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"No," Faera interjected, moving closer to us. "The little rascal knows better." She kneeled to his level. "Finn, there are more people here now. You must be more careful. Especially when neither your father nor grandfather are around to protect you."
Finn nodded, his chest puffing out. "Someday, he'll need to be careful around me, you know."
She grinned and ruffled his hair. "Of course. But until then, stay away. Okay?"
"Okay," he agreed, but the stubborn tilt to his chin spelled trouble, and I had to suppress a grin.
How long would it be before he used his magic and turned into a wraith?
My smile fell, chest aching at the thought.
I surveyed the crowded room of body mages. How was it possible that no one was showing signs of madness and corruption?
In all my years hunting mages, I'd seen nothing like it. Something like this shouldn't be possible.
It made no sense.
"I assume you're on your way to see your mate?" Faera asked, looking up at me through bright blue eyes. A previous version of myself may have tried flirting with her, but lately I'd been unable to get a certain pair of hazel eyes out of my head.
I'd even tried dating other people, but the second we started getting close, my skin prickled, and my entire body ached.
More evidence for that damn mate bond …
Forsaken hells. There had to be a way to get rid of it, though. Right?
Faera waited for a response, but I'd already forgotten her question, so I just nodded.
"Wanna take him down?" she asked Finn.
The boy grinned, then grabbed my hand, tugging me down the hall. "Come on," he said, grinning crookedly. "I'll show you the way."
Dipping my head to the woman, I let him lead me again, and we were on our way.
We eventually reached a white stone wall with a strange symbol carved in the center. Finn pressed it firmly and a loud grinding noise sounded.
I leaped back, tugging him with me as that entire portion of the wall shifted.
As it moved away, I glimpsed ropes, pulleys, and gears through the narrow gap where the wall met the door. My jaw dropped.
Amazing! Was this Alpha Blackwood's work? It seemed like it must have been part of the original structure, so likely not.
I had no idea the mages from before The Fall were so advanced, though …
Beyond the doorway twisted a dark stairwell leading down into what I assumed could only be a dungeon.
My stomach flipped, and the wolf inside me growled.
They took her into that darkness?! Who knew what lurked down there!
Stepping in front of the boy, I took the stairs three at a time, emerging into a well-lit hallway decorated better than many rooms in the Palace.
Well … this was not what I was expecting. The wolf gave a disappointed huff and curled back up.
"Pretty cool, right?" Finn said from behind me. "We rarely have guests, so the other pups and I sometimes sneak down here to play." He looked around conspiratorially. "I even found a super good hiding spot that only I know about. I'd bet you three lemon cakes even you couldn't find me."
I smiled at the ball of energy, as I remembered doing something similar at the Palace when I was a kid.
"Maybe later. Right now, I need to take care of some other stuff."
