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He knew what the edge of madness felt like. It had been his constant companion for the last six months, and, right now, it was knocking on his door hard.
Time was running out. He glanced at Declan.
For the both of them.
Something caught his attention then, a tingle of energy that didn’t belong. His animal shifted, and he was immediately on edge. Someone was there.
A cough sounded from just outside the chamber. It was low, rumbling. He swung around and bared his teeth.
“What the hell you boys doing down here?”
Two long legs stepped through the opening, and Julian relaxed as a tall, powerfully built man slipped inside. His eyes were a crazy shade of silver-gray, and they shimmered in the gloom. He spit to the side, and his mouth opened into a smile.
“Welcome back,” Cracker said gruffly as he looked at Declan and Julian. “You both look like shit.”
Chapter 18
Jaden watched as Cracker crossed to Julian and Declan.
“How the hell?” she asked, shocked to see him.
“Jaxon dispatched him to the area. If you’d checked in with us before leaving, you would have known that.”
She ignored Nico’s reprimand. “How did he get down here?”
Nico’s eyes were fixed upon the ex-soldier. He shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea”—he moved away from her—“but I’m going to find out.”
Jaden watched as Julian shook the man’s hand. Even with Cracker, an old friend of the Castilles, he was stiff, awkward. Her gaze fell to the scars on his chest.
Something twisted inside her as she studied them covertly. The skin looked raw, the edges of the scars red and tender. She could be mistaken, but it looked like there were more than before. Was it possible?
Julian stepped back as Declan and Cracker exchanged greetings, his face was blank, devoid of any form of emotion. She studied him for a few moments, noticed the whiteness around his mouth, the lips clamped tight, and the stiff line of his shoulders.
He looked up, and, for a second, their eyes met, and she was taken aback by the pain that hung deep in their depths, however briefly. He looked haunted.
The moment passed just as quick, and the cold hard lines of his face returned once more.
She turned away from the men, and whispered to Finn, “You sure there’s nothing here?”
Finn shrugged his shoulders. “Not that I can see, but I’ve not had time to explore yet.”
Jaden bit her lip as her eyes wandered back to Cracker and the boys. Nico had moved toward them, and they were deep into conversation. She glanced back at the opening in the wall, then looked down at Finn.
She nodded and slipped through, the eagle knight right behind her.
This chamber was much larger, the air cool yet still thick with the damp stale odor of old earth. Again the walls appeared to be nothing more than bare, gray rock. She followed Finn as he passed his hands over the ancient limestone. Energy sizzled along his fingers, yet nothing was revealed to her.
“You see anything?”
“No.” Finn sighed. “There’s nothing here.”
Jaden swore and paced in a circle. Her skin was slick, flushed with the sheen of sweat, and she shivered as cool air rushed over her body. Her teeth chattered, and the nervous energy in her gut was making her nauseous. Time was running out. Had she just wasted a precious amount of it?
She’d been so sure she’d find answers here. Instead, she’d found a crazy sun god and his band of freaky phantom knights.
She sighed in frustration. It was an emotion she was getting way too familiar with, and she gritted her teeth as her gaze followed Finn. He moved along the walls, his hands touching the surface carefully. She heard muted conversation coming from the small chamber they’d just exited.
“How did you find us?” she asked suddenly.
