“Let’s hope we get some answers from Raven’s guardian, or I’ll have to start kidnapping Mage Council members.” Something told me the incubus wasn’t joking.
“Hope you don’t mind the heat, fish boy. Adam lives in Texas.”
“My name’s Kai,” I muttered as I picked up my backpack.
Texas, from what I knew, was hot and dry. The sort of environment I hated with a passion.
But I’d go there if it meant finding my goddess-blessed mate.
For her, I could endure anything. Even the fiery pits of the demon realm.
12
Raven
The sound of a door banging against a wall startled me into consciousness. I’d tried to stay awake but eventually succumbed to exhaustion. With no windows, it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night.
When I reached out to my mates, I found only silence. The bonds between us remained intact, at least. Goddess, were they safe? Glynda too. I silently prayed the fae had protected her with his pathetic and utterly pointless life.
If he hadn’t, I’d melt his ass the moment we met again. The sea witch’s well-deserved fate was a pale imitation of what I’d do to Farris. He would regret the day we crossed paths. I doubted the Autumn Court would miss him.
I quickly decided vengeance was my new middle name.
Raven Vengeance Blackstone.
Yeah. It had a nice ring to it.
The minute I escaped this hellhole, I’d update my socials#badassbitchwitch.
A stocky male in a white uniform strode in while I was deep in a feminine rage fantasy. A middle-aged female with a severely bleached blonde haircut that did not flatter her angular features followed him. The gray tissue around her fingertips told me she was a witch that used dark magic, but thanks to the metal cuffs on my wrists, I couldn’t read her aura.
Not that it mattered. With a face like hers, I knew it would be sludge green or possibly gray. She didn’t look like the type of witch who enjoyed baking and embroidery. Or smutty novels.
“I need to pee.” I wiggled uncomfortably as the male pushed my gurney back into the corridor. No joke. My bladder situation had reached critical status, and if I didn’t empty it imminently, I’d embarrass myself, which would hurt my badass bitch witch vibe.
Blondie huffed in annoyance. “Unfasten the straps and I’ll take her to the bathroom.” The male did as he was told and then imitated a statue as I awkwardly clambered off the gurney, my legs stiff and achy.
The corridor stretched away in either direction, with metal doors at each end. White walls, white tiles, and bright white strip lights.Someone needed to add some color to the place. All this white was way too much for my delicate eyes.
“Don’t waste your time trying to escape,” the witch said in a bored tone, leading me into a small bathroom with a washbowl and toilet. “You won’t get far.”
“Where are we?” There was no door on the cubicle, which meant no privacy. Luckily for me, my bladder had never been shy.
The witch tapped her fingers impatiently on the counter while I washed my hands, but she didn’t bother answering my question. So I tried a different approach.
“Where’s Alaric?”
That raised a heavily tweezed eyebrow. Didn’t she realize pencil-thin eyebrows were so nineties? Or so I’d heard Demelza say while passing through the common room one evening.
I silently muttered thanks to the goddess that Alaric had toasted that judgmental bitch before pasting a friendly smile on my face.
“Okay, so sensitive questions are off the menu. Fine, I get it.” The witch pushed me back to where the taciturn male waited. He stared at the floor, refusing to meet my eyes. Goddess, was he a prisoner too?
“Are you being held against your will?” I whispered to him as he pointed to the gurney. “Blink once for yes or twice for no.”
He blinked once before shaking his head and blinking twice in quick succession.
I exhaled with relief. It was bad enough that I had to rescue Alaric. Any more hangers-on would stretch my mental and physical capabilities. It wasn’t as if I had a plan, after all.
