54. Bram

54

brAM

T he urge to down a full bottle of fae whiskey gnawed at me. I desperately wanted to numb the chaos roaring in my mind as I stood in the center of Hunter’s office, staring at the fractured patterns of light on the floor from the sun filtering in through the window.

Three days.

Three agonizing days without Pandora or Dex.

Chaos couldn’t find anything.

Time blurred around me in a haze of fury and frustration. The veins on my hands pulsed with a black, sinister glow. It was the dark magic coursing through my body, eating at my soul from the inside out.

I clenched my fists, trying to hide the corruption spreading beneath my skin from the others. We didn’t need to worry about my shit right now. We needed to find my fucking mate.

Hunter sat at his desk, his expression etched with worry and fatigue. He and Reed had been trying to sense Pandora’s location since the attack, but every attempt they met with failure.

The matebond was supposed to be a beacon so they could locate her, but it was fucking static. They couldn’t sense where she was, just her emotions. And her emotions were bad. It only made me want to crawl out of my skin with irritation.

“Damn it, Hunter!” I let out a ragged breath. “You should be able to find her! What good is sealing the fucking matebond if it’s useless when we need it?”

Hunter's gaze darkened, and the muscle in his jaw twitched. “You think I’m not trying? You think this is easy for me?”

“ Easy ?” A bitter, hollow chuckle broke out of me. “Nothing about this is easy. If you had any real connection to our mate, you’d be able to find her!”

“Like you do?” Vengeance magic buzzed around him, and his horns slipped from his skull. “You have such a good fucking connection with her that she hasn’t even forgiven you for hurting her. She doesn’t trust you, Bram!”

“At least I’m fucking trying!” I shouted, and my voice sounded disembodied, echoing off the walls.

“You—”

“Enough!” Death’s voice cut through the tense atmosphere. He had the same purple bags under his eyes as we all did. “It might not be dark magic shielding her location from her bonded mates. Tourmalyke could be involved…it’s what stopped me from locating Amy when the humans had her. It’s not their fault, Bram Hemlock.”

My chest tightened, the tattoos of wolves on my arms shifted as my anger flared. “I don’t care what’s involved. I care about finding Pandora and Dex. Now!”

Skel leaned against the wall, chain-smoking his fucking fae pipe. His voice was nothing but a strained whisper. “We’re all worried, Bram. But losing your shit isn’t going to help any of us—especially not Pandora. My magic is already leaking like a fucking waterfall as it is.” His hands trembled slightly, the colored smoke from his pipe swirled around him as he exhaled.

I shot him a glare. “Your magic always fucking leaks. Maybe if you weren’t such a coward, you’d be more useful.”

Skel’s eyes flashed with hurt, but he said nothing.

My leg bounced faster, the need for a drink becoming almost unbearable. I turned away, trying to shake off the dark thoughts creeping into my mind.

I wanted to sic’ Chaos on my friend.

Reed lay on that damn couch, eyes closed, trying once again to reach Pandora through his dreamscape.

But just like the past three days, he hadn’t been able to reach her.

My patience snapped. “Why are two of you constantly sleeping while Pandora is out there suffering?”

Hunter’s fist slammed against his desk, the sharp crack striking the air. “Reed is trying to reach her, and we have to drug Skel because of his magic. You snapping at everyone isn’t helping any of us.”

Fury licked up my spine. “ Helping ? Like you’re helping? We’re all too weak to do what needs to be done!” The darkness in my heart shattered, and I lunged at Hunter over his neatly organized desk.

The first punch landed with a sickening crunch, but before I could strike again, Death fed off fragments of my soul until I stumbled back, fucking delirious.

“Stop,” Death commanded. “This isn’t helping my daughter! Either shut the Fates up or get out!”

As if in response to his words, an illusion materialized in front of me—Pandora, bloody and crying. Her agony echoed through my mind, a haunting sound that left me completely fucking paralyzed.

Chaos leapt from my chest and growled at Skel.

“Oh, fuck.” Skel paled. “I can’t...I can’t control it.” He yanked out a sleeping pill, swallowing it quickly to stop the fear magic leaking from him as he slid down the wall. He collapsed into a deep, unnatural sleep.

The room fell into a heavy silence, the weight of our collective failure pressed down on all of us. I knew that. But Reed and Hunter were fucking bonded to her. They should be able to find her. Tourmalyke be damned. My need for action was suffocating me.

“We need a better plan,” Hunter muttered. “We can’t let this break us. We need to be ready to get her.”

Rage blazed through my bone marrow. “We find her. We tear apart anyone who stands in our way. And we bring her back.”

“That’s always been the plan,” Death growled, running his hands through his hair.

I paced the length of the room. I felt the dark magic tugging at my sanity, whispering insidious thoughts, but I shoved it aside. I couldn’t afford to lose control.

Not yet.

Not until she’s safe.

“We’ll need all the information we can get. Death, you said tourmalyke might be involved. Do we have any leads on who could be providing it?”

Death’s expression darkened. “Humans or witches, usually.”

“Then we start hunting down those who sell tourmalyke,” I growled. “We find them, we get them to talk, and we don’t stop until we have Pandora and Dex back.”

Reed stirred slightly on the couch. “I’ll keep trying to reach her in the dreamscape. If I can make contact, I might be able to give us a location.”

Hunter nodded. “Good. We’ll need every advantage we can get.”

“I’m not waiting around,” I snarled. “I’m going to find Slater, and I’ll have him go with me to find anyone selling tourmalyke under the table. If anyone wants to come, fine. If not, stay out of my way.”

I slammed the door behind me, and it rattled the door frame, but I only had one thing on my mind—finding and saving my fucking mate before dark magic consumed my soul entirely.