Chapter Nine
The fair roared back to life around them as if nothing had happened. Music swelled. Lights blinked. Laughter rang out in careless waves. And Anabelle was gone.
“Fuck,” Rian breathed, dragging both hands through his hair hard enough to hurt. His chest felt hollow, like something vital had been ripped out and taken with her. “She’s gone. Again. What the fuck just happened?”
Joshua stood frozen where she’d vanished into the crowd, staring at nothing. His voice came out rough, almost reverent. “She’s a caster. Our mate’s a caster.”
Cameron rounded on him instantly. “Does that fucking matter right now?” he snapped. “Who cares what she is? Why did you even bring her mother up?”
Joshua flinched, jaw clenching so tight it trembled. “I was about to mention her father next,” he shot back. “I wasn’t singling her mother out. She cut me off before I could...”
He turned sharply to Rian, something brittle and broken flickering across his face. “I told you I was going to fuck this up.” His voice cracked. “Now do you believe me?”
Rian didn’t shout back. Instead, he stepped closer, his expression softening just a fraction. “No,” he said quietly. “I don’t.”
Joshua blinked.
“Because this,” Rian continued, gesturing helplessly at the empty space where she’d been, “was a shit show of epic proportions, and it had nothing to do with you.”
He exhaled shakily. “It had everything to do with us ripping the rug out from under her feet. Did you see her face, Josh? Did you?” His voice dropped, raw.
“Gods, I can’t even imagine being told I’m not who I thought I was.
That the world I lived in was a lie. That monsters...
” he swallowed, “...live next door and I never knew.”
Cameron rubbed a hand down his face, exhaustion etched deep into his features. “All things considered,” he said slowly, “she could have reacted much worse.”
He looked toward the Ferris wheel, now rotating lazily again.
“But I get it. Gods… she looked so tired before you guys even showed up. Like she’d been running on fumes.
She must’ve been on the road nonstop since she left her hometown.
” His voice dropped. “She probably hasn’t slept. And we threw this at her.”
He blew out a breath. “Fuck.”
Dominik had been silent until now. Too silent.
“She’s running because she’s afraid,” he said at last, voice low and controlled. “At first, of us. Now…” His jaw tightened. “Now she’s afraid of herself.”
Rian’s chest twisted painfully.
“She’ll collapse eventually,” Dominik went on, anger threading through the calm. “And what pisses me off is that we won’t be there when she does.” He shook his head once. “There are no more favours to call in. I tried tracking her through the crowd. It was like her signature just… evaporated.”
“She must be doing it instinctively,” Cameron said quietly.
Rian stilled. “She’s a caster,” he whispered, realization hitting him full force now.
“We know,” Cameron snapped. “Gods, what is it with you and Josh obsessing over whether she’s human or caster? She’s our mate. That’s the only thing that matters.”
“I know, asshole,” Rian shot back. “I’m not saying it changes anything.” His voice broke. “I still love her. Serve her. Rip my own heart out for her if she asked.”
He took a shuddering breath. “What I’m saying is...she’s unregistered.”
Silence slammed down on them. Then, all at once:
“Fuck.”
“Shit.”
“Gods above.”
Dominik rubbed his temples. “We don’t have a choice. We’ll have to report her to the Council. They’ll likely place her on observation status until she completes training. Limited freedom.”
Rian’s hands curled into fists. “We’re fucked. How are we supposed to protect her when this case is hanging over us and her freedom’s on the line? Gods, she doesn’t even know the laws around our kind.”
Joshua finally spoke, voice hard. “We can’t report her, Dom. She’s our mate. We need her permission.” His eyes burned. “And she needs to be physically present.”
“She has to be registered,” Cameron said gently but firmly. “Otherwise, if she’s discovered by someone else...someone less forgiving....she could be classified as Restricted. Or worse. Hostile.”
He shook his head. “I’m not taking that chance. It has to come from us. And we will find her. We found her twice already, didn’t we?”
Joshua snarled, the sound ripping from his chest. “Yeah? And who exactly are you planning to go to with this, Cam?”
People nearby turned to stare. Joshua didn’t care.
“High Leader Alastair?” he demanded. “Or you, Dom, High Leader Mareken? Or us Rian?” His voice dropped to a vicious growl.
“Do you trust Anabelle’s life in Lennox’s hands?
Because I sure as fuck don’t.” His fury shook him.
“Not with their history with Casters. Not to mention they’ll find us negligent in our duties. ”
“Joshua,” Dominik said sharply, grabbing his arm and pulling him back a step. “Calm down. Breathe.”
Rian had gone quiet again, eyes distant, thoughts churning.
After a beat of silence.
“We don’t go to the Council...,” Rian said suddenly.
All three of them froze.
“Ri—” Dominik started.
“....We go to the High Queen,” Rian finished.
Silence stretched.
“She doesn’t deal directly with caster matters,” Dominik said carefully. “You know that. She set up the recent protocols, yes—but implementation is left to the Council. With good reason.”
“And besides the obvious one, she has a thousand other responsibilities,” Cameron added. “A million things demanding her attention.”
Joshua said nothing.
Dominik nodded. “He’s right, Ri. She already pulled us out of Zaninsk. Gave us a way out without us even asking. We can’t risk her good grace now. We can’t ask her for any favours.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Rian said.
They all looked at him.
“I’m talking about going to her court,” he said steadily. “There’s one in two days.” A beat then, “We’ll petition her in open court, not as part of the Protection Agency, but as mates looking for advice.”
Silence.
Then Joshua let out a sharp breath. “Fuck. That might actually work.”
Dominik stared ahead, jaw tight. “We’d better fucking pray it does. Because if it doesn’t…” He swallowed. “We’ll have just ruined our mate’s chance at freedom, and our own.”
The fair lights flickered behind them.