Chapter 25
“NO!” I WAILED. “They were right here!”
I ran farther down the tunnel, taking the first left when it split, but after a few seconds of jogging, I panicked that I was going the wrong way and doubled back, slamming into Soren yet again.
Oof. He was a wall of muscle. To his credit, he didn’t complain that I’d made a habit of bruising his chest with my face.
Right now, I couldn’t think straight, much less apologize.
Add that to my list of offenses, I guess, since he probably hated me anyway.
Clutching my ringing head, I circled him and raced back to the crossroads.
I took the next tunnel, then spun back around halfway when I didn’t see anyone.
The third and final tunnel in the split had a few fae who gave me strange looks, especially when I whipped around and passed them again.
Probably because I was obviously human now, without the glamour. I ignored them.
Soren met me at the crossroads.
“Maybe they went back to the kitchen!” I called to him. “We might’ve just missed them!”
But he reached out to grab my arm as I passed. He looked grim. “Brynn, you would’ve seen them.”
I felt like a top spinning faster and faster, about to fall, as I whirled back to that first tunnel. Maybe I hadn’t gone far enough.
The truth was sinking in: Dad hadn’t wandered off. He’d known exactly what he was doing and was making sure I wouldn’t find them. He didn’t want me to follow. He’d made himself clear. I just hadn’t wanted to hear him.
I covered my face with my hands, like I could somehow hold myself together, then gasped.
“Rissa!”
We’d left her alone in that pantry!
Soren took off, faster than me, and he ripped the pantry door open despite the noise making all the people in the kitchen turn to look.
I froze.
It was empty.
Panic drove me to run toward yet another yawning tunnel, though of course, I had no idea which exit she’d actually used.
My family had scattered.
Somehow, I’d lost them a second time.
How could I save them if they didn’t even want to be saved?
When Soren came up behind me, I didn’t think twice.
I yanked at the front of his vest and snatched out the pen he kept in the inner pocket. “Paper,” I gasped, freaking out.
“I don’t have any on han—”
Clicking the pen open, I pressed it to my finger and let it suck the blood in.
Hands shaking, I started to scribble barely readable words on my opposite arm.
I will do anything. Save them.
“What’re you doing?” His voice was sharp.
I ignored him.
“Stop. That’s a binding spell. There’s no way to change it—”
Signing my name with the blood, I shoved the pen back into his hands. “Here. Please. Whatever you want, just help me!”
He gripped the pen and stared down at me.
An intense moment passed during which neither of us moved.
I didn’t see him grab the drink from a passing fae’s hand until the creature protested, but he’d already thrown it onto me.
Gasping, I tried to yank my arm from his grasp, but he held tight and rubbed the liquid over my arm, smearing the blood.
That wasn’t good enough, apparently, because he dropped to pick up the corner of my long skirt, using the gold fabric to wipe every last bit of blood and liquid.
I struggled against his grip, but he didn’t let go until it was gone.
Breathing hard, I took two steps back, staring at him with wild eyes.
“Never,” he growled, “ever do that again.”
A sob escaped me.
He wasn’t going to help.
I crumpled to the ground, not caring if the fae around us saw, but then his hands were on my arms again, lifting me up.
“There’s no time for that,” he grumbled in my ear, though his hands were gentle. He held me up, arms tight, like he knew I’d slip right back to the floor if he didn’t. “If you want my help corralling your family again, we have to find them first.”
I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing as I made myself look up and reveal the hope in my eyes. “You’ll help me? Without a bargain?”
“You have such a low opinion of me,” was all he replied, slowly pulling back and turning toward the tunnel before I could see his expression. “Come.”
I couldn’t argue. He was right.
But what he didn’t know was how dramatically fast that opinion was rising.
I dragged myself after him, fear weighing me down.
“Come,” he urged again, reaching a hand back to pull me along. “This is not the time to lose heart. Your family is not only safe but also close by, all three of them. Yes, they’re making things difficult, but it’s still far from impossible.”
I stared at his fingers where they wove through mine, blinking to clear my vision. He made a good point. Dad’s words had made things feel hopeless, but they weren’t.
Then I thought of Mom and wanted to weep again, because even if I could find a way to tell Soren about her, she didn’t seem to be here. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to ask Dad if he’d seen her.
But I couldn’t give up hope.
One problem at a time.
Straightening my spine, I took a few deep breaths until my voice only trembled a little. “Up until now, I couldn’t get you to help me without a deal. What changed?”
