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“You know them?” Gage asks.
Chaz ignores him and turns his gaze to Drackus. “Any messages this time?”
Drackus slowly nods, and he glances at Leah in a way I really don’t fucking like.
“They took hostages this time. The fight club was just a public spot to send the message.”
“What hostages and what message?” Ella prompts.
Again, Drackus’s gaze drifts to my girl, and he gives me an apologetic look. I don’t want her to hear this. But before I can get her out of here, he answers.
“Bring the Aquarius, or never see them again. They stole twelve fey children who were recently rescued from the rings. The children were in a temporary home until they could find permanent living arrangements, since their parents were dead. Now… Now they have them. And they know how to restrain them, even the ones who have already started using magic.”
Leah goes stiff in my arms, and I curse while pulling her tighter against me. Her body is too rigid to loosen up though.
“How did they get those children?” Thad growls.
“We didn’t know about them. They were under Slade’s protection,” Drackus states flatly, and I go stiff this time.
That motherfucker still has to die.
Drackus blows out a weary breath. “We only know because one of the children escaped and was picked up by a human. The child tried contacting Slade, but couldn’t get ahold of him. It was a shifter—a new-to-power shifter.”
Thad groans, and I scrub my face.
“What does that mean?”
Leah asks quietly.
“It means the kid didn’t have control over his or her shifts, and emotional distress really fucks with you,” Thad explains, then turns back to Drackus. “Did the kid hurt the human?”
Drackus shakes his head. “No, but the human panicked and called 911. One of our dark users overheard the call while keeping tabs on the emergency lines. Kane had the boy shifter picked up and brought to a safe house. Then he sent me here to you. This is big. It needs big attention.”
“It needs my attention,” Leah states calmly, standing up.
I grab her arm, and everyone else stands too.
“Fuck no. You’re not going to them. We’ll save the kids. This isn’t our first ransom rodeo,” I tell her, jerking her to me.
The bonds… She shouldn’t be able to defy me. She shouldn’t be able to lie to me. Hell, she shouldn’t even have the ability to disappoint me.
But she’s not bonded. Or at least she doesn’t act like it. Somehow I didn’t bond her when I sired her, and I half blame her bloodline’s hex for having side effects.
“I can’t just sit here and pretend as though those kids’ lives aren’t in jeopardy because of me. I can’t pretend as though people aren’t dying because of me. I have to do something, Zee. My life isn’t more precious than any of theirs.”
She looks up at me with sad, pained eyes, and her lip trembles before she turns back to Drackus. She defied me, and she seems to be in no pain.
“Where are they?” she asks.
“Fuck no!” I bark, jerking her around to face me again.
“Zee’s right,” Chaz interjects. “We’ve handled these situations numerous times. If you go in, they’re not going to stop. They’ll keep doing what they’re doing, only they won’t be doing with a ‘purpose’ anymore. This isn’t because of you. They’re just tagging your name onto it as a way of getting what they want. Those kids will still be locked up. They’ll—”
“They’ll keep them to study,” Karma says as tears fill her eyes. “Like they did me. Like they did Kya. Like they did so many others.”
Kimber stands and grabs a knife from the table.
“What are you doing?” Gage asks her, grabbing her at the elbow.
