He let out a strangled sob.
“Oh gods,” he choked. “He’s going to take you back...No... no...”
Another sickeningcrackas he slammed his head again.
“Finn, please!” My voice cracked. “Don’t let him win. Don’t let him break you.Not you.”
I could barely feel his hand when it reached back through the grate. Limp. Cold.
I wrapped my fingers around his like a lifeline, even as my own hands trembled.
“I’ll fight for us,” I whispered. “Even if I have to burn this whole place to the ground.”
Chapter35
Phoenix
The fire had burned low. The room was cold. That’s what I noticed first.
I jerked awake, a jolt of wrongness shooting through me. My mouth was dry. The book I’d been reading was gone from my chest.
Across the rug, Leo groaned.
“Slade?” I croaked.
He was already moving, staggering from the chair, one hand at his temple. “What the hell…?”
“I don’t know. We must’ve dozed off.” I blinked hard, trying to clear the fog.
“All of us?” Slade asked, voice sharp with disbelief.
Leo sat up like he’d been shot. “Where’s Elira?”
I scanned the room—bed, bathroom, corners. Empty.
“Maybe she left to train,” I said, even though I didn’t believe it.
Slade moved to the table where three glasses sat. He picked one up, sniffed it—then froze.
“Nightshade,” he said quietly.
“What?” Leo lunged forward, dipped a finger in one, held it to the light. A smear of black shimmered.
He turned to me, like I might deny it, undo it.
But I couldn’t.
“No,” he said flatly. “She wouldn’t.”
I was already crossing the room. I flung open the bathroom door. Empty.
Slade swore. “She drugged us.”
“No!” Leo shouted, fists clenched. “I don’t believe you!”
“She did,” I said. Voice low. Gravel and grief. “She’s gone.”
We were already moving when the door slammed open.