“If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone else.” His eyes twinkled a bit, and he even gave me a tiny smile, clearly trying to cheer me up. “It would ruin my reputation.”
I couldn’t fathom where he was going with this. “Okay . . .”
“I would’ve helped you even if you’d refused to bargain.”
I tripped. This time it wasn’t my imagination that he reached out to catch me. His hand wrapped around my waist and didn’t let go.
Swallowing, I slowed to a stop. “That’s easy for you to say now.”
“It’s also true.”
He pulled back to press a gentle hand to my face.
I sucked in a breath.
But then I registered the familiar motions. He was just putting the glamour back on.
Maybe his hand lingered a little on my cheek though.
No. Not after the way I’d treated him. That was wishful thinking. He was just being kind—a quality I would’ve recognized in him sooner if I hadn’t been so suspicious.
My eyes fluttered lower as his fingers ever so slowly pulled back. “There,” he murmured. “You look fae again. Just a precaution, since we’re still in Cosmo’s burrow.”
I stared up at him. “Soren?” I wanted to tell him I’d been horrible and he didn’t deserve it, but as I licked my lips, his eyes dropped to my mouth, distracting me.
Before I could break out of the trance, a fae the size of a tree trunk turned the corner and stopped in front of us.
“Soren Velarde. I heard you were here but could hardly believe the audacity.”
“Cosmo,” Soren gritted out.
Cosmo?
My gaze traveled slowly up, up, up to the way his large head nearly brushed the ceiling.
Oh.
Now the size of the tunnels made sense. The dude was ginormous.
His muscles had muscles. He looked like a gym bro with pointy ears, and instead of a stereotypical muscle shirt, he’d just skipped a shirt altogether.
Technically, he wore some sort of metal-plated shoulder pads.
It honestly looked like the least helpful armor I’d ever seen in my life.
I hadn’t seen a whole lot, but it was clearly decorative only—not that the guy really needed armor when he could easily run both of us over if he wanted to.
“You’re not welcome here,” he growled at Soren.
“Prince Caius gave us entrance,” Soren began, and he moved away from me like he might actually try to go around this Cosmo creep. Or . . . maybe he was trying to distract him so I could slip away?
I shrank back into the shadows slowly, not wanting to abandon Soren.
“Don’t care.” The fae didn’t budge. “Time for you to leave.” He waved a hand to two fae behind him, who’d been hidden by his bulk.
They moved forward to grab our arms.
I hadn’t moved fast enough.
Thick fingers lifted me up. Though I struggled to pull away, they yanked me through the tunnels, dragging me when I tripped, until we reached a lower-level door. Opening it revealed a dark, barely lit dirt tunnel.
Without ceremony, they threw us out.
Soren managed to land gracefully on his feet, but I fell on my butt. Hard.
“Ow,” I moaned, rubbing my backside as I hauled myself up.
The door slammed shut.
In the dark, I shivered. If I’d thought the tunnels by Soren’s place were creepy, they had nothing on this one. I couldn’t see my own hand in front of my face.
“I’m sorry, Brynn.” Soren sounded genuinely upset. “I should’ve known someone would tell Cosmo.”
“Why was he so mad that you were there?”
“I may have been banned from ever entering his home.”
“Why in the world would he ban you?”
In the dark, I couldn’t read his face, but I felt him hesitate. “Tensions between the Shadow Court and the Hollow Court run higher with some members than others.”
Politics and word salads.
Letting it go, I turned to consider the closed door. Were the goons on the other side gone yet? Risking it, I felt for the handle and tried to push. It was locked.
When I turned, I brushed against Soren, who’d come to stand behind me.
I tilted my head back to look up despite it being pitch-black down here.
“I can’t see anything.” I sighed. “I have a flashlight on my phone.” It’d likely use up the remaining battery before we even made it back, but what else could we do? I reached into my pocket.
“No need.” Soren pulled a glowing object from his pocket—a piece of one of the stalactites from the party! “I broke a piece of this off earlier. Just in case.”
Genius.
But worries crept back up as I stared at the locked door. “How do I find them now?” I muttered.
“I have an idea.” He lightly touched my arm for me to follow him as he began moving down the dark tunnel. Speaking in hushed tones, he said, “Caius has until midnight to finish gathering the contracts. If you give me your family’s full names, I can request for them to be included.”
Relief made my knees weak. I could hardly walk.
They’re safe. They’re not injured. Soren’s going to save them.