“Room check?” I mouthed the words at Orela as her eyes widened in horror. A softer rap sounded from across the room, and my head whipped behind me as a hand stuck out from behind a curtain, motioning for us to follow.
Orela began moving in that direction, pushing me along with her, and I was too stunned to speak as I looked between my sister and the curtained hand in shock.
“This way,now,” the unknown voice hissed as I found myself being dragged into a new room. “There isn’t much time.”
Orela began pushing me toward the closet in the room.
“You’ve got three minutes until they get here.” The male who’d gestured for us spoke. Orela held his gaze for a moment, nodding before she shoved me into the closet and began speaking in a rapid rush of words.
“This shoot . . . it will drop you into the basement—the laundry room, to be exact. From there, there should be a window cracked open. You will have five minutes to slip out before the temple goes on lockdown when Lucanus arrives.”
“How can you be sure?” I questioned her, worried that her telling me would alter the version of the future she had seen. “How are so many people helping you right now?”
“It doesn’t matter. We all get visions—flashes of futures. We follow what we can. Right now, this path, it’s the only choice you have for the time being,” she continued in a rush. “Listen to me . . . there are so many moving pieces—different doors—choices to be made. Not much time, out of options?—”
“Ore,” I interrupted my sister. “You’re not making any sense. I need clear sentences, please.”
Her head nodded, the male from the other room calling out a minute’s warning. “One week,” she stated. “When the moon is at its peak. That’s the best opportunity I’ve seen for you to return.” She shook her head for a moment before continuing. “Even then, I don’t—I’m not—it’s risky, Rae. I can’t leave . . . not now . . . it’s not right—the timing—the visions. Not yet. But you . . . go.”
“I’ll be back for you, Ore.” I pulled my sister into a hug as she clung to me for a moment before she pushed off from me, gesturing toward a hardly visible cutout in the floor, indicating for me to go. “I promise.”
With a deep breath, I stepped into the gap, feeling the air whoosh by me before I could give the decision a second thought.
“You did what?”Finn shouted from my kitchen as I sat in the living room of my apartment, surrounded by Emberly, Sage, and Kira.
“How could you?” He was a storm of fury as he barged into the living room, startling Loxl, as the fennex fox leapt in his sleep, a high-pitched yelp filling the air.
“I’m sorry,” I replied.
“After all this time,” Finn stated bitterly, “you still don’t eventrustus enough to ask for help.”
“It’s not that—” I protested. “This was just . . . It was something I had to do on my own. Orela is in this mess because ofme. And I just thought that if I got her out, then at least one thing would be okay.”
“We would have helped,” Emberly stated as she studied me, her gaze flicking from my face, down to my arm, then back again.
“I know,” I admitted as I looked around at my friends before my gaze settled on Kira. “I’m sorry, okay? I was so close, just?—”
“We’ll get her out,” Kira affirmed as I held my youngestsister’s eyes. “You know we will. Now, we just need to make plans based on what Ore told you.”
“But Rae,” Emberly added. “Youneedto let us in. Let us help . . . that’s what friends are for.”
Finn didn’t say anything. His eyes narrowed on me in blatant frustration as I nodded my head in agreement.
My phone lit up on the coffee table, and the name across the screen caught my eye.
Callum.
“Well?” Emberly asked as I stared at the device, unmoving for a moment. “Are you going to answer it?”
My head gave a tentative nod as I slid theAcceptbutton, and his voice flooded the device in a demand.
“What did you do? Are you okay?”
I froze, every part of me on alert as his words came over in a growl.
“What do you mean?” I asked, well aware that every one of my friends was watching me closely. With a glance between my friends, I turned and walked into my bedroom as I shut the door.
“I know you were inpain, Raelyna. I could feel every stars-damned second of it . . . not to mention your emotions were flitting around like a tornado. So stop playing games with me and tell me what happened.”
