I shook my head and clenched my fists. “I can’t keep holding onto something that isn’t real, Adeline. I don’t even know if she’s alive. For all I know, he’s been lying to me this whole time.”
She nodded in agreement. “As long as you’re okay with it.”
“I can’t keep worrying about everyone else. It has to end at some point.”
“You’re right.”
I crossed the last few steps to our campsite and stopped dead in my tracks.
“What is it?” Adeline asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s been here,” I said. I could smell the presence of multiple fae.
My brothers.
A growl escaped me, my power rumbled through my body and pulsed at my fingertips.
“They took Jade,” I said. “They took her.”
Adeline already knew. She was running around the campsite, checking for any signs of her. But I already knew what happened.
Just when we thought we were free, my father sent them to kill her.
“I’ll kill them,” I told Adeline. I didn’t recognize my own voice. I didn’t care. “I’ll kill every single one of them if I have to. They’re not getting away with this again.”
Adeline looked at me with a fierceness I had never seen from her before. “We have to find her,” she said. “We find them and we get Jade back.”
CHAPTER 32
Jade
My consciousness was fading. I had to stay awake. Just a little longer, and they would find me. They had to find me.
I had no choice.
Lucien threw a small rock in my direction, making me snap back to my surroundings.
“Wakey, wakey, princess,” he teased. “If you fall asleep you might miss all the fun.”
My head rested on the cement wall behind me. “You say that as if spending this time with you isn’t the highlight of my night.”
Lucien stepped closer. “I’ve always envied Malachi and his wives, you know.”
“Really? You don’t quite strike me as the marriage type,” I joked. Every word took more energy than I had left.
“You flatter me,” he responded, still stepping closer with each tiny, torturous step.
I glanced around. Surely there was some way to escape. Some way to defend myself. But aside from a few rocks, there was nothing.
When I got out of there, I was sure as saints going to learn how to fight.
“Something wrong?” Lucien asked. “I can hear your heart rate increasing.”
“Just thinking about all the things Mal will do to you when he finds us. It really gets me excited,” I responded. I meant for the words to sound strong and sassy, but they were hardly audible. I was too weak.
Lucien took another step, just an arm’s length away from where I sat on the floor, and knelt down. His sharp ears and bright silver wings blocked my vision from anything but him.
“Did you think you would be different?” Lucien asked. “Did you think you would be the one human to survive?”
With Lucien this close to my face, I could have sworn I saw fangs.
“That was the plan,” I spat.
Lucien smirked. “You really think you can survive against us? Against me?”
I rolled my eyes. “It would have been a lot easier if you weren’t all giant assholes.”
Lucien didn’t laugh this time. “How about this, princess. I’ll untie you and I’ll give you a head start. You can run as far as your little human legs can carry you, but I’ll still find you. Because you’re just a human. You’re prey. Do you understand that?”
Now my heart really was racing. But I didn’t say a word. I lifted my chin, staring Lucien directly in the eye.
“Killing you will be fun. Hunting you will be even more thrilling,” he growled before ripping the ropes off my arms with a single movement. “Better get going, princess. The clock’s ticking.”
I waited another second, just to make sure this wasn’t some sort of sick plot to kill me even sooner. But Lucien just waited for me to move.
So, with all of the energy I had left, I got to my feet and bolted.
CHAPTER 33
Jade
I ran until the bottoms of my feet bled on the forest floor.
Dying hadn’t been something I was necessarily afraid of. Even when I left to marry Malachi, I wasn’t afraid of dying.
But somehow, this was different. In the weeks I had spent here in Rewyth, something changed. I no longer felt content at the idea of dying.
I had to survive, and it wasn’t just for my sister. It was for myself.