Chapter 27 A Daring Escape
A Daring Escape
Ibroke out in a cold sweat as I waited for the screen to light up. When Accalia had given me the phone, she’d made sure to save her number in my phone book, too, in case of emergency.
And this was most definitely an emergency, because Victor was officially insane, and I couldn’t stay here a second longer. There was no going back, no forgiveness for what he’d done to both me and his wife.
Did she know Alaric wasn’t biologically hers?
If she didn’t, I certainly wasn’t going to tell her. As far as I was concerned, that was her baby, and he could do no better for a mother—an alpha werewolf with means and a conscience.
I had texted her right at three, with the code phrase she’d told me meant “call me back immediately:”
Your dental appointment is today at 5:00 a.m. If you have yet to confirm, please reply Y. If you have to cancel, please call us back at…
She called back within five minutes.
“Yes, hi, this is Accalia Corvane, I’m afraid I’ll have to reschedule…”
The sound of a door snicking closed came next, followed by her whisper. “Is everything alright?”
I had the lie on my tongue, ready to go.
“Victor’s going to move me,” I said, my nails digging into my palm as I clenched my fist. “He told me he thinks this location has been compromised, that… that he wants me somewhere more secure. I can’t do it, Accalia, I can’t—”
“Shh,” she soothed. “It’s alright, I’ll think of something. Do you know when this is going to happen?”
Her voice was sweet and gentle, reinforcing my decision to keep the truth hidden.
Victor had said I was a natural when holding Alaric, but it was just his wishful thinking, him twisting the reality in front of him once again to fit his narrative.
I’d never been more awkward and upset in my life, unable to shut down because I was afraid of dropping the baby.
“I don’t know exactly. I think I have a couple of weeks at least. Maybe a month.”
She inhaled deeply as she listened. “Okay, that gives me some time. Do whatever you can to stall him, and I’ll get to work on a plan. I won’t text back until the day of. We can’t risk Victor getting a hold of your phone and learning about this.”
I nodded in agreement, even though she couldn’t see me. “Yes, that’s smart.”
“And of course, if anything changes, let me know. Just use the same code to text me.”
“Thank you,” I sniffed. “Really. Um,” I swallowed, gathering my courage. “How are you? How’s t-the baby?”
She was silent for a moment, and then whispered. “He’s the best thing Victor ever gave me.”
My face scrunched as I kept myself from sobbing out loud, letting the wave of grief and pain wash over me until I could speak normally again. “Good. I’m… I’m glad. And congratulations. He sounds like a very lucky baby to have you as a mom.”
We hung up, and I used the rest of my time as I normally did.
First, I tried my parents’ last known phone numbers.
Again.
I checked my messages, to see if anyone I had reached out to in those first few days when I’d been asking about them had replied.
Not a one.
Then I went to the news sites, just to keep up on how much the world was passing me by.
And yet, all I saw were the same dumb articles about the city council weighing whether or not to increase the blood tithe of non-cits, the introduction of a new early morning bus route, an arrest of two witches caught selling bruum, Sigil releasing a new album…
Why did it feel like everything and nothing had changed all at the same time?
* * *
One week later
I knew I couldn’t rush Accalia, especially since she was probably really busy as both a new mom and a Premier’s wife, but it was getting harder and harder to act neutral around Victor.
At least before I could pretend to be pleasant and accommodating. Now, his touch reviled me, and he became enraged when I could no longer orgasm.
Even his alpha bark, commanding me to come, failed to force it out of me, and he’d been sleeping on the couch.
For a few days in a row, about an hour or two after Victor left in the evening, someone would come by to take more of my blood, and I began to panic that he was planning on punishing me again.
I may have had my phone as a connection to the outside world now, but I worried he would scrutinize the security footage more closely than ever, entertained by my slow unraveling without him. Proof in his mind that no matter how much I fought, I needed him.
When he arrived that morning, I was already sobbing, down on my knees and begging at the front door for him not to leave me. That I’d be good.
“Please,” I whimpered.
With a heavy sigh, he got down on the floor next to me, gathering me in his arms. “Sage, darling, I know things have been… off, recently. But I’m not leaving because I want to.
There’s a Premiers’ Summit coming up in Halcyon in a few days.
I shouldn’t be gone long, but I’m taking some extra blood as a precaution, in case I get held up.
It shouldn’t be more than a week, though. ”
I released a shuddering breath of relief, and he chuckled as he held me. “Poor little omega. I promise I’ll never leave you like that again. Can’t have you breaking on me, can I?”
He gathered me in his arms and made his way to the bedroom. “Come, let’s make sure we make a few good memories to tide you over until my return.”
* * *
Five days later
Victor was gone, busy with meetings and likely had little free time to check his security footage closely enough to notice the loops, so I still had my hour of phone time. That made a huge difference, at least, and while I was lonely, my skin didn’t crawl in his absence as much as it did before.
That night, while checking the news, I received a message from Accalia.
Extraction in fifteen minutes. Wait in the bedroom.
My whole body froze, and I forced myself to read the message again just to be sure it was real and not a figment of my fevered imagination.
Finally, I snapped to and ran into the bedroom. All those “date night” dresses were long gone, so I still had no clothes that weren’t sexy negligees. I found the longest one with the opaquest fabric, and then gathered Ember, wrapping him in a blanket to make him easier to carry.
There was no way I was leaving him behind.
My hands were slick with sweat, and I struggled to contain the wriggling cat in my arms when the front door opened, and I held my breath.
“Housekeeping!” a voice called.
Someone came in every week or so to collect all the dirty clothes and linens, and while I stood, knees trembling in the bedroom, I could only pray to Hecara they were part of the plan, or else I was in big trouble.
