Page 67 of A Castle of Broken Memories

“Don’t get your… panties… in a wad,” Tenebris wheezed. “I’ll get him. Just… need… to catch… my breath.”

I narrowed my eyes at my old friend, distrust twisting in my gut. “You have enough energy to make the trip again? Really?”

“Geez, Mari. Have a little faith.” Tenebris nodded toward Danny, who nervously scooted around me to the well. He dropped the bean into its depths, and my breath caught at the tiny splash. Had we literally just thrown our last chance of escape down the well? What if it didn’t work? What if we were stuck here? What if⁠—

Soft blue light rose up from the well like a fog, tinged with a shimmer of pink. Danny turned to us with an expression far more solemn than I’d ever seen on one so young. “It’s ready.”

“Good, good.” Tenebris jerked a thumb toward Harp. “Calum, you take Danny and this nice lady here through first, and Mari and I will follow as soon as I’ve retrieved her beloved fang boy.”

Calum hesitated, eyeing me with wary caution. “You sure you don’t want me to stay back, too? If it comes down to a fight…”

If it came down to a fight, we’d lose. I was strong, but not takes-on-a-castle-full-of-giants strong.

I waved him away. “As long as Ten-Ten keeps his promise, we’ll be fine. Besides, Danny can’t carry his sister through by himself. They need you.” And if for some reason the portal did close before we got Jack back, I didn’t want the weight of their capture on my conscience too. I was already pushing Tenebris further than I liked, but it couldn’t be helped. It was his idea to go along with whatever cock-eyed plan Jack had come up with and couldn’t be bothered to share. I only hoped it was one that involved him not having his bones crushed while Tenebris recouped.

When Calum still didn’t move, I sighed and added an edge of alpha command to my voice. “Go.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched and I could see him fighting the compulsion to follow orders, but ultimately the wolf won out. He hoisted Harp up with a grunt, and nodded for Danny to scramble over the edge ahead of him before vaulting over it himself, the three of them disappearing into the shimmery light.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I gave Tenebris a pointed look. “Well? Are you ready for another jump or am I going to need to fetch Jack the old-fashioned way?”

Tenebris rolled his shoulders, his breath still coming heavy. “I think I’ve got one more in me.”

Shit. “You do know it’ll take two jumps, right? One to get to Jack, another to bring him back?” I eyed Tenebris’s pallid complexion and shook my head. “Actually, I’m thinking you’d better not risk it. Follow the others through the portal. I’ll get Jack.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

“You can’t let me do it?” I snorted. “Since when do you let me do anything? Fuck this, I’m going myself.”

“No.” Tenebris grabbed my forearm, his voice dulled from fatigue. “You aren’t.”

The pull came out of nowhere, sucking me into the void for a fraction of a second. And then I was back, still in the room with the trees and the well, only my feet were no longer on the ground. Tenebris and I were dangling in mid-air, right above the…

“Fucking shi—” I reached for the well’s ledge as it slipped past, but it was too late. Tenebris and I were falling through the light into the portal, leaving the castle and its giants behind.

Leaving Jack.

39

Take me to the queen. I’ll distract her while you get Harp and the satchel. Then you open the portal and get them out no matter what it takes. All of them.

Tenebris spirited us inside the enormous room with its marble floors, arching stained glass windows, and ornately carved dais. We came in behind the two thrones, huddled behind the larger with its straight back of smooth obsidian stretching fifteen feet high, at least. Voices clamored loudly from the other side, their undertones simmering with anger and resentment.

“We should burn them!”

“A hanging!”

“Dismember them piece by piece.”

“Tar and feathers, just like the old days!”

Hoo boy. Not loving the torturous atmosphere. Especially seeing as how I was most likely part of the “them” they were all shouting about. Tenebris gripped my arm, his expression silently begging me to reconsider. But as much as I very much wanted to do just that, if we didn’t get that bean, it’d be more than just me facing the giants’ wrath. And I would gladly die a thousand deaths before I let them touch my Mariana.

“Silence.”

Calm and commanding, the voice bellowed from the throne in front of us as Queen Alba quieted them all with a single word. It hung in the air like a shroud before she continued. “You cry out for justice, but justice cannot be fulfilled while the dark one flits unrestrained about our kingdom.”

Tenebris tugged on my shoulder, mouthing the dark one with wide eyes when I glanced down at him. He pointed at his face. She means me.