaze darted to the dark space behind Finn and Archer. “Where’s Castor?”
Finn glanced at Cade before he answered. “Once we heard the Wraith, he and Delphine went to help secure the servants quarters and get them out. And no surprise to anyone, Alexia followed.”
Cassia nodded, face transforming into steel. Bridget lowered her gaze when she noticed the subtle bob of her throat. She didn’t envy the unsurety of not knowing how the person you cared about felt.
Archer tossed a small metal item to Nylah. “Here you go, kid.”
Bridget narrowed her eyes at the lighter in her sister’s hands. “I knew it was you.”
“There’s a safe room on the bottom floor. It leads to a tunnel,” Cade said, propping Nylah up higher on his back. “I’ll get you all there and then help Stellan deal with the Wraith once and for all.”
