Chapter 32

THIRTY-TWO

BASH

By the time Wednesday night rolled around, we were all so damn grouchy, impatient, and anxious we were bound to start snapping on each other. Gaston’s warning for patience had not been futile.

Monday night we’d spent a few hours in that throne room of his before we felt a little crazy, then we’d spent the rest of the night in the lounge with our eyes on that velvet rope. Last night, we’d stayed in the room for thirty-minute segments. We also went out looking for him lurking in the shadows of downtown. Each time we came back to an empty room was a blow to my heart.

As we walked out of the portal into that dark alley, I tried to manifest his presence.

I was so caught up in my own thoughts and worries that I didn’t notice the person walking out of the door until they stopped and gasped. Or maybe that was me. My body froze in place.

Venus.

Jada, Ellie, and Stellan leapt up beside me, taking my flanks and forming a wall between the club and the alley exit.

She grinned and tossed her pink hair over her shoulder. My gaze landed on a streak of blood running down the side of her arm. She followed my gaze and gasped dramatically, then held her hand up to her mouth and licked it clean. “Oh, did you need that? Well, there’s still some left if you hurry, but Riven’s dead.”

What? NO. No, no, no.

I knew I needed to kill Venus. I knew that, but my feet carried me around my sister in an instant. The others ran around her to follow me. The door hadn’t even clicked shut yet, so I gripped the edge and threw it open. The bouncer wasn’t looking, so I sprinted to Riven’s hallway and leapt over the velvet rope. My heart pounded in my chest as I raced for his private room. I pulled the door open and leapt inside—and slid to a stop.

There was no Riven. No blood.

Not even a hint of blood.

Ellie let out a ragged breath. “Thank God.”

Jada sheathed her daggers but swept her narrowed gaze left and right and back again. “What do you think?”

“Should we call Gaston? See if he can tell if something happened here?”

“No.” I leaned over and braced my hands on my knees. “He hasn’t been here. I don’t know why Venus was here, but I do know she used our need to get to Riven against us in order to get away. She didn’t want to face all of us in a fight on her own. And we fell for it. Stupid. We have to be smarter than this.”

Stellan cursed. “Damn fae.”

But then his words clicked. Fae. The portal to Third Realm was sealed shut. No one in or out unless Collins woke up or . . . or . . . my stomach rolled. My heart seized in my chest. “Call Nickel. Check Collins. Hurry.”

Ellie gasped and dove for her phone. We’d only just left them a few minutes ago, but it could have changed that fast. The world slipped into slow-motion as I watched Ellie open her phone and dial Nickel’s number. Once again, she put it on speakerphone as it rang. Each ring sent me closer to vomiting. Please let her be okay. Please. She’s fine. She’s okay.

“Ellie, you okay?”

“ Is Collins okay? ” I yelled across the empty throne room.

“She’s the same as when you left.” Nickel’s voice grew sharp. “Why?”

“We just ran into Venus,” Ellie growled.

“I thought MoVaun locked the portal? Hold on, let me check.” Through the speakerphone we heard Nickel get up and run out of the room. Her footsteps thundered down the hall and stairs. Finally, she let out a sigh of relief. “Still sealed shut by a weird wall of red hair. So then how did Venus get in?”

I cursed violently in relief.

“We don’t know either. Thanks, Nickel.” Ellie hung up and shoved her phone back into her pocket. “Well, what do we do now?”

“It’s our third night coming here.” Stellan scratched the back of his neck. “Have we just missed him or has he not come at all?”

“I don’t know.” I sat down on the floor and growled, mostly at myself. “We’re not leaving until we find Riven.”