Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Marcus holds me close, tracing his thumb over his mating mark, grumbling. “I don’t see why you have to go. Ian’s the one who will be tackling the warding.”
“Cora’s my friend, Marcus. Besides, I can use my affinity to make sure there isn’t anyone else in the tunnels. We don’t know for certain that the Soldiers haven’t found the tunnels yet. It makes sense to use my affinity to know if we need to make a quick retreat or stand our ground.”
“Trust me, I don’t like this either,” Cassian says.
“Me either,” Simon pipes up from where he’s sitting with his laptop on one of the other sofas in the family room at the Leclerc estate.
“I’ll go too,” Luca offers.
“We can’t all go,” I protest. “This is supposed to be a stealth mission. The more people we have with us, the more likely we are to get caught.”
“Three alphas, Junes, not including Jack. I want at least three of your mates with you,” Cassian says.
I grumble. “Fine. But you’d all better be quiet. Let Ian and I do our thing and get Cora into the consortium.”
In the end, Marcus and Luca accompany me and Ian. We meet Cora and Jack a few blocks from the tunnel’s entrance and quietly make our way through the dark of night toward the tunnel. Marcus quickly ushers everyone inside the tunnel, taking up the rear position to watch our backs.
Cautiously, we make our way through the secret tunnel lit only by the light of Ian’s scribe. Cora is quiet behind me but determined. I sense ahead for anyone in the tunnels but find no one. Good. The Soldiers haven’t found out about the tunnels yet.
Jack lingers behind Cora, with Luca and Marcus following behind him. While I think three of my alphas is overkill for the simple mission, I don’t think Marcus could have let me out of his sight if he wanted to with our bond so new.
I keep my affinity flowing the deeper we go into the tunnel, but we find nothing but spider webs.
When we finally encounter the warding that surrounds the consortium, Ian gets to work.
I’ll never tire of watching him work with wards; his talent always impresses me.
He mutters to himself as he works, but finally the wards slip apart, allowing us to cross through.
“This is where you leave me,” Cora announces, hoisting the small bag she’s bringing with her.
She checks her back pocket for the small notebook she’ll be documenting guard rotations and numbers in and nods to herself.
We’ve filled the front of the notebook with every detail we know about the consortium’s layout, including a map Cassian drew based on the large map we showed at the resistance meeting. It’s small, but I hope it helps her.
“I still hate this,” Jack grouses.
“We need this information, Jack,” Cora says quietly. “And I’m the one that can get it. Let me be helpful.”
“Get out at the first sign of danger,” I caution her. “No matter what you have or haven’t found. If you’re spotted, get out any way you can, and if you can’t get out, hide.”
The other omega nods. “Got it.”
“Be careful, Cora.” I approach her, no longer worried about her erratic magic, and wrap her in a tight hug. She’s shocked until she notices she hasn’t zapped me with her out-of-control magic and hugs me back.
Jack steps forward, pulling her into a kiss that’s equal parts fire and distress. His emotions flow off him, and, while I try to give them privacy by not reading their thoughts, I can still feel his unease.
“What was that for?” Cora asks, more than a little starry eyed.
“Luck,” Jack says, lacing his fingers with hers. He draws one of her hands up and kisses her palm. “Please, be safe, Cor. Promise me?”
She squeezes his hand, not letting go just yet.
“I promise.” She throws her arms around him, pressing her nose into his neck to breathe in his scent.
And then she’s gone, racing down the tunnel so fast I can only make out the dim light of her scribe.
I follow it until it vanishes, until she disappears up into the consortium.
I send up a prayer to the saints for her safety.
If she can get this information, we just might be able to save the hostages and the test subjects. I only hope we have enough time.
I thought my training with Marcus would involve a lot more kissing now that we’re mated, but my alpha is strict about keeping to our work.
We’re still working on me protecting my mind. I have my next class with my father tomorrow, and I’m determined to keep him out of my head this time.
He’s doing just as Ian did, trying to force sigils into my mind, and I slip up, letting one into my head. I grit out the name of the sigil, and Marcus nods.
I square my shoulders and focus on drawing my affinity into a shield around my mind. Ian supposed that it would eventually become second nature, like many of my abilities, but so far, it’s required tremendous work and focus. I block the next three sigils, though it makes my head ache.
