“Hey! What are you doing in there?” Jesaiah asked, banging on the door.
The door rattled, and I grabbed the chain in my good hand, swinging it over my head and then down as soon as he opened the door. It cracked through Jesaiah’s skull, driving him into the ground. I didn’t think, leaping on top of him and using my good arm to draw the chain around his neck, pulling it as tight as I could.
He went limp but then began to shift, his form growing massive, every muscle bulging. I didn’t have any time.
I pulled the chain taut, my weight bearing down on his lower back, his spine arching. He choked, gasping for air, but I didn’t let up, keeping the pressure on until I heard a crack.
He stilled. My uneven breath was as loud as a jet engine in the small room. My vision flashed, the pain in my arm increasing with each heartbeat.
“Miles.” Cade’s voice came from very far away, and his eyes were two luminous pools of blue in the darkness. “You saved us. You understand?”
“People need to stop asking me that,” I said. “I’m beginning to think that everyone thinks I need a hearing aid.”
“He has keys. You saw him put them away. Where are they?” Cade’s voice was even, calm, and I threw myself into it, diving deep into Nordic waters.
This was the same as any job. I had done worse for Declan. This was nothing. It didn’t matter that Jesaiah’s collar meant he had just as little choice in the matter as we did.
I pushed myself off Jesaiah, letting the chain fall to the floor. My hand was steady as I searched his pockets. The keys were difficult to dig out, his body weight pressing them to the floor. I managed it, jostling my bad arm.
For a moment, the world went red, but I stumbled over to Cade, unlocking the chains. He pulled them off himself, throwing them to the ground. He managed a few unsteady steps until he reached me.
Then he pulled my face down to his, kissing me so fiercely that I forgot to breathe. When he let me up, he dragged my arm over his shoulders.
“Come on. We don’t have long.”
“Wait,” I said. I led us back to the gargoyle, and we sifted through the keys until we found the right one to unlock him.
He managed to stand, and when he began to walk, I saw why they’d thought he was dead. His latter half wasn’t working right, the back feet as stiff as a statue. He had to drag them to get them to move. Where his face was cleaved in half, the rock crumbled away. Soon, there wouldn’t be anything of him left.
The creature looked at me, stone eyes blinking quickly before he lowered his head, a screeching sound coming from his mouth.
He limped off into the night, and I heard the groan of wings, the heavy pumping as he got airborne, and then silence.
Cade and I stumbled out the door, making our way through the darkness. The first time he got caught on a bush, Cade swore.
“Can you shift? Lead us out of here?” he whispered. Every noise would give us away.
No, we wouldn’t need noise to give us away. We were both injured, and the blood would lead the entire House Bartlett pack to us.
“I can’t. Leon gave me something that inhibits my shift,” I swallowed. “I think he must be planning something.”
“That’s immensely clear,” Cade said dryly. “You think he’s planning something bigger than taking over my throne? Than trying to kill me multiple times?”
“I don’t know. He mentioned Declan, and I think he developed the drug that inhibits werewolves.” Even when my eyes were adjusted to the dark, I had no idea where we were going. “We need to get to the boundary. The wards.”
“They’ll have the gap that Isaac and Jay used earlier guarded. You think we can find another?” Cade pulled us to a stop and readjusted my arm over his shoulder.
“We don’t have time. We’ll lead them away. Send them on a wild goose chase and then sneak out. Once we get outside, can you teleport us somewhere?” I had a plan. It wasn’t a good one. It was more shapes and patterns than a plan. I needed to see the whole board before it became anything more than an idea.
“Yes.” Cade swallowed. “Yes.”
We tried to move quietly, but I knew that as soon as we got within a hundred yards of the wards, the guards would see us.
Pulling Cade to a stop, I panted, trying to get my breath. We were out of time and out of options.
“I’m going to lead them away. As soon as they’re gone, you need to sneak through,” I said.
When I looked at Cade, I didn’t see him. I saw my younger brother, his expression slack where his body was limp on the floor.
