Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Ellery
I was almost to the entrance of the cave when I felt the overwhelming pull toward something else—no, not something, someone. Ryker.
My body tensed, my fingers clenched, and my heart screamed at me to forget about everything else and sprint toward the bond drawing me forward. I’d felt this same connection in the city of the dead and again when the magnetic storm hit.
The sensation wasn’t as intense now as it was then, but the burgeoning tug wasn’t there before I entered this place. Just feeling it again nearly crippled me.
I thought I’d been running on emotion, fumes, and desperation, but I hadn’t realized how much I’d shut down. Everything inside me froze into a state of panic when they captured Ryker… until that tug pulled at me.
My hand trembled when I rested it against the stone wall, and tears streaked my face. He is alive.
I hadn’t realized how terrified I’d been that he was dead. And not only was he alive, but he was getting closer.
How is that possible? Is the duke bringing him to us?
My relief vanished as my teeth clamped together; I stopped shaking and pushed myself away from the wall. If the duke was coming, then hell was coming with him, and I would meet his hell with my own.
I held up a hand to halt the movement of the others. The amsirah and gargoyles stilled around me.
“There could be more soldiers ahead than we anticipated,” I whispered.
“How do you know that?”
“I can feel Ryker.”
Scarlet’s breath sucked in as Luna grasped my arm. “Can you feel Callan?”
I shook my head. “My bond is to Ryker.”
“Do you think the duke is bringing him to us?” Ianto asked.
“He’d be foolish to put them anywhere near each other,” Mr. Fletcher said.
“He would,” I agreed. “But Ryker’s definitely nearby.”
“Would they have imprisoned him here instead of inside the palace?” Luna inquired.
“That could be a possibility,” Ianto agreed. “And you’re close enough to feel him again.”
“Maybe,” I murmured, “but it seems more likely the duke would have put him in the palace dungeon, where he’d be harder to get to.”
“It does,” Indon agreed.
“We have no idea how that man works or what goes through his mind,” Luna said. “He’s fucking crazy.”
She was right about that. When Indon rested a claw-tipped hand on my shoulder, I pressed my fingers to my lips as I tried to figure out what was happening.
Are we walking into a trap?
I strained to see through the fog coiling around the entrance of the cave as shouts came from the field. Their words were lost to the mist, but they sounded more confused than battle-ready… for now.
There had to be soldiers inside that cave, but I couldn’t see them. Should there be someone outside the cave too, or are they trying to keep its location hidden?
Indon squeezed my shoulder, drawing my attention to him. His thick brow was pulled down in puzzlement; beside him, Ianto looked as confused as I felt.
We’d already accomplished so much and made it this far; we had to move quickly to get the children out, but I was frozen with indecision while my heart begged me to move onward.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath as I resigned myself to what I had to do. This could be a trap, but we had to push on. It wasn’t only the children; Ryker was ahead as well. We had to try to free them.
If it were a trap, then we’d break free of it.