A searing pain cuts through that headache, too familiar, too sinister. I cry out, and I’m in Marcus’ arms in an instant. He lowers me to the floor, wrapping me in his arms as my vision overtakes me.
It’s shockingly clear and distressingly horrific.
The city of Fairhaven is a battleground, razor wire lining the tops of resistance barricades.
There are more of us now, so many more. Our movement is growing.
Then the alpha with the fire affinity surges forward.
He wears a blood-red band around his bicep.
A signifier that he has an affinity? He shouts for his troops to charge.
They race forward toward our barricade, and the commanding alpha raises his hands, flames trailing behind him.
It lights his mask in the most gruesome manner, highlighting the brutal smile in shades of orange over the dark black leather.
He throws his hands out before him, and our barricade goes up in flames.
We scatter, hurtling over the rubble that fills the streets.
I hear someone cry out but can’t find the source of the voice in the pandemonium.
Fire licks down the street toward us, and we run.
An omega steps forward, her hand raised.
A wave crashes forward, putting out the flames, but it’s no use.
It only fuels the alpha with the ice affinity, who also bears a red band on his upper arm.
His ice crackles along the water in the street, approaching us quickly.
The omega bolts, other resistance members coming in behind her, firing off hexes as they stand their ground.
They’re struck down, dead.
The vision changes. Another part of the city wrecked.
Baphomet’s Prince stands above the crowd of his Soldiers, directing an affinitied alpha forward—because that must be what the red bands mean.
He sets his hands to the ground, and the earth quakes as he pumps his magic into the road beneath him.
Cracks form as the street tears itself apart with the tremors.
The resistance retreats, but not all of them make it.
Rubble falls from above as buildings crumble, striking down our allies.
An omega with a shielding ability runs forward into the fray, throwing her hands up over her head, holding all the rubble at bay, but her power flags, and she’s crushed beneath a piece of Promontory Tower.
The vision changes.
An alpha wields blades in midair, controlling the metal, shooting the blades toward the last resistance encampment in the city.
Another alpha with explosive powers blows a crater into the street, resistance members falling into it, screaming until they hit the bottom of the crater. Their screams cut off abruptly.
Saints, it’s a massacre.
All-out war, led by affinitied alphas.
Baphomet’s Prince watches on as another alpha races forward to the resistance encampment, closing his hands into fists. Resistance members start coughing and grasping at their chests before they fall, dead.
The Prince’s vicious smile glints in the light of the setting sun. Wicked. The battle won.
I snap back to consciousness with a sob.
Ian, kneeling beside Marcus, brushes my tears away. He must have sensed my distress through our bond and come for me.
“Vision,” I murmur.
“I know, my darling. Were you training?”
“Against the mental warfare her bastard of a father is engaging in. Blocking out thoughts,” Marcus rumbles, holding me tighter.
“Training must make you susceptible to visions. I’m sure of it. Whenever your affinity is engaged, you seem to be in a more vulnerable state,” Ian surmises, stroking my cheek.
“It was all-out war,” I say, my voice hollow. “And we lost.” I shove out of Marcus’ arms, despite his protest. I sway on my feet but take my stance once more.
“Again,” I tell Marcus. “I need to get this.”
“No, sweet-tart. You just had a horrific vision. You should rest.”
“I don’t want to rest,” I growl out. I couldn’t rest if I wanted to after what I’ve just seen. “I need to protect myself against my father.”
Ian drives a sigil into my mind, and I wince.
I shoot Ian a peevish frown. “I wasn’t ready, damn it.”
“You may not be ready tomorrow either. We need to work on your reaction time and your shielding. I’ll take over from Marcus.”
Marcus rumbles out a curse and gets to his feet, reaching out for my hand, running the tips of his fingers over his bite. “We can both work with her at once. If any of the Soldiers find out about this weakness in her affinity, they could try to use it against her.”
“That would completely incapacitate me,” I say, my voice low and forlorn.
Ian sighs. “Then we train like Marcus said. We need this ability to be second nature to you. Ideally, you would be able to use your other abilities even if being bombarded with thoughts.”
I press my lips together and nod. “Let’s get to it, then.”