Ava relayed the information to Raine.
A few moments later, Maeryn emerged from the dark of the woods. “Aro is in a metal cage,” she said in her lightly accented voice. “We saw him when we were fighting.”
“How much longer will the distractions last?” asked Ava.
“Maybe twenty minutes. One of you will come with me and I can melt Aro’s cage.”
“We’ll both come,” Raine said.
Ava shook her head. “I’m going to find Cas.”
Raine placed his hands on her shoulders. “We’re supposed to stick together. That was the plan.”
Irritation raced through her. “Well, we expected him to be in the tent. Plans change. I’m going to go find him. Please don’t try to stop me. I have an idea. You two go free Aro.”
Screams and shouts still echoed from the far end of camp as the fae continued to battle the daemons. They had to hurry.
“Ava…”
“There’s no time to argue. Go. Now.”
Raine hesitated.
“Please, Raine.”
“Let’s go, captain,” Maeryn said. “The princess is right. We must focus on something we are able to do right now. She is capable of finding her soulbond, yes? Don’t you agree?”
Raine ran a hand through his hair. “Yes. Alright, let’s go.”
Raine and Maeryn disappeared, heading back toward camp, leaving Ava alone in the woods. She opened her palm and traced the scar that lay there—the soulbond mark. The symbol left behind when two souls accepted their destiny. “I’m coming, Cas,” she whispered.
Clenching her fist, she addressed her companion.“Luna. Let Aro know that Raine and Maeryn are coming to free him. I’m going to find Cas.”
On it.
It was time to try her idea.
Ava knelt behind a tree and placed her hands on the dirt. She’d been able to call animals in the past for help and she pleaded this would work as she closed her eyes and spoke into her mind, reaching out for any creatures who might be able to hear her.
“I’m looking for the general. Brown hair and a beard. Aro, the bear, is his companion. He’s a prisoner somewhere here. Please help me find him. I don’t know where he is.”
She remained, urging the creatures of the forest to hear her pleas. It didn’t take long before she felt a disturbance. Something cold and scaly wound its way around her fingers and she opened her eyes. A little turquoise snake looked up at her with bright pink eyes and flicked its tongue.
“Do you know where he is?” she whispered.
The snake nodded, then slithered through her fingers into the grass, Ava following.
Deeper into the woods they went. Where was it taking her? Surely, he wasn’t this far away. Moonlight illuminated the path through the dense canopy of trees, Ava’s sharp fae sight helpingas she plunged on, quickening her pace. It wouldn’t be long before the distraction was over or the daemons learned what they were up to.
The snake paused behind a large tree, gesturing with its head toward a rocky hillside covered in moss and vines. A dark entrance leading into the bluff stood a few yards ahead, flanked by half a dozen daemon soldiers.
Casimir was in a cave.
“Thank you,” she whispered as the animal disappeared.
“Luna, I think I found Casimir. He’s in a cave on the east side. Let everyone know.”
You must hurry. The rendezvous is in fifteen minutes.
