I shook my head. “There wasn’t any city outside the windows. He has a permanent mansion.” I thought it through. “You found me here. Not in the mansion. Because you don’t know where it is. It’s not one of the locations the elves know about.”
His silence was confirmation.
“We’ll find it,” Reagan said. “The elves will search for it.”
What if they didn’t find the mansion? Then no help would come for them. They would be forced into the tunnel to dig the minerals for Madden’s bloodbane.
But I could find out where the place was. I could bring them there myself.
“I need to go back,” I said, my hand moving to my throat.
Reagan looked at me as though I had struck him, his eyes bulging with disbelief. “That’s not an option. Do you know what it felt like to find you gone?”
I glanced toward the alley mouth, as if Cahir’s shadow would be listening.
“They had Jack and Daria,” I explained. “He released them, but he’s still compelling other captives to serve him and other pigs. They’re all compelled, Caed. If I disappear here, Madden will understand exactly what happened. When we locate the mansion, he might have moved them already.”
“Jane,” he said incredulously, “do you want to walk back into a place where they will hurt you? Alone? That’s reckless, and Iwill notsacrifice you for anyone.”
“It won’t be a sacrifice because I have an idea. They keep me locked in an isolated room, mostly alone.” Reagan shook his head. I went on, “If we want to dismantle the Order, that proof will destroy them. He can be stopped for good if we expose what he’s doing. And that is not even everything.” I frowned as I tried to remember the conversation I heard. “I think he’s planning totake more captives for other places. There are other locations where he’s hiding them. Places that no one would be able to find them. They’ll be underground.”
My throat tightened. It was searing anger that fuelled my words. “I was there. There could be other citizens from our estate. Other hybrids like Clodagh Foley. What if it was Gwin there? Or Joy?”
I held his gaze. “Madden won’t kill me. He knows I can divine for him.”
It was all truth, though it didn’t mean I would be safe.
“We’ll think of something else,” Reagan muttered, tugging me against him.
“Like what?” I asked.
“Something easier. Something that includes you coming home. We’ll find another way to get the others.”
I knew Reagan well enough to read him. He was afraid.
My hands moved up his chest, over the tension locked in his shoulders. Somehow, being around him stoked my courage. “You didn’t want to wait for them to attack again. I don’t want to wait either. This would be not waiting, Caed. And I’ll be brought there anyway. We could turn it to our advantage.”
The silence that followed stretched too long, and I could see the conflict on his face. But if Cahir found us here, the chance would be gone, and I couldn’t allow that.
The thought of leaving those captives to the Order—those girls—made my insides riot. I couldn’t live with it, just as I couldn’t have said yes to Ladyship before. But like then, I would try to make it right.
“Trust me,” I said, “I need to return before Cahir notices you found me. You’ll have to lock the choker back on.”
His jaw clenched, his gaze dropping to the discarded choker on the ground. “You need to give me something,” he said at last.“A way to find you. Your blood didn’t lead me to you. It won’t guide me there.”
“That’s exactly what I’ll do,” I said without hesitation.
He searched my face, weighing the decision. “If you are not absolutely sure, I won’t risk your life. If you go back and I cannot reach you, Iwilltrade anything for you. Whatever he demands, I’ll give, so you have to be damn sure.”
The weight of that promise shook me. I knew he meant it.
Cupping his face, I nudged him down and kissed him. Reagan yielded instantly, giving me a demanding kiss that battled the lordly version of him who tried to be gentle and warm, and the animal inside him that wanted to claim and guard.
Both soothed the edge of my nerves.
“If you are trying to convince me,” he murmured against my lips, “this is not the way.”
“I heard what he said to you,” I whispered solemnly. “We will make him pay.”
