36. Chapter 36
Remus
“Stay with me,” I pat her face when her eyes flutter. “Eyes on me, Ines. Do you hear me? Eyes on me!”
She nods but grimaces when I tear a piece of my cloak and press the fabric against her wound.
“Saints!” Rogelio whimpers, tears sliding down his reddening cheeks. “I didn’t mean to hurt her,” he says softly. “You have to believe me, I never would have hurt her.”
I don’t have time for Rogelio’s regrets and sorrows. Ines needs me and I have to act fast before I lose her.
I shove the guilt of her taking a blow intended for me into a box and expel it to the recesses of my mind. I can torment myself tomorrow about how it’s my fault she’s fighting for her life right, but for the time being, I need to take control of this situation.
I whistle sharply six times. Cas and Olli will know the sixth member of our crew is injured and we need to move immediately.
“Talk to me, Ines,” I squeeze her hand as I cradle her head in my lap.
“What do you want to talk about, Remus?” she huffs, offering me the faintest smile.
“Anything.” I narrow my sights on one of the dogs curiously sniffing the bottom of Ines’ boot. “I need you to stay awake until we can get you some help.”
“You need to leave before Severo comes home,” she whispers when her hazy eyes meet mine.
“I’m not leaving you.” I shake my head. “I’m getting you – “
“I’ll just slow you down –“
“Ines.”
“Remus.” She shoots back sharply, wincing beneath me.
“I. Said. No.” I reiterate, making sure I keep a steady pressure to her abdomen. “I won’t lose you.”
“It’s ok. Go. You’re more important than I am.”
“More important to who?” I frown. “You’re mine. I won’t leave you behind.”
“Remus?” Rogelio says so softly I almost miss it. Shock and confusion flash across his face until realization floods him. “You’re Remus Kane? The generals’ son?”
“Shit! What happened?” Olli heaves himself back through the window, denying me the opportunity to address Rogelio piecing my identity together. He stops short when Rogelio’s hounds growl in protest.
Rogelio hisses for the dogs to stand down before shooing them out into the hallway and closing the door.
“We can take her to my personal physician,” Rogelio suggests, wiping tears from his face. “He lives in the Silver District – “
“For him to turn us into your father once he patches Ines up?” I interrupt with a scoff. “Not a fucking chance.”
“I assure you, he can be discreet. I’ll pay him handsomely for his trouble.” He takes a step toward me. “Let me take her. He will assume she’s still Elena – “
“Why would I allow you to take her anywhere?” I growl through gritted teeth.
“Because she’s dying and I can’t be the reason she does!” he yells.
A low whistle sounds. Cas has the carriage secured. Now we need to find him.
“Please,” Rogelio pleads, now kneeling on Ines’ other side. He takes her blood-stained hand in his, drawing her lethargic gaze. “Let me help her.”
Before I think better of it, I slam the pommel of my dagger against his head. Rogelio crumples to the floor with a thud.
Olli hisses a string of curses behind me. “Remus, what the hell?”
“We can’t leave him here. First chance he gets, he will tell his father about us.” I scoop a mumbling Ines into my arms and stand.
“So, we’re resorting to kidnapping?” Olli guffaws, rubbing the heels of his palms against his eyes. “You do realize he will be missed right? The second Severo realizes his son is gone, he will tear the city apart searching for him.”
My mind is racing but there’s no other way for us to keep our rebellion a secret unless we take the Murrieta heir.
Not only can he identify us, but he knows exactly who I am now.
It won’t be long before Severo hunts us all down and slaughters us before we have so much as a chance at sparking our rebellion.
So despite Olli’s protests, I double down on my order.
“Pick him up.”
“Rem – “
“Olli! We’re running out of time.”
Ines groans against my chest and whispers incoherently.
“We need to get her to Alba before it’s too late.”
Olli’s eyes widen. “Alba?”
“She’s the only one who can help Ines, now,” I say. “Please, Olli.”
A million questions zoom across Olli’s face, but he swallows all of them. Acceptance shrouds his features as he reluctantly nods. “I’m only doing this for Ines. I still think it’s a terrible idea to kidnap Severo’s son.”
“Your protests have been duly noted.”
Despite Olli’s lean build, he’s surprisingly strong and easily hoists the unconscious Rogelio up and throws him over his shoulder like a rolled-up rug. Suddenly, his eyes widen. “How do we get past the dogs?”
Shit. I forgot all about those damn mongrels.
As my brain spins, scheming our escape, the office door flies open. Cas’ enormous frame fills the threshold.
“What is taking so damn long?” he hisses. Quickly, his eyes dart around the room assessing the damage.
“You’re supposed to be in the carriage,” I scowl, truly hating when Cas goes rogue on missions.
