It should’ve been her who was taken—not Sabrine.It should’ve been her.
Loren shot to her feet, startling several students in her vicinity. She gathered up her books, dumped them into her book bag, and made for the door.
“Loren!” Dallas called from behind her.
But Phipps said, “Have a seat, Miss Bright.”
Dallas began to argue with him, but that was the last Loren heard as she hurried down the hallway. The gazes of the painted figures lining the walls tracked her every step. Class wouldn’t finish for another fifteen minutes, but she couldn’t bear to be stuck in one suffocating room for another second.
She made it through the gates and to the sunlit parking lot before collapsing onto a bench in the shade of a palm tree. Sobs tore out of her, her body shaking with the force of them. She felt like screaming, but there were vehicles idling in the lot. The last thing she needed was anyone else getting involved in this mess.
She hated this. Hatedeverything. She wanted Sabrine back—she didn’t care if she had to give up her own life for it to happen. Sheneededit to happen.
Her breathing slowed, her fingers drifting to the talisman around her throat, twinkling in the bright sunlight.
All she had to do was remove it. All she had to do was unclasp it, and Sabrine could walk free. If Darkslayers came for her, then so be it. She would face them with what little courage she had.
The familiar rumble of Darien’s car engine stilled her fingers. He parked along the curb closest to the bench and cut the engine. A moment later, his door opened and shut behind him.
How was it possible that the world suddenly felt lighter as soon as he was near? She could breathe again, and the shattered pieces of her heart felt like they were being knitted back together simply by being in the same vicinity as him.
He sat down on the bench beside her and settled his elbows onto his knees, but he didn’t say anything as she continued to cry her eyes out into the sleeves of her academy sweatshirt, clutching the talisman in a tight fist.
One pull. Just one hard yank and the magic would be nullified.
Darien would never let her do it though, and if she was being honest with herself, she was too much of a coward to follow through.
Loren mumbled into her hands, “She’s dead, isn’t she? It’s been too long. There’s no way they’re going to keep her alive forever.”
“Switching places with her won’t solve anything, Loren,” Darien said softly. A sob rose in her throat, and she gripped the talisman tighter. “People like the men who took Sabrine have no interest in bargaining. The only sway they hold is hoping you’ll be naïve enough to believe them when they say they’ll let her go.”
Loren had nothing to say to that. A hot breeze picked up, drying the tears on her cheeks.
“I don’t mean to sound insensitive when I say this,” Darien continued. “But I believe there’s something larger at stake here than your friend’s life.”
Nothing was more important to Loren than Sabrine’s life, but she knew Darien wasn’t wrong in saying that. Which was exactly why the talisman was still clenched in her fist, the chain digging into the back of her neck. Until they figured out what the Arcanum Well was and how it was connected to Loren, they were stuck in place on the chessboard.
And she would be an idiot if she believed those men would let Sabrine walk free. Darien was right: whoever had taken Sab had no interest in negotiating a deal. They were only trying to lure her into a trap. If Sabrine was still alive, she was nothing more than bait. A bargaining chip.
The academy gates swung open, hinges squeaking. Loren knew it was Dallas approaching before she said to Darien, “Hey.”
And then she was standing before Loren, her face lined with concern. “You okay, Lor?”
Loren swiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. “I can’t take it anymore, Dal. I can’ttakenot knowing where Sab is.”
Darien brushed a hand across Loren’s back as he suddenly rose to his feet. “Let’s take a drive.” A strand of his undercut shifted out of place as he inclined his head toward the car. “Both of you.”
Loren promptly stood and gathered up her things as Dallas said to him, “Where are we going?”
“City law enforcement only has so much sway over the scum of this city,” Darien said as he made his way to the driver’s side. “I think it’s high time we paid a visit to a few places on my list. I was planning on going by myself, but…” He looked at Loren. “You wanted all in, Rookie. Now’s your chance. Think you can handle it?” He lifted a brow in question.
Loren nodded. “Yes.”
“Good. Then we’re going to start with Puerta de la Muerta.”
“Death’s Door,” Dallas mused as she slid into the backseat of the car. Loren hurried around to the passenger’s side and got in. “A club or something?”
Darien turned the key in the ignition, the engine rumbling to life. “It’s a bar where Chrysantha Sands was serving drinks the night she went missing.” He pushed the gearshift into drive—but paused. He looked Loren over, and then turned in his seat to do the same to Dallas. “If you’ve got anything on underneath those sweaters, I’d take them off. Where we’re going… Let’s just say you don’t want anyone to know what school you attend.”
