She shakes it, dipping her head in acknowledgement. “You’re one of us now, Ever, and we take care of our own… because we can’t trust anyone else to. If you need something, let me know and I’ll do what I can to help, or point you in the direction of someone that can. Okay?”
“Thank you.” I won’t take her up on it since I’m abandoning ship ASAP, but I appreciate the sentiment if nothing else.
The blue glow surrounding us suddenly turns red, pulsing like a living heartbeat. For one weighted moment, nobody so much as breathes. In the next, people snap out of their shock and panic, sprinting off with shouts and leaving me completely lost and confused. I didn’t grow up with fire drills in these tunnels; I don’t have a damn clue where the emergency exit is.
Kind of a big design flaw that it’s a silent alarm, though. If someone’s sleeping when they go off, they’re doomed.
Prepared to follow the masses as a safe default, I squirm off of Bellamy’s lap, but he has a different idea. Clasping my hand tightly in his and tucking me behind him, he shoulders our way through the crowd, clearing us a path and shielding me from getting jostled around. As soon as we’re not at risk of being trampled, he leads us in the opposite direction as everyone that’s fleeing.
“What’s going on?” I shout over the chaotic din, and he squeezes my hand in reassurance.
“Someone breached the wards.”
I bite my lip, stuffing down that little flutter of hope that the guys found us already. Because how would that even be possible? It’s more likely that someone else followed us here.
My stomach flips with dread as I remember… Seraphina’s mates never found out who was trying to break the wards to get into Mercy Ridge. They could have followed the men that grabbed me and Bell right to the mimic’s doorstep. No matterhow good their barrier was, I doubt it was on the same level as the one Myles created.
My dread and self-loathing grow with every step as Bellamy leads us through the twists and turns in the endless tunnels without slowing, barking at people to get down to the bunks.
“Bell, what if… what if it isn’t them?”
His lips thin, slowing a bit. “Who else would it be?”
I blurt out my worries, and he comes to a dead halt, looking like he’s about to be sick. “Why the hell didn't any of you tell me that someone was attacking the city while we were there?!”
I flinch, because…fair. “Honestly, I kind of forgot about it with everything else going on. Myles strengthened the barrier as soon as we found out, so it was sort of a moot point after that.”
He curses, swiping a hand down his face. “Shit, if that’s the case, I need to get you out of here.”
I dig my heels in as he tries to tug me back the way we came. “Hold on, itmightbe the guys. I’m just saying we need to be prepared in case it isn’t so we don’t waltz right into a trap.” Taking a deep breath, I point out, “You went through all the effort to save these people, right? You can’t just let them die if we can do something to stop it.”
Steel grey eyes hold mine captive. “I can and I will if it means you’re safe.You’remy priority, Ever. Your safety comes first. Always.”
My stomach flips. “And if itisthe guys storming the castle, are you going to forgive them for killing your family over a misunderstanding?”
Bellamy doesn’t even hesitate. “If they aren’t willing to kill someone to get you back, they don’t deserve you.”
Not sure how to processthatderanged statement, I opt for ignoring it entirely.
“Then we figure out what’s happening together.” I tug my necklace out from under my shirt with a victorious grin. “Theymay have taken my knife when they kidnapped us, but I’ve still got this.”
Confusion morphs into recognition as I activate the pendant and disappear in front of his eyes. While cloaked, my scent and sounds are masked, because my mate is a fucking genius. I was saving it as a failsafe to sneak us out of here if push came to shove, but even if I wind up showing the ace up my sleeve, it’s worth the risk to figure out what’s happening above ground without being a liability and holding Bell back.
“I thought you had borrowed someone’s power that first day,” he breathes, face breaking into a broad grin. “Myles?”
When I remember he can’t hear my response, I tap his arm as confirmation. Grabbing my hand, Bell guides me into a narrow fissure easily missed in the rocky wall that eventually leads to an ancient, moss-covered cement slide. Carefully lifting me over the few inches of bottomless void between us and the lip of the slide, he climbs behind me, catching me every time my foot slips until we reach a metal grate. The sounds of fighting grow louder as he tucks my hand into his belt to ensure I don’t fall without him knowing, his muscles straining as he shoves it open a crack, sliding it out of the way and letting the sounds of fighting flood in full blast.
“Wait here,” he whispers, but I tug him back.
Deactivating the cloaking device, I whisper, “With me being invisible, it makes more sense for me to do recon, so you stay here and I’ll be back in a min-” I yelp as he palms my cheeks and crashes his lips against mine, nearly losing my footing and tumbling to my doom.
“Over my dead fucking body,” he growls against my lips. “Either you stay where I know you’re safe, or we aren't going at all.”
As a scream tears out above us and he doesn’t so much as flinch, I stare at him in disbelief. “You're seriously going to let your family get slaughtered rather than let me help?”
“You’remy family, Ever.” Tattooed thumbs caress my jawline. “And I'm never going to put you in danger just to save someone else.”
The sounds of fighting and shouting above us rises to a fever pitch, only serving to harden the glint in his serious gaze. He's seriously not going to budge on this, the stubborn idiot.