“Carmen is waiting in the buggy. Figured when Olli came back inside you would need my help.”
“But the dogs?” Olli whispers, as if one false move might manifest the beasts.
“They’re gnawing at some bones in the kitchen,” Cas shrugs.
Olli and I exchange a pointed look that ruffles Cas’ feathers.
“What? I can’t be prepared with a backup plan just in case Remus’ go to shit?” he grumbles. “Remus isn’t the only one capable of scheming, you know?”
Ines moans again and draws Cas’ attention.
“How bad is she?” he asks and a lump forms in my throat.
“We need to get her to Alba.”
Cas frowns but he doesn’t argue with me. He must sense my desperation.
“And the Murrieta?” Cas points at Olli.
“A problem for tomorrow,” I say, earning an exhausted sigh from my cousin.
“Let’s go,” Cas motions us to follow him down the staircase.
Instead of us leaving out the front door or through the library window we initially broke in through, Cas leads us to the back of the mansion where the door leads to the garden.
“The carriage is parked on the other side of that wall. We will have to time this right, or the guards will notice us,” Cas whispers, crouching behind the hedge.
For a few agonizing moments, Cas watches the guards at the front of the estate. Once he’s certain they’re preoccupied with their card game, he waves for us to run to the wall and use the shadows to mask our presence.
Pressing our backs to the stucco wall, we take a moment to catch our breath. Cas grips the top of the wall and hoists himself to the top effortlessly. Brute strength has never been a stranger to my cousin, even when we were children. He scans the grounds before reaching for me to pass him Ines.
I kiss her clammy forehead and despite her pained groans, Cas pulls her up and over the wall.
Now it’s my turn.
I follow Cas’ lead and once I’ve got one leg on either side of the wall, Olli lifts Rogelio just high enough for me to pull him over by his arms. Losing my balance, both Rogelio and I tumble over the fence and crash to the ground,
Shit.
Not only did that fall hurt like hell, but the sound probably alerted the guards to mischief.
Cas is already dragging Rogelio’s body to the buggy by the time I brush myself off and stumble to my feet.
“Olli?” I whisper, hoping he’s not having to elude Severo’s guards on his own.
A few paces to my right, Olli lands and startles me.
“Let’s go!” His eyes are wide, and his chest is rising and falling rapidly. “The guards looked like they were headed this way.”
Piling into the carriage, I knock my knuckles against the ceiling, signaling for Cas to drive. We take off down the street, our course set for Iglesia de los Santos.
Carmen has a cloth pressed against Ines’ abdomen, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Though Ines’ eyes are closed, she’s still breathing which gives me the smallest bit of hope we’ll make it to the City of Dreams before it’s too late.
“What the fuck happened, Remus?” Carmen hisses, eyeing me like a wounded animal poised to strike.
I tug my fingers through my damp hair. “Rogelio caught us before we could escape.” I swallow, staring at Ines. “He tried to stab me, but she stepped in front of me. It’s my fault.”
“Quit feeling sorry for yourself,” she snaps. Her viciousness catches me off-guard. “What’s the plan now?”
“We need to get to Alba.”
“And Rogelio?” she juts her chin toward the still unconscious Murrieta.
“Keep him until I know what to do with him.”
She shakes her head. “We don’t kill – “
“I know!” I snap but quickly offer my apologies. I’m on edge, but she’s not who I’m angry with. I’m upset with myself. This is all my fault.
I sigh. “We couldn’t leave him, Carmen. He’s a liability. I just… I just need time to figure out what to do next.”
“Did you at least find out who they’re executing?” She graciously accepts my answers and moves on.
Suddenly, I feel as if a mountain has crashed down on top of me.
“Remus?”
I clear my throat. “My mother.”
Her mouth falls open and snaps closed just as quickly. “I thought your mother was executed fifteen years ago.”
“Apparently not.”
“There’s a prison mine hidden in the mountains like Ines said,” Olli takes over when I fail to say more. “It appears Boudica Kane has been kept there all this time along with other missing people.”
I feel Olli and Carmen’s eyes pinned on me but refuse to meet their gazes.
“We’ll get her back, Remus,” Olli finally speaks.
I say nothing for fear I’ll completely spiral.
There’s no telling what horrors my mother has endured for the last fifteen years.
I failed my mother.
I’m failing Ines.
And now, I’m about to bring outsiders to the City of Dreams putting my people in danger’s path.
Our carriage whips down the nearly abandoned streets until we find ourselves in the Scholar District with the church in our sights.
“We can’t exactly drag two unconscious people through the sanctuary, Remus,” Carmen dutifully reminds me of another flaw in my plan.
“There’s another way in,” Olli speaks up.
“What?” I turn my focus on him.