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“It’s me,” Atlas said on the other end.
Darien slowed. “What is it?”
“I found them,” Tanner replied. Holy shit. The imperator, Gaven.
Finally.
“They’re at Caliginous on Silverway,” Tanner added. The tension in Atlas’s voice put Darien on high alert.
“Atlas?” he ventured.
“They took Tanya hostage.”
104
Roman’s House
YVESWICH, STATE OF KER
Darien stood beside Loren, the others spread out in a group behind them, watching the screen on Tanner’s laptop at the dining room table. The camera feeds for Caliginous on Silverway.
The interior lights of the business were all at full brightness. Tanya stood in her usual spot behind the desk, squeezing a stress ball at her side, her very posture exuding tension. Men with guns stood all around her, and heading down the corridor that housed chambers one to four and six to seven were—
“That’s the imperator,” Darien breathed. Now that he was seeing him with his own eyes, now that he knew for certain that it wasn’t just Quinton’s men who were here in Yveswich, but Quinton as well, Darien’s blood thrummed with vengeance.
He’d kill that fucker. Make him pay for this bullshit he’d put them all through. There was no sign of his son, Klay, but the minute Darien ran into him, he’d get revenge on that prick too. Beat him black and blue and slit his throat for coming near his girl, for grabbing her hand against her will that day in the hospital. Before, Darien had refrained from acting, for Loren’s sake. Her safety.
Now, he’d kill him. Cut off his hands for touching her.
As if sensing his rage brimming over the edge, Loren stepped closer to him. Darien drew a breath, focusing on the comforting feel of her aura.
“There’s Gaven, too,” Tanner announced, using his mouse to circle the man who walked at Quinton’s side.
As if they somehow heard them, the imperator looked toward the camera that pointed down the chamber corridor—the lens their group was currently looking through.
Loren’s hand drifted to Darien’s wrist, her fingers circling it. Darien took her hand, threading his fingers through hers.
One by one, the cameras went black.
“We need to help Tanya,” Tanner murmured, clicking to enlarge the spell feeds again—their only way of monitoring what was happening within the walls of the business, now that they didn’t have cameras. “Right now.”
Roman paced in the living room, phone pressed to his ear as he tried calling Tanya’s cell phone for the fifth time in under three minutes.
Even from several feet away, Darien could hear when Tanya’s answering machine picked up again. “Hi, you’ve reached Tanya—”
Roman cursed and hung up. “Nothing,” he declared as Kylar and Darien glanced his way.
“She’s probably not answering because someone’s in earshot,” Darien said. He took off his jacket and pulled his shirt over his head. “Get your shit on—bodysuits, as many weapons as you can carry,” he told the others. “We need to go right away.” He’d kill the imperator and every person working for him, would get his revenge for the destruction they’d done to his house, the attempts made on the lives of the people he cared about—
And for stealing Mortifer. As soon as he got the Hob back, he’d give him all the shave ice in the world.
“We should split up,” Tanner suggested. “Take a look here.” He zoomed out on the spell feeds until the entire blueprint of the skyscraper was in view. With a click and a drag of the mouse, he spun the skyscraper around. “The imperator’s men have been going into chamber seven, but get this—I haven’t seen them come back out. It’s like they disappear.”
“What are the chambers made of?” Malakai asked.
“Adamant,” Roman replied. He took off his hoodie, leaving the tight-fitting shirt he had on underneath—clothes that would fit more comfortably under the bodysuit. “The same thing as the rabbit masks. Which means—”
“The chambers don’t show up on spell feeds,” Darien cut in. Only the flip-side did. Roman nodded, and Darien faced Tanner. “What are you thinking?”
