Chapter fifteen

It's a small drop before my feet land on the ground, the dark tunnel dank and musty. Rodents scuttle along the walls, and a torch sits at the end of the stretch before me, lit with a flickering flame. I jog toward it, tugging it from the sconce on the wall and holding it out before me.

Thankful there aren't a lot of splits in the path, I barrel my way farther and farther, the ground gradually sloping steeper down. Goosebumps burst along my arms, and I miss my wolf's voice more than ever. Icy fingers snake up my spine, feathering their way over the back of my neck, and I whirl around, wishing the torch lit more than just a couple feet in each direction.

Down, my wolf says.

I listen to her on instinct, relief washing over me at the sound of her voice. A chunk of wood flies over my head and smacks into the wall behind me, falling to the ground. I spin on my heels, throwing the torch and following it with my fist. The arcing flame gives enough light to find my target—Raymond Grant.

He dodges my punch easily, and as the torch hits the ground, dust clouds up and douses the flame. I pull my wolf forward to sharpen my sight, knowing the silver glow in the darkness will make me an easy target.

Closing my eyes to hide, I drop into a crouch and sweep my leg around, hooking his ankles and yanking. He lands with a thud, and I open my eyes instantly, jumping on top of him. Claws sink into my forearm when he grabs my wrist, and I cry out, warmth running over my skin as blood trickles down.

"You've ruined everything," he snarls, yellow eyes piercing into mine as his grip tightens, the tips of his claws scraping over my bones. "He was never supposed to find a mate. Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I…" I grit my teeth, letting my anger surge through the blinding pain. "I didn't choose this." Bringing my wolf to the surface, I force her out further, struggling through the last bit of block. "But I'll always choose him." The second my teeth lengthen into my wolf's sharp canines, I snap at his throat, but his knee jerks up and cracks into my side. My breath leaves me in a whoosh as my lower rib fissures.

His claws tear from my skin as he throws me off him, my back slamming against the wall of the tunnel. "You and your bitch of a mother ruined everything I built!"

Stars dance behind my closed eyes as I force myself onto my hands and knees, my wolf's instincts taking over as his fist brushes past me. My fingers graze the wooden torch and curl around it. Magic tingles at my fingertips, the warm sensation building into a fizzling heat until flames burst along the wood and bathe the tunnel in bright light.

Raymond yells, the sudden change from darkness to bright light blinding him for mere seconds, just long enough for me to throw the torch at him, his body alighting.

"Where's Kaylus?" I scream, shoving him with both hands, knowing my flames won't hurt me. "Where did she take him?"

He throws himself onto the ground, flailing and crying out as the flames continue to sear his skin. Frustrated, I reach out to douse the flames, needing an answer about where Kaylus went. His body convulses and shakes, and the scent of burned flesh fills the air.

"Tell me what you know," I say, teetering between pleading and growling my demand. I grip his shoulder and shake him. "Answer me!"

"Even if I knew, I'd… I'd never tell you anything," he grounds out, his chattering teeth clacking.

I let small flames burst free on my fingertips, the firelight reflecting in his widening eyes. "You will tell me where my raven is," I growl, each panting breath fanning the flames on my hand as I bring it closer to him, "or I will burn you alive right here where even the gods won't hear your cries."

"You don't scare me, child." He clenches his jaw tight, but the muscles in his cheek twitch.

"I terrify you because I am no child, wolf." I palm his face, each fingertip's flame searing into his skin. "I am wolf and witch and far more powerful than you could ever be."

I stand up, making sure to keep my gaze from landing on the burned corpse of the head councilman at my feet, his mouth open on a silent, frozen scream. I search the tunnel, unsure where to go—back to the throne room or continue searching this underground path—then a sharp pain explodes over my palm. I pull it to my chest with a hiss, looking down to see pale blue sparks trickling across my skin.

Ruya's magic.