An elf beta woman I didn’t recognize pulled a large cart into the bedroom. She tilted her head towards it mouthing “Get in,” and I did so immediately.
As I crouched inside, she handed me a scent blocker, and moved to strip the bed, dumping the sheets and blankets on top of me, followed by the contents of the hamper. She went into the bathroom next, taking all of the towels.
The sound of fabric rustling came last, as she made the bed and refreshed the linens.
“All done, ma’am,” she called. Ember meowed loudly, and I willed every ounce of what magic I had left in my body to instill in him the need for quiet.
He chuffed but thankfully obeyed.
The wheels rolled smoothly over the penthouse floors as she pushed the cart to the front door.
“Ready, sir,” the elf called after a brief knock.
The door opened, and I heard Giorgi’s voice, the sound muffled through all of the sheets and clothes on top of me.
“Remind the company that all staff and schedule changes need to be approved ahead of time. Premier Corvane doesn’t like any deviations from the routine, and he prefers to pre-screen anyone who comes here.”
Ember squirmed, but didn’t make a peep, and I held my breath again as the cart stopped. Please, Hecara, I prayed, sure that if it wasn’t my scent, blocked as it was, the smell of my sweat would tip Giorgi off. Or the sound of my pounding heart. Don’t let him check the cart.
“I’m sorry, the regular girl is out sick today. But please don’t worry. I’ve been caught up to speed on the particulars of this stop. As far as I’m concerned, I was never here.”
“Good,” he grunted. “And keep it that way.”
The cart rolled further and then stopped for another thirty seconds or so, until I heard the gentle chime of elevator doors opening.
I shook as the wheels ran over the gap, and the doors chimed again.
This could work, this could work, this could work…
When the elevator finally stopped and we exited, we took a circuitous route to another elevator, and it lurched into motion, descending far faster than the first. My stomach floated somewhere near my throat as the pressure changed, my ears popping beneath the steady hum of the cables.
The air grew cooler with every floor we passed, carrying the faint, oily tang of concrete and machine grease that told me we were heading towards a garage.
I clutched Ember to my chest, his ribs fluttering against my palm, his warmth the only thing anchoring me to my own body.
The doors opened, and the soundscape changed entirely.
No plush silence, no city noise filtered through thick glass—just engines idling somewhere in the distance, tires screeching on concrete, and the low murmur of voices echoing in the cavernous space.
The temperature dropped, biting through the thin fabric of my nightgown, and I sucked in a sharp breath before I could stop myself.
The cart rolled forward, and each bump sent a jolt through my spine. I tasted dust, detergent, and my own fear, coppery like blood and sharp at the back of my tongue. Headlights flared briefly through gaps in the fabric, then vanished again as the elf turned sharply to the left.
We stopped, and I heard the sounds of a truck door opening and something sliding down to the ground. Then the cart was pushed with a groan up a small ramp.
The linens shifted, the world tilting sideways, and I pressed my face into Ember’s fur as I was transferred, carefully, into the back of the vehicle. The door shut with a solid, final thunk, plunging us into darkness.
The engine rumbled to life, and I didn’t breathe properly until the truck began to move.
Every stop stretched into an eternity, and each turn made me dizzy, but I concentrated on them anyway, counting each one just to keep sane. Soon, the rhythm of the road smoothed out and the city noise mellowed into something more residential.
Finally the truck stopped completely, and the engine turned off. I was rolled back out. There were footsteps, voices, and a bell chiming overhead.
Warm air spilled in, thick with the scent of crushed herbs, beeswax, and something sweet and musty.
It was familiar. I knew these scents.
“Alright,” the elf said gently. “We’re here.”
Light filtered in as the coverings were pulled away.
Disoriented, I blinked and took in the shelves lined with jars and bundles, their handwritten labels curling at the edges. Dried flowers hung from the ceiling beams like scented chandeliers, and a polished wooden counter stood at the back, behind which stood a man I recognized instantly.
“Mr. Calder,” I whispered.
A grey streak ran through his dark hair now, and faint lines bracketed his eyes, but otherwise he was the same as I remembered.
His mouth twitched into a small smile, until his expression sobered at the sight of my scarred skin and flimsy dress.
A flash of white fluttered above him as his cockatoo familiar stretched her wings, blinking at me with the same pity and worry.
“Well,” Calder said quietly, already locking the door and drawing the shades. “I would say it’s good to see you again, but…”
My knees buckled, and he caught me before I hit the floor, guiding me toward a chair near the back, where a kettle already steamed. Ember wriggled free and immediately disappeared beneath a worktable, tail flicking in annoyance.
He stopped me as I opened my mouth. “I don’t need any details,” Calder said, setting a mug into my shaking hands. “And I don’t want them. The less I know, the better. For both of us.”
I nodded, tears finally spilling over, splashing into the tea.
He then turned, already reaching for a charm on the table. Crushing it between his fingers in a puff of sparked smoke, the sharp scent of witch magic ignited the fire inside of me I thought Victor had effectively put out.
Was this all a dream? It hardly felt real.
Calder leaned against the counter, eyes flicking briefly toward the locked door, then back to me, when suddenly the mirror behind him clouded. A voice came through, strong and low.
“Vale.”
“She’s here,” Calder replied, eyes still on me.
There was a brief, charged pause before she responded.
“I’m on my way,” the voice said, and the mirror cleared.
My body was still on high alert, but I forced myself to sag back into the chair, if just for a moment of reprieve.
“Am I really getting out of here?” I asked, my lips trembling.
His familiar squawked and hopped from the perch to the counter to my knee, spreading her wings and bobbing her head. I reached out with a small smile, scratching her back.
Calder watched us. “That’s the plan. Hecara didn’t make us to survive on our own, you know,” he replied softly. “We’ll always help each other, especially when one of us is in trouble.”