“I can’t leave her there,” I grind out.
Opal chose to stay here, in Crea, when I left. Even without the full story, she still had the right to choose. But now that I know what I do, if I told her, would she change her mind?
“I can go check?—”
“Not without me,” I interrupt.
Opal ismyfriend; she doesn’t know Graylen, and if she’s hurt, she may try to run from him. All she knows is what Moros has told her or the rumors she’s heard of the Prince’s Snake.
When I left, I didn’t know Graylen the way I do now.
“She won’t come to you,” I explain, already moving to the passageway to get Adrian. “Adrian will just have to come with us, and I’ll have to put the collar on so we don’t get caught.”
Graylen grabs my arm as I pass, stopping me so that we’re standing shoulder to shoulder. I look up at him, his eyes stormy and jaw clenched.
“Fine,” he growls. “But Soren comes with.”
Soren trots in front of me, already waiting by the passage entrance as he watches us.
“Deal.” I smirk, reaching up on the tips of my toes to give Graylen a quick kiss on the lips.
I start to pull away, but his hand flies up to grip the hair at the base of my skull, tugging enough to tilt my face up toward him again. He leans down, mouth pressing against mine in a quick but relentlessly brutal kiss.
He pulls away just enough to murmur, “You’re going to be the death of me, little princess.” He steps away, leaving a cool breeze in his wake.
We quickly make our way through the hidden hallway, Soren leading our little trio, and burst into Adrian’s room.
He startles awake, rubbing at his eyes as he blinks away sleep. “Uh—” Adrian stammers, pushing himself up onto his elbows. “I’ve had more than my fair share of multiple partners at once, but don’t you think that would be a little awkward?”
I roll my eyes, ignoring his comment, and start pacing the length of the bedchamber.
Soren settles beneath the window, his gaze following my every move. I can feel the pulse of worry emitting from him, but I can’t tell if it’s for me or Opal.
“We need to go to the library,” I say quickly. “Opal is in trouble—don’t ask me how I know; I just do. We need to go.Now.”
Adrian blinks, his hair tousled and eyes bloodshot. He drags a hand down his face and rolls over, perching on the edge of the bed, all at a painfully slow pace.
“The collar?” he mumbles, avoiding eye contact with me.
I can feel a wave of displeasure roll off of Graylen, but he stays silent.
“Put it on quickly,” I mutter, waving my hand for him to come over.
Adrian scrambles off the bed and snatches the device off the bedside table. He jogs the few steps over to me, muttering an apology as he slips it into place. “Sorry, Lunaria.”
I nod, my stomach souring further with every wasted second.
Once the necklace is clasped, I turn to Graylen. “The guards?—”
“Let me handle them,” he says with a smirk. “You and Adrian go straight to the library. I’ll join you as soon as I can. Give me a minute, and then you two slip out.”
I swallow and nod.
“Soren,” Graylen says to the giant beast. “You’re with me.”
Soren growls softly, his gaze slipping to me.
“We won’t let them be without us for long,” Graylen says with a quiet chuckle. “You’re my ticket out.” With that, he slips out of the room—the bedchamber the guardsthinkhe’s staying in—with Soren trailing behind him.
