I turn, heart slamming in my chest.
They’re back. But one look at them tells me everything I don’t want to know.
Jace walks in first, his face pale under the low lights, his arm still in a sling. His hand is shaking, though he thinks he hides it by clenching it into a fist. Luca follows behind him, jaw tight, knuckles raw. Noah trails last, carrying his tablet pressed against his chest like it might stop his heart from falling out. Dakota is last, her head hanging.
But there are only four of them.
Not five.
“Where is she?” The words rip out of me before I can stop them.
No one answers.
Jace’s gaze flicks up, meets mine for half a second, and then drops again. That’s all it takes for my stomach to turn to ice.
“She’s not—” My voice breaks. I swallow hard, forcing it steady. “Tell me she’s fine. Tell me you found her.”
Silence.
My blood roars in my ears. I take a step toward Jace, then another. “You were supposed to protect her.” My voice shakes, but not from fear—from fury. “But you just had to get injured. Of all days!”
Jace flinches like I hit him. “Maeve?—”
“Don’t,” I snap, shoving him hard in the chest. “Don’t you dare say my name like that. You lost her! Youlosther! You promised me you’d watch out for her!”
“I wasn’t even there!” He throws his hand up.
Luca moves fast, grabbing my arm before I can shove him again. His grip is firm but not cruel. “Maeve, stop?—”
“Let go of me!” I struggle against him, but his voice cuts through mine—grounded.
“It’s not his fault!” Luca barks, the words slicing through the room. His usual lazy confidence is gone, replaced by something darker. His brown eyes burn, rimmed red. “It was Daniel. You think Jace wanted this? You think any of us did?”
The name hits me like a slap.Daniel.That sick bastard.
I whirl towards Dakota. “What happened?”
“W-what?” Her eyes are comically wide.
“What. Happened.” I get in her face. “You were with her! Why did you leave her side?”
Dakota lifts her chin. “We got separated. There were too many people there. I thought she could handle it. It’s not my fault she couldn’t and got kidnapped.”
I raise my hand and slap her across the face with everything I’m feeling.
The room is silent.
My chest heaves, rage tangling with grief until I can’t tell which is which. My knees feel weak. I back up a step, moving away from Dakota.
Jace finally speaks, his voice low, raw. “As soon as I heard, I raced over there. We searched for her. Every inch of that yard.” He swallows hard, eyes glassy. “There wasn’t anything we could use to find her.”
The fire in my chest rages on, stoked by the weight of his words. “She can’t just be gone,” I whisper. “Not Iz. She wouldn’t let him win.”
Noah steps forward. He looks wrecked. “We’ll find her,” he says, but it’s barely more than a whisper. “We have to.”
Lucian’s voice is a low rumble from behind us. “You will. But not tonight. You’re all exhausted. She’s resourceful. If she’s alive—and I believe she is—she’ll find a way to survive until we can get to her.”
His faith in her should comfort me. It doesn’t.
