Chapter 26 #2
“Side entrance,” Wild murmured, pointing to a service door partially hidden by ivy. “Servants’ quarters are usually warded more lightly.” I could hear the disgust in his voice. “Most rich families, my mother included, didn’t think the help was worth protecting.”
We moved as one, staying low and keeping to the shadows. My heart nearly stopped when a security light flicked on, but it swept past us without pause. Elias’s dampening field was holding.
Wild reached the door first, his hands dancing over the lock mechanism.
There was a soft click, and the door swung open silently.
He gestured for us to follow him inside.
The service entrance opened into a dimly lit hallway that smelled of furniture polish and leather shoes.
Every instinct in my body screamed danger as we crept forward, following the golden thread that still hovered in the air, pointing the way to Phoenix.
“Looks like the kitchen’s through there,” Elias whispered, nodding to a doorway on our left. “Staff quarters down that way. We need to find the main staircase.”
I sniffed the air, catching the faintest hint of Phoenix’s scent beneath the overpowering smell of expensive cleaning products. My heart lurched painfully in my chest. He was here, so close.
“This way,” Atlas murmured, his werewolf senses picking up the same trail I had. We moved as silently as possible down the hallway, each of us hyper-aware of every creak in the floorboards.
The mansion was eerily quiet aside from the distant commotion of Lila’s distraction.
The walls were lined with portraits of stern-faced witches, their judging eyes seeming to follow us as we passed.
I hated everything about this place… the suffocating opulence, the cold sterility, and the way it reeked of privilege and prejudice.
We found the main staircase, a sweeping monstrosity of polished wood and gilt railings. The golden thread floated upward, confirming what we already knew, Phoenix was on the second floor.
“Wait,” Caden whispered, grabbing my arm before I could start climbing. “Detection charm on the third step. And the seventh.”
Elias nodded, his eyes narrowed in concentration. “Standard security configuration. Step only on the even-numbered stairs.”
We carefully made our way up, avoiding the hexed steps. I was trembling with the effort of restraining myself, of not charging ahead like every cell in my body was demanding. The golden thread was growing brighter the closer we got, pulsing like a heartbeat.
At the top of the stairs, the thread led us down a long hallway lined with closed doors. I could hear voices now, muffled but distinct, coming from the third door on the left, exactly where the thread disappeared.
“That’s it,” I breathed, my claws extending fully. “He’s in there.”
Atlas grabbed my shoulder, his grip firm. “Remember the plan. We need to be smart about this.”
Wild slipped forward, pressing his ear against the door. “Three people inside,” he confirmed. “Two standing, one sitting. I think they’re arguing.”
My breath caught as I strained to hear what they were saying. I caught snippets of Phoenix’s voice, defiant and angry despite whatever they’d done to him. Pride surged through me, followed immediately by a wave of protective fury. He was fighting back against them, even now.
Elias pulled a small vial from his pocket, the contents swirling with an iridescent light
“It’s a sleeping draught,” Elias whispered, holding the vial up. “One drop will knock them out instantly. We need to get them away from Phoenix first.”
I nodded, every muscle in my body coiled tight with anticipation. My mind raced through scenarios, each one ending with Phoenix safely in my arms. The voices inside grew louder, and I could make out more of what they were saying.
“—absolutely unacceptable behavior,” a woman’s voice hissed. “I can’t believe you’ve cursed your own bloodline!”
“Good,” Phoenix’s voice came back, defiant despite sounding exhausted. “I meant every word.”
A male voice, deep and commanding, cut through the argument. “I checked with my colleagues, and the curse can be broken. We just need to start the ritual now, before it takes deeper root.”
That was it. Whatever ritual they had planned, I wasn’t going to let it happen. I looked at Atlas, my decision made.
“New plan,” I growled, keeping my voice low. “I’m going in first.”
Before anyone could stop me, I pushed past Wild and threw my shoulder against the door with all my strength. The wood splintered around the lock, and I burst into the room with a roar that shook the walls.
The scene before me burned into my brain in an instant.
Phoenix was sitting on a bare mattress, his wrists bound with glowing magical rope.
Beside him a tall, distinguished man in an expensive suit who could only be his father and a slender woman with Phoenix’s same amber eyes with a look of shock and disgust on her face.
“Karrick!” Phoenix’s voice broke on my name, his eyes filling with tears.
Time seemed to slow as his parents whirled toward me, their hands already moving in patterns of defensive magic.
I didn’t care. Nothing they could throw at me would stop me now.
I charged forward, my claws extended, tusks bared, magic crackling around my massive form as everything I’d been holding in burst out all at once.