I was happy to see that Ianto and many of the others who’d gone out tonight had already returned. They were huddled together and nestled under blankets. While our mission was taking place, I’d refused to let myself think about all the countless ways it could go wrong.
If I’d allowed myself to consider any of it, we never would have left this cavern. I crept toward the others, tears filling my eyes as I took in the tired, haggard faces surrounding me. I was so happy to see them all that I had to bite back a sob.
They couldn’t see me lose it now, and this night was far from over. Blinking away the tears in my eyes, I accepted the blanket Ianto held out to me and returned to Luna while Scarlet hurried over to join her family.
I was happy to see her father, Mr. Fletcher, as I’d called him ever since I was old enough to speak, had returned. Her mother, Ruby, had stayed behind with Scarlet’s little brother, Billy, but Mr. Fletcher had gone out with the others.
I draped the blanket around Luna’s shoulders. “Tha…tha… thank you,” she got out through chattering teeth.
“You did well tonight.”
She bit her lip and surveyed the faces before nodding. “We sti… still need to ge… get Callan back.”
“We’ll do everything we can to find him.”
I couldn’t promise her that we would free him; we both knew it might prove impossible to save her brother and Ryker.
“I know,” she murmured. “I have to… to dress.”
“Do you need help?”
“No, I’ll be okay.”
She winced as her red fingers gripped the blanket. Her eyes briefly met mine before she turned away and slipped into the shadows.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ellery
When I turned back to the crowd, I counted the heads. By my calculations, two teams remained out.
I searched for Mouse in the crowd but didn’t see the young boy anywhere. He’s safe. He’s smart and fast. He’s fine.
But my heart still ached for the child. I hadn’t seen him since the duke forced us to retreat to this cavern. I hoped he hadn’t gotten caught up in the fires the duke set, or worse, taken by the duke’s troops and sent to the palace with the other children.
Mouse was so wild at heart that imprisonment would destroy him. As soon as this was all over, I would do everything I could to find the boy.
I turned away from the others and walked over to the shadows near the entranceway to join Indon. “Can you communicate telepathically with the other gargoyles?”
“Yes,” Indon confirmed.
I wasn’t astonished by this confirmation. A little unnerved, perhaps, but not surprised. “Are the remaining two teams okay?”
“Yes. They’ll return soon.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, but while I wanted to slump to the floor and huddle there, I didn’t have time to relax. Once the last two teams returned, we had to enact the next phase of our plan.
“Where are the children?” I asked.
“In a dungeon beneath the palace.”
“That asshole put them in a dungeon.”
The duke was a giant piece of shit, but that was horrific, even for him. From the group of huddled amsirah, Ianto rose and strode over to me. When he reached my side, he handed me some jerky and an apple before removing his blanket from his shoulder.
I tried to wave it away, but the giant was two feet taller than me and easily two hundred pounds heavier. Saying no to him was impossible.
“You need it,” I insisted.
