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“What about the others? Are they okay?” I asked, my mind drifting towards the four still in the building. I couldn’t leave without knowing they were okay.
Knox began moving us deeper into the woods as he spoke. “The fight is over and we won. Eli doesn’t have a scratch on him. Maeve took a stray bullet but is fine and will stay fine. Madden and Wilder are also okay, just looking for you.”
A deep breath I didn’t know I was holding left me, my entire body feeling lighter than a moment before. They were all safe. And Kalani was safe at Willow Grove. We were all okay for at least one more day. As we continued to walk further into the woods, I wondered what Knox’s plan was. Shouldn’t we be heading back to the trucks to take us back to the academy?
“Knox, where are we going? We need to go back with everyone.”
Knox ignored my question, his steps quickening as we ventured further and further into the forest. Using as much strength as I could, I forced him to stop. I wouldn’t let him ignore me. There was too much in my life that was unknown, I wasn’t going to stand for more.
“Where are we going?” I punctuated each word with a pause, pulling my arm out of his grasp.
Huffing in frustration, Knox regripped my arm. “Do you not realize what just happened? They weren’t even going to just put you in the Hunters path. They were ready to murder you themselves. Our time is running out Halley. We need to find the Sanctum Library.”
I understood his words and why he was stressing out. I knew that the Council wouldn’t stand to have me alive for much longer but “We need to get back to Willow Grove. That was the plan. We grab everyone and then head out.”
We couldn’t just leave everyone else behind. If we were truly running out of time, none of us would be safe, not when we knew things others didn’t. Not when Kalani still had her own secret we were keeping from the professors and Council.
Spinning me towards him, Knox palmed both my cheeks, his gaze burning into mine. “We aren’t going back Halley. They’ll have you killed within seconds.”
“But what about your plan?” I didn’t know Knox as well as the others, but I knew he lived by his plans. He needed the control that they brought.
“Fuck the plan. The new plan is to keep you alive no matter the cost. You’re a once in a lifetime Halley, and we will not risk that.”
His words, my mother’s words that he hadseen, struck me. And good or bad, I knew there was much more to come.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Eli
It was over. Bodies were strewn across the floor, Divines and Hunters alike, but it was over. I waited for the relief to come, but all I could focus on was that Halley was nowhere to be found. When Madden had mouthed her name to me, I could feel the fear wafting off him. She was in trouble and he couldn’t get to her. And due to the group of men and women “protecting” me, I couldn’t either. But now, we were no longer fighting and all I wanted was to find my girl and make sure she was safe.
Pushing through the Guard members standing in front of me, I jogged over to Madden and Wilder.
“Where is she?” I snapped, my usual calm exterior dropping in the face of Halley’s danger.
Madden growled under his breath, tugging on his long hair in frustration. “She was low on power and so I sent her back towards the door. The last thing that I heard was her calling my name through the mental link and then nothing. I can’t find her and I can’t hear her anymore.”
“I couldn’t see or hear her either. It’s like she disappeared.” Wilder added, looking slightly frustrated himself. His feelings towards Halley seemed to go back and forth each time I saw him, but I was thankful that right now he seemed worried about her whereabouts as much as us.
The three of us stood there, not sure what to do. If only Knox were here, he’d have a plan for us. Speaking of, I wasn’t sure where Knox was either.
“Have either of you seen Knox? Or can sense him?” I questioned Madden and Wilder but both shook their heads in denial.
I tried to reassure myself that if Knox and Halley were both missing, it probably meant they were together. That she was safe and they were both already headed back to Willow Grove. Unfortunately, that thought was smashed when a soft hand landed on my forearm. Turning towards the touch, I met Maeve’s concerned gaze.
Checking over her first, I made sure she was okay. I knew Kalani and Halley would want to make sure everything was okay with her before they concerned themselves with their own issues. Besides a few scrapes and blood scattered across her arms and clothing, she seemed to be in one piece.
“What do you know?” I asked her, because her eyes told me she knew more than the rest of us.
Madden and Wilder both leaned in closer, creating a small bubble around Maeve, so no one else could easily listen in.
“I saw a member of the Guard take Halley outside and she looked terrified. I was trapped in a corner so I couldn’t make it to her. I don’t know what else happened.”
Madden’s growl vibrated throughout the room and Wilder quickly slapped a hand on his shoulder, hinting that he needed to calm down. We couldn’t make a scene, not with so many members of the Guard watching. Thankfully, Maeve seemed to be the most levelheaded of us at the moment and continued speaking.
“We don’t know what happened, but we can’t do anything right now. We need to go back to Willow Grove as if nothing happened. Then we can grab Kalani and if Halley isn’t there, we continue with Knox’s plan. Madden, you’ll be able to easily track them.”
None of us seemed happy with the plan, simply leaving Halley behind, possibly hurt, but unfortunately, Maeve was right. We couldn’t draw attention to ourselves, not yet. One enemy may have been defeated, but the other was still breathing down our necks, more dangerous than the former.
