Chapter 57

Keir

I'd never felt this level of panic in my entire life.

The twins fucking lost her.

I knew it wasn't their fault—sort of. They should have tied her to them or carried her, something, anything, to keep her with them. Not that it would have helped much. Lillian was stubborn, bound to do whatever she wanted, even if it was disobeying a clear order.

I forced myself through the crowd, not caring about the people who stood in my way, desperately searching for her. I was quickly losing hope by the time I worked my way down to the fourth floor, yelling her name, out loud and in my mind.

I couldn't hear her.

"We can split up, find her faster." Nicholas appeared at my side.

"Yeah, she couldn't have gone far." Aiden appeared on my other side. "We can head back up."

I found my way to an outer wall, throwing my hands up and leaning my forehead on the cool surface. My heart was beating so loud and erratically, I wasn't even sure I would hear her if she did try to reach me. I tried to focus on our bond, our special link, the unbreakable connection we shared.

"I can feel her," I told the twins, my eyes closed to help me focus.

"Where is she?'

"Is she okay?"

"Did she say anything?"

"Tell her to stay where she is."

"Shut the fuck up and let me focus," I snarled at them. Everything I had was going into pulling on the thread tethering Lillian and me. I ached to hear her voice in my head, to know she was okay.

"She's too far away," I admitted, defeat flooding my body.

I could feel her, barely , like she was so close yet so fucking far away. Something was weakening our connection, something straining the bond we had to where we couldn't communicate.

He found her.

"Fuck!"

"What is it?" Nicholas asked worriedly.

"What happened?" my other brother followed up.

"He must've gotten to her, taken her somewhere. That's the only explanation. If she was up here, I—" I stopped mid-sentence.

"You what?" Aiden prodded.

"He took her underground." I came to the realization later than I would have hoped. "We have to get down there. He must've had all the guards watching, waiting to snatch her. He wanted to get her alone. Who knows what he's done with her."

"Hail Satan, what if he hurt her?" Nicholas's eyes were wide.

"Lilly is strong. She'll give him a run for his money. We've just got to find her," Aiden assured us.

"Let's go." I turned before waiting for their responses, heading toward the stairs. I knew there was no way we would be allowed on the elevators, not today, not when he had her right where he wanted her.

We quickly scaled the steps until we reached the ground level, getting our girl being the only thing on our minds.

Suddenly, we heard, "Ladies and gentlemen," and we stopped abruptly.

"No," I spoke loudly.

They both muttered curses as we rushed through the entryway to the floor-level seating, stopping short at the waist-high stone walls as we saw Lillian rise from underground to the middle of the arena. We couldn't actually see her, dust flying around her, but I knew it was her.

When the dust settled, she was left standing alone out there, looking from one side of the arena to the other as the crowd went crazy. She wasn't facing us, so I couldn't read her expression, but I could feel her fear.

"She's not hurt," I told my brothers with relief. "But she is terrified."

"Of course, she is. Who wouldn't be?" Aiden said.

"We've gotta get out there," Nicholas said in a hushed voice.

He started to scale the wall separating the crowd from the arena, but I grabbed his shoulder, gesturing at the guard several feet away, who was watching us closely, waiting for an excuse to pull his sword.

"Wait. Look." I pointed at the man responsible for this, our father.

He was on a raised, enclosed platform maybe forty feet from where Lillian stood. He loved looking down on his victims, and that's still what he saw her as after all this time.

"If he fucking hurts her…" Aiden started.

"I am so pleased to see such a large crowd for this wonderful event!" our father told the crowd, a microphone in hand.

"He always has to put on a show," I muttered as the gears in my head started turning, trying to come up with some sort of plan to rescue our girl.

"I do hope you find the show enjoyable. I know I will be having heaps of fun myself." He looked at Lillian, pointing the microphone away from his mouth as he mouthed something to her that we couldn't decipher.

Whatever he said made her turn her head, her eyes quickly catching on us. She tried to remain stoic, her tactic for dealing with our father, but I could see her true emotions bubbling to the surface.

Lillian .

Keir.

I breathed out a breath of relief. Hearing her voice in my head was something I would never take for granted again.

Are you okay, princess?

I'm scared. He hasn't told me anything, Keir. I have no idea what's coming. I'm freaking out.

"We have an extra special event as the third and final trial for the human," my father continued, riling up the crowd.

It's okay. We are going to get you. Just give us a minute to figure out a plan.

She didn't say anything before she turned her head back to our father. He looked over at us for a second, pure evil radiating from him.

"For her third and final trial, the human must take the life of an innocent." Our father smiled proudly, as though this demented idea had been his plan all along.

The crowd cheered loudly, the prospect of bloodshed exciting them. They were ready to see someone die for their entertainment. It made my blood boil.

Lillian would never kill an innocent; that wasn't who she was. Watching our father kill the unhatched hippocampus nearly destroyed her. There was no way she'd do it herself. She'd sooner die than take an innocent life, which was why we had to figure something out.

"And we have a special person picked out for her too, someone sure to spice up the show," he chuckled as the rumble of another piece of the floor rising through the trapdoor sounded.

The person brought forward, just behind Lillian, was shoved to their knees, bound with rope, helpless to the situation as their long black hair flowed in the wind.

No.

"Holy shit, that's Ida," Nicholas whispered.

"Mom!" We heard Mavis's worried scream from somewhere up above, close.

Lillian was already shaking her head, which made our father smile.

"What's the matter, pet ?" he asked her, loud enough to be picked up by the microphone. "All you have to do is stop that woman's heart. It's that simple."

Lillian turned away from him to look at Ida.

She was facing away from us, but there was no mistaking the way her body shook from her sobs. Lillian began to shed tears of her own, mouthing an apology to Ida.

Our girl turned back to him, still shaking her head.

He watched her for a moment then looked to the crowd, feigning disappointment. "She said she won't do it." The crowd booed. "I know, I know. She's a spoilsport." He turned back to Lillian. "They want to see someone die, human, so you either take her life, or you offer yours as a replacement."

The entire arena stood still, as though frozen in anticipation, waiting for her to reveal her choice.

"Then take me," Lillian shouted boldly, putting herself between Ida and my father.