Finally, we entered the dense woods, the thick canopy eliminating the sun in the late evening. “You sure your friend lives here?” A sliver of fear had found its way into the male’s tone.
Zienna nodded. “Yes, it’s a little farther I think.”
“I don’t think there’s any homes out here.” The male halted. “I think we should turn back.” A growl rumbled through the forest. “It’s not safe out here.”
“You’re right.” I pressed my fingers to his temples, thrusting out my magic. “It’s not safe out here.”
The male slumped forward. Zienna managed to prevent him from crashing to the ground, catching him in her arms as Nico, Kara, and Nol came out from their hiding places behind the brush.
“I’ll take him,” Nico grunted, throwing the male over his shoulder. “The hideout is past these trees.” His glamour was no longer in place, and I hated to admit it, but it was good to see him back in his true form. I hated to admit it, but I loved his silver hair and ice blue eyes.
We followed Nico as he led us to his, Luka’s, and Declan’s childhood hangout—the place they used to escape to as children, was now going to be used as a place to torture a male for information.
“This is it,” Nico announced as we approached a thicket of trees. A mass of trees surrounded one another, traveling up and winding together as one to form the canopy. If you looked closely, you could see the door carved out of the base of the trees.
“Did you guys make this?” Kara wondered out loud.
“Yes and no. The trees formed like this themselves, but we used them to our advantage, used our magic to create the door and dig a tunnel inside, and form the cavern below ground. It took us years, but it was a great way to practice using our magic.”
“How come we never thought of something this cool?” Kara mused, lightly hitting Nol on the shoulder.
“That would be a question for Lennox.” Nol ducked down, descending the stairs as he continued, “This is something she’d do.”
“Nol, you would have directed them on everything they were doing wrong anyway.” I pushed a finger to my cousin’s chest. “It would have never been completed.”
Kara laughed. “True.”
“I didn’t miss you guys ganging up on me that’s for sure,” he mumbled.
We continued the rest of the descent in silence, eyes straining in the dark hallway, careful not to trip over the uneven ground and winding tree roots.
“How much farther?” I crouched further to avoid hitting my head on the dirt ceiling.
“It’s just up here.” I stumbled over a tree root, my hands catching on Nico to keep me from falling.
He smirked at me over his shoulder, over the guard’s legs. “If you wanted to feel me up, all you had to do was ask, Lucy.”
“Ass,” I muttered.
Nico ducked through another doorway, and I followed behind, emerging into the hideout. The room was dug out of the ground, tree roots weaved in and out of the walls, but they held strong.
A firepit lined with stones sat in the middle, with three chairs crafted out of wood surrounding it.
Nico dropped the unconscious guard on the ground before heading toward the small wooden desk resting in the corner.
“Zienna, can you light the torches?” He threw a box of matches at his sister.
The room grew brighter with every torch Zienna lit, proof the space belonged to the boys coming to light. Homemade weapons were discarded all around the room. Wooden spears, ice axes, and daggers.
But none of those things drew my attention as much as the portrait hanging on the wall above the desk.
The three boys were squeezed together. Nico in the middle, his moon-spun hair shorter than I had ever seen it, just curling around his ears. His eyes sparkled, even in the painting. He smiled widely with his arms slung around Luka and Declan’s shoulders. Luka looked almost the same, but his face was younger and his hair lighter. Declan smiled slightly, and he leaned slightly away from Nico, putting an inch of space between the two with his wings taking up the background.
Whoever had captured the portrait had done a magnificent job.
Footsteps sounded in the tunnel we had entered from; I reached for the daggers at my side, palming one in each hand as I pressed myself against the wall.
“You didn’t get started without us, did you?” Lennox drawled as she and Luka came into view, Declan following behind.