"Ruya," I whisper, remembering what she said—why, you call my name, of course. "Ruya!"

"Yes?"

I whirl around, finding the oracle standing behind me, misty blue eyes glowing in the shadowed tunnel. "You… you can teleport!" I grab her arms, desperate for her help and grateful for her magic. "Kaylus—they took him. Can you find where Monique took him and bring me there?"

An emotion streaks across her face quickly, and lead settles in my gut when I fail to pinpoint what it was. "Of course, but we need to hurry." She crosses her arms over her chest, setting her hands atop each of mine. "Deep breath, Adara Morrow."

Just as I open my mouth to inhale, my chest gets tight as my lungs constrict. Unable to take air into my lungs, my head swims. A kaleidoscope of vibrant colors bursts behind my eyelids, and I have to concentrate on the feel of Ruya's hands atop mine as the ground disappears from below me. In a split second, I drop back onto solid ground, stumbling and landing on my hands and knees. I gasp for air, a hand coming to rest between my shoulder blades.

"Addy…" Ruya whispers.

Blinking the dots from my vision, I lift my head to her, following her gaze and finally registering where we are. Tall trees surround us as we sit in the grass next to a dirt parking lot. A white neon wolf sign hangs on a low building—Silver Lycans, Gideon's bar.

In front of me, just yards away outside of the bar's entrance, stands Monique. With Kaylus's limp form hanging from her hand. She mutters something to him, her face reddening as she shakes him.

"Kaylus," I say, my voice breaking. My legs shake as I struggle to stand, taking an unsteady step in their direction, leaves crunching under my feet.

Monique's eyes snap up at the noise, her lip curling slightly. She's never looked so… disheveled before. Hair a mess around her face, dirt smeared across one cheek and soot covering her fingertips with multiple broken nails.

"Leave him alone!" My hands curl into tight fists, and my heart hammers against my ribcage, struggling to latch onto his life force.

Her eyes flit between my raven and me. "You have a familiar," she says slowly, her voice dipping low. "Someone as pathetic and worthless as you, and you were granted a familiar." Her brows knit, dropping low over her eyes as she glances toward the bar. "And now you have a mate… Gods, you stole everything." Her knuckles turn white as she grips his leg tighter and tighter until it bends with a sharp snap.

"Kaylus!" I screech, tears brimming in my eyes, and I stagger forward.

Her finger shoots out and points at me. "You stay right there, Adara, or I swear to the fates I will kill him." Hatred dances in her eyes, and her jaw ticks as she clenches her teeth.

"Just…" I swallow hard, shoving down my wolf's voice as she tells me to surge forward, "put him down. Please. I-I'll do it—anything. Just please don't hurt him any more." Sobs lodge in my throat, and I shrug Ruya's hand from my arm. "Plea—"

"Shut up!" Monique throws Kaylus at the ground, and he lands—his head cracking on a rock. Blood taints the air, metallic and tangy, and his neck lays twisted to the side. "You had your chance! I'll find the well and wish for power, then I'll force your blood into my cup, you ungrateful little brat!"

Ice streams down my spine as Monique continues to berate me, my vision tunneling on the small black bird at her feet. I dig deep inside, feeling for the tether between us, the shared life force.

Don't,my wolf warns. If you share your life force, you'll drain yourself. Monique will win.

"I don't care," I whisper, my hands burying in my hair and holding the sides of my head as I scream. "I don't care!"

"You don't care?" Monique shrieks, contempt coloring her cheeks. Her gaze follows mine to Kaylus before tearing back to me, glare boring straight to my soul. "Were you even listening to me? I don't need your blood. I don't need anything from you, Adara!" She shoots a stream of red magic at Kaylus, and the life force within my chest frays like a rope until it splinters and snaps completely.

Everything slows to a stop—the world freezing and all my senses falling away.

My mind screams the same thing over and over as my breath stutters in my chest.

Kaylus… Kaylus is dead.