‘Do you have her phone number?’
‘I – yes but that’s not appropriate.’
‘Call her now.’
The woman blinked, but immediately did as he told her.
‘Hi, Chloe, there’s someone—’
Dylan snatched the phone off her. ‘My sister came to you. Where is she?’
There was a moment’s silence, but the earnest worry in his voice must have convinced her.
‘A man came and attacked her. I managed to get rid of him. She told me to hide for a while, but I saw the SUVs come and take her and a dark-haired man away.’
A roaring began in his ears.
‘They took her,’ he said to their father, and watched as a mask of rage filtered over his features. He nodded once and once more, as if deciding something.
A dark-haired man.That meant they had Kyan, too. Dylan wasn’t sure if that relieved him, or made this worse.
‘Stay hidden,’ Dylan said, and hung up the phone.
‘I’ll go and get your sister,’ their father said, stalking back out into the hallway as Dylan quickly made the woman gaping at her phone forget what she just saw. ‘You two get to Remi. I’ll get them to take me in to the Wake and get her out.’
‘What about your powers? Won’t that reveal you?’ Bells fretted, hurrying after him back down the hall.
‘I’d rather be revealed than leave her.’
They headed back out of the building to find two SUVs waiting. Four Empyreals stood in the street in front of them, with more in the cars. They weren’t all solid, stocky types, but there were enough of them that fighting them off would be near impossible. Dylan immediately shielded Bells.
‘Get in the car,’ one of the Empyreals ordered.
Bells
BELLS TRIED NOT TO PANIC AS THEY WEREUSHERED INTOthe SUV and their phones were taken. The doors were promptly locked as an Empyreal sat in between her and Dylan in the back seat. Their father had been put in the front with another.
Her mouth had gone dry as paper and she tried to temper her subtle shaking by gripping the car door with slick fingers.
‘Let me sit next to her,’ Dylan growled at the impassive Empyreal between them.
They didn’t answer and Bells swallowed hard. She would be strong, she had to be. There was no room for fear right now. They needed to get to Nicole and then they could figure this out. It would be okay.
But that might take hours, and there was nothing she could do in the meantime—
An idea struck her like a night-flecked dream. There was one thing shecoulddo while they travelled, one way she might be able to help.
But for that, she needed to sleep and she couldn’t do it naturally with this level of adrenaline and fear pumping through her.
She looked to her brother and momentarily mimed falling asleep. He frowned at her before a realisation made it through.
‘Bells,’ he said, voice laced with Influence, ‘go to sleep.’
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
Nicole
THEY DIDN’T DRIVE TO THE WAKE’S LONDONHEADQUARTERSlike Nicole had expected. They took a helicopter, and with every second of the ride Nicole’s stomach turned increasingly acidic. She kept wondering,why now?Why had the Wake moved on them earlier than they’d told Kyan?
