“Then you’re being stupid,” I hissed. “You should wait until we can all go in together. If I can wait to get my mother and Grey back, so can you. I know it sucks, doing nothing fucking sucks, but if you go now, you risk getting caught, and then no one will be able to save her.”
“It’s different,” Peter snapped. “The Lux King isn’t forcing your mother and brother to sleep with him, is he?” I’d never seen Peter so pissed off, so short fused. I blew out a breath, trying not to let it get to me. I knew he was just as terrified as I was.
“I don’t know what he’s doing to my little brother, and it’s fucking killing me. I can’t sleep. I can’t do anything but worry about him. I want to get him back just as badly as you want to get Vallie, but I realize that means a tiny bit of fucking patience.We need to make sure Kole and Arcane aren’t leading us into a fucking trap.”
“Kole’s not lying,” Peter said sternly, “but even if he was, I don’t care. I’m going after her, Sie. The longer we wait, the worse it’s going to get forallof them.”
Savannah blew out a breath. She had been listening quietly on the princess’s bed, taking everything in. She cocked her head to the side. “What’s up with the male testosterone in this camp going ape-shit over the girls they like?”
Peter whipped his head to glare at her, but he didn’t deny it. He couldn’t. He never admitted to liking Vallie, and I didn’t think he ever would, but I’d never seen him so distraught, so vexed and helpless about something. He was always the calm, optimistic one between the two of us, always finding the positive in every situation, but this was consuming him. It was breaking him.
“I’ll do it,” Kallon said, surprising the group. “I’ll go with you to get her backnowinstead of waiting.” I would have thought that she was only agreeing to the plan after what happened with Scottie. Tezya still hadn’t forgiven her for portaling him back to the camp without her. Maybe she thought if she returned with her best friend he’d finally let it go. But the Fire Prince wasn’t here. He dragged Scottie away the moment the trade was made, forcing her into the healer’s tent, even though she was kicking and soundlessly screaming. I didn’t envy him right now for trying to tame her.
“Why?” I asked Kallon, scanning her face, never really noticing the fine details in it before. All I ever saw when I looked at her was her multi-colored, ever-changing hair. But today, the colored side was a dark gray, almost matching her normal shade of black. And for some unforeseen reason, I thought of Savannah’s eyes. The shading wasn’t right. Savannah’s were lighter with opal specks infused into them whereas Kallon’s hair right now seemed more devoid of color and life.But it was the first time I studied her face without her hair drawing all my attention, and I was surprised that she was beautiful.
Her lips pursed as she met my gaze. “Because Scotlind is my friend, and if this Vallie girl is important to her, then she’s important to me too. I know what the King is capable of, and if what the compulsion user said was true, the poor thing has been through enough. She doesn’t deserve to be dragged into this mess, and no one deserves what’s being done to her.”
I exhaled, trying my best to remain calm. If they went for Vallie now, it meant my chances of getting Greyland were slim. They had half-ass information from Kole about Vallie—if they wanted to believe it—but I had nothing. I would be going in blind. I had no idea where he was keeping my family. “This is all pending on Kole telling the truth,” I said, trying to talk them out of it.
“He is,” Dovelyn said, and I could have punched her. “At least about the part regarding the castle. There is a secret entrance into the King’s rooms. If they are occupied with Scotlind and my brother’s disappearances, it will give us a chance to break her free without them noticing.Potentially.”
“We have to act now while they’re looking for Arcane,” Peter pleaded. “The King won’t be occupied with Vallie, but if we wait too long, he will be. We’ll lose our only chance.”
“Fine,” Dovelyn said, half rolling her eyes, and I was surprised as hell she was agreeing, that she’d do anything to aid anyone else but herself, especially when it didn’t benefit her at all. But then again, I was told the princess went into the prison to rescue me. Maybe she only acted like she didn’t give a shit about anyone or anything…
Dovelyn looked toward Kallon. “You have a portal set up there, right?”
Fuck. There was no talking them out of it. I zoned out their conversation, leaving them to sort through the logistics of theirill-thought out plan, to focus on the rest of the camp. If they were breaking into Lux, I had to find a way to work my family’s rescue into it, even if the idea of not waiting to compel Kole was completely fucking idiotic.
My skin lit up in golden spirals as I focused my telepathy throughout the camp, trying to use it as a locator to find Tezya. It was hard to do with the sheer mass of Advenians that lived here, but I’d been training with my abilities, getting more comfortable using them freely now that my body was poison-free.
I was learning how to use my telepathy at greater distances while simultaneously shifting from mind to mind. Peter helped me. He’d sneak off to different areas of the camp, and I’d try to find him. It was hard as hell and usually gave me a grueling headache afterward.
Before, I’d only ever used telepathy on someone in the same room as me. But I was getting better at it and finding it easier and easier the more I practiced.
Our abilities were a muscle, and I never realized how much I relied on physical fighting over my powers. How much I never worked my abilities and just took them at face value. But being here gave me nothing better to do, so I trained both.
Tezya, luckily, was easier to find in the camp. I assumed it had something to do with us being related, but I didn’t want to dwell on what that meant. When I finally found him, still in the healer’s tent, I opened my mind to his, using my powers.I need you here, right now.
Where are you?His voice sounded a moment later. I was surprised by the lack of questioning.
Dovelyn’s tent. They’re going after Vallie tonight.
“It’s not ideal,” Kallon said. Their conversation coming back to me the moment I disconnected from Tezya’s mind. “It’s about a half mile from the entrance of the tunnel, but if we leave now while it’s still dark, we should have enough cover.”
“Good.” Dovelyn nodded. “You’ll only have thirty minutes once we get in.”
I was about to stall them when Scotlind cut me off. She pushed open the flap of the tent and halted in front of Peter. She’d changed out of the flimsy gown she was in, and I was thankful, not wanting another reminder of the damn broadcast and what it cost me.
Her words were winded as she fought to catch her breath. “You’re going after her,” she wheezed.
Peter nodded.
I glared at Tezya who came up behind her.You fucking told her?I seethed into his mind.
I didn’t tell her anything,he snapped back,Teleport her away.
“Don’t you dare,” Scotlind said out loud, turning to glare at Tezya. “I’m coming with you—”
