Chapter Five
Cadence
The scream tore through the night like a blade, pulling me from sleep.
I sat bolt upright in bed. My breath caught in my throat, and my blankets tangled around my legs like shackles. My heart thundered in my chest, each beat echoing louder than the last as I strained to hear.
The sound had been raw, high-pitched, and… inhuman.
Icy dread slid down my spine, and I didn’t dare to move in case whoever, or whatever, had made that noise was still close, watching. The silence that followed wasn’t reassuring. It pressed in on me from all sides, heavy with foreboding.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Then the silence was shattered once more.
It wasn’t a scream, I realized.
It was a wail.
A low keening sound that slowly built to a crescendo before fading and then starting again.
The wail echoed off the walls, filling the room. A chorus of agony and despair pierced my ears and made my heart ache as my eyes welled with tears. It was a mournful, gut-wrenching sound that drowned out everything else.
Fear tightened like a noose around my throat.
There was no mistaking the cry.
A banshee’s wail.
An omen.
A harbinger of death.
And tonight, one appeared right outside my window.
I threw the covers aside and stumbled out of bed, bare feet hitting the cold stone floor. Moonlight dimly lit the space, allowing me to survey the room. The air was thick with a strange pressure, like the moment before a storm breaks, where every breath tastes like lightning.
Then I heard another noise. This one was softer, muffled. It cut through the stillness, causing the small hairs on the back of my neck to lift.
It almost sounded like a… scrape. Fingers against stone, perhaps.
My pulse spiked, and I spun towards the window, creeping forward. Every muscle in my body tensed, preparing to face whatever creature was clawing its way into my room.
I reached for the curtain and inhaled a deep breath before flinging it aside.
A hand gripped the windowsill, knuckles pale and trembling. A scream worked its way up my throat as a corded forearm appeared, followed by a shoulder. Before I could release it, though, the intruder’s face came into view.
My scream died on my tongue.
I knew that face. It had haunted my dreams. My soul longing for its twin.
“Callum?”
Dirt smeared his cheek, and his clothes were damp and torn from the climb.
“Open it.” He tapped on the windowpane, and I didn’t hesitate.
I threw the latch back and pushed the window up so hard it rattled in its frame. My brother scrambled upward, and I leaned over the edge to grab him, my fingers digging into the material of his sleeve.
Callum’s boot slipped on the stone, and for one terrifying second, he dangled over the ledge.
“Hold on,” I said, as I struggled to haul him up with every ounce of strength I had. “Don’t you dare fall.”
“I’m not… just… Cadence… gods… help me up.”
“I’m trying.”
“Not to rush you, but I’d prefer not to die today.”
“Perhaps fewer teacakes would have made this less difficult,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Rude!” Callum grunted as he heaved himself through the window.
We collapsed on the floor, breathless and tangled together, the room suddenly full of life and urgency.
We turned toward each other, my eyes locking with brown ones so similar to my own. A chuckle bubbled up my throat, and before I knew it, we’d both dissolved into fits of laughter.
He smelled of rain and pine, woodsy, just like his magic.
My brother.
“You’re here,” I choked out.
Tears filled my eyes anew, and I scrambled into a sitting position so I could throw my arms around him. His hands wrapped around my back as he pulled me against his broad chest. Violent sobs racked my body as he stroked my hair to soothe me.
“Shhh, Cadence,” he said. “It’s all right. Everything is going to be all right.”
When my sobs finally receded, I took a calming breath as I moved my palms to cup his face.
“You’re really here. How are you here?”
“I got your letter.” Callum shrugged.
My brow furrowed in confusion. “My letter?”
“You sent me a letter talking nonsense, but then I remembered about the code we used as children, and I deciphered your message.”
Of course.
I’d sent Callum that letter when I’d first arrived at the Unseelie Kingdom, but I never knew if Ryker had sent it or not.
“And you came? Just like that?”
“Well, I had to climb a mountain, cross a warded forest, bribe a witch for safe passage, battle a fire-breathing dragon before scaling a godsdamned castle wall, but yes, just like that.”
“Be serious,” I said, but I couldn’t conceal my grin.
Callum smiled down at me as he caught a strand of my unruly hair and tucked it behind my ear.
“I’ll always come for you, Little Sister. It’s you and me until the end of time.”
“Until the end of time.” It was a phrase I had repeated many times before.
“Gods, Cadence.” Callum sighed. “It’s good to see you. I thought…” He took a deep breath and pulled me into a tight hug. “I thought I might have been too late,” he admitted in a whisper.
He pulled back to study my face, his brown eyes searching mine. Determination settled over his features, and he clenched his jaw. “I’m getting you out of here.”
Excited anticipation filled me as thoughts of home whirled around my head.
My parents. The apothecary. The smell of Mrs. Taylor’s fresh bread straight out of the oven. Gods, I’d even welcome the sight of the tavern if it meant I got to go home.
Then reality came crashing down, and my grin faltered.
“What is it?” Callum asked with pinched brows.
“I can’t leave.”
“Why the hell not?”
How was I supposed to explain Ryker to my brother? If I ran, there’d be no telling how far Ryker would go — or what kind of monster he’d become — to bring me back again. I’d be putting everyone I loved in danger.
And then there was the mate bond. I doubted it was even possible to outrun him. There were ways to conceal the bond, Eleanor had proven as much, but I had never heard of a way to sever it.
“Do you want to sever it?”
I ignored the small voice inside my head. Wanting to be free of the bond wasn’t the same as being ready to lose it.
But I didn’t say that.
“Things are… complicated,” I said instead.
“They kidnapped you, Cadence. Forced you from your home and held you prisoner. If any of them find out about your magic, they’ll kill you. What’s complicated about that?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, the wailing started up again.
“Do you hear that?” I tilted my head to the side as though that would make the sound clearer.
“Hear what?”
He didn’t hear it, which could only mean one thing.
The warning was for me alone.
Panic surged through me, propelling me forward as I gripped my brother’s hand to pull him to his feet.
“You have to go,” I said, plucking his pack off the floor where it had landed.
“What are you talking about, Cadence?”
“You have to get out of here.”
I searched my surroundings frantically to make sure he had everything he needed.
“Slow down. Tell me what’s going on.”
I clenched my fists until my knuckles ached, but the sensation didn’t soothe me.
“I heard a banshee wail, Callum. It’s an omen of death. And if you can’t hear it, then it’s not an omen of an impending invasion or death on a broader scale. It’s meant for me.”
I gripped the front of my brother’s tunic, my desperation threatening to overwhelm me.
“You’re the only person I love inside these walls, Callum.”
He stared at me as the seconds slipped by before realization dawned on his face. “You think it’s for me.”
Tears stung my eyes. “I don’t know. But I’m not risking it. You have to go.”
He shook his head. “No. I’m not leaving without you.”
“Callum, please.” I would beg on my hands and knees if it kept him safe.
“Tell me what’s trapping you in this place, and we’ll rid you of it together. Then we can leave.”
“I can’t. I —”
Before I could finish speaking, the door slammed open.
Ryker stood on the threshold, eyes burning like molten gold, while his entire body vibrated with fury.
“Get your fucking hands off my mate.”