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Unlike the last lab I’d explored—the one that still gave me nightmares—this lab wasn’t empty. And that meant I didn’t have the luxury of giving in to the terror and rage that churned in my stomach.
That was for later. Right now, it took everything in me to keep the ward around my team. I’d be forced to drop it soon—hiding the bus had drained me. But HFE members were jumping out of hidden corners, crouching behind doors, and firing at us with everything they had.
Their bullets sank into my ward. I lowered it strategically, allowing the wolves to dart out and slash throats.
“Surrender and live.” Nathaniel’s voice carried over the sound of screaming. “Fight and die.”
Several HFE members put their hands up. They were instantly handcuffed and pushed toward the door. Xander escorted them to the parking lot, where the FBI had arrived.
We were going straight down to the cells. Nathaniel stepped in front of me when the hall narrowed. I didn’t complain, but I did push my ward out until it enveloped him once more.
The light was dim, and the cells had been built beneath the ground. It was damp and chilly, and by the time we got to the bottom of the stairs, I was shivering with a mixture of cold and adrenaline.
“You came,” a hoarse voice said.
I spun. Hellaphine sat in the closest cage, a woman who looked similar enough to her to be her twin next to her. That woman was covered in bandages, her face pale. “I need a healer,” I called.
Tears were dripping down Hellaphine’s face. “They were going to kill her today,” she said. “Now that I’m here, they figured they didn’t need her anymore. I had morelifein me.”
“We’re here now.”
I glanced around, but Naomi was already stepping forward quickly, a set of keys in her hand. “One of the men who surrendered had these,” she said. Nathaniel grabbed them and unlocked the cage, but Hellaphine’s sister froze.
“Too many scary men.” Hellaphine gave him an apologetic look.
He just nodded.
Naomi stepped forward. “I’ve got this,” she said, her eyes filled with pity as she took in the seelie women. “You guys keep moving.”
Some of the prisoners didn’t even stir when we freed them. I took a deep breath. “We need more healers.”
Aubrey was leading a group of seelie men toward the exit, and he nodded at me. “We have more on the way. There are ambulances pulling into the parking lot, too.”
Nathaniel went still. “Evie.”
I whirled, my heart thudding at the way he’d said my name. But he’d moved several feet away and was staring at my uncle.
Eachann sat in the cage, his face bruised so badly, he was barely recognizable. I was standing in front of his cage before I realized I’d moved. I choked out a sob, and he opened his eyes.
“Evie. What the hell are you doing here?”
“You must be okay if you’re lecturing me. We’re breaking you out.”
He shook his head, but I caught the pride in his eyes. “Lorcan,” he said gruffly. “Meet your daughter.”
My breath froze in my lungