Page 101 of Secrets of the Six

Shit.

Not only did that fall hurt like hell, but the sound probably alerted the guards to mischief.

Cas is already dragging Rogelio’s body to the buggy by the time I brush myself off and stumble to my feet.

“Olli?” I whisper, hoping he’s not having to elude Severo’s guards on his own.

A few paces to my right, Olli lands and startles me.

“Let’s go!” His eyes are wide, and his chest is rising and falling rapidly. “The guards looked like they were headed this way.”

Piling into the carriage, I knock my knuckles against the ceiling, signaling for Cas to drive. We take off down the street, our course set for Iglesia de los Santos.

Carmen has a cloth pressed against Ines’ abdomen, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Though Ines’ eyes are closed, she’s still breathing which gives me the smallest bit of hope we’ll make it to the City of Dreams before it’s too late.

“What the fuck happened, Remus?” Carmen hisses, eyeing me like a wounded animal poised to strike.

I tug my fingers through my damp hair. “Rogelio caught us before we could escape.” I swallow, staring at Ines. “He tried to stab me, but she stepped in front of me. It’s my fault.”

“Quit feeling sorry for yourself,” she snaps. Her viciousness catches me off-guard. “What’s the plan now?”

“We need to get to Alba.”

“And Rogelio?” she juts her chin toward the still unconscious Murrieta.

“Keep him until I know what to do with him.”

She shakes her head. “We don’t kill – “

“I know!” I snap but quickly offer my apologies. I’m on edge, but she’s not who I’m angry with. I’m upset with myself. This is all my fault.

I sigh. “We couldn’t leave him, Carmen. He’s a liability. I just… I just need time to figure out what to do next.”

“Did you at least find out who they’re executing?” She graciously accepts my answers and moves on.

Suddenly, I feel as if a mountain has crashed down on top of me.

“Remus?”

I clear my throat. “My mother.”

Her mouth falls open and snaps closed just as quickly. “I thought your mother was executed fifteen years ago.”

“Apparently not.”

“There’s a prison mine hidden in the mountains like Ines said,” Olli takes over when I fail to say more. “It appears Boudica Kane has been kept there all this time along with other missing people.”

I feel Olli and Carmen’s eyes pinned on me but refuse to meet their gazes.

“We’ll get her back, Remus,” Olli finally speaks.

I say nothing for fear I’ll completely spiral.

There’s no telling what horrors my mother has endured for the last fifteen years.

I failed my mother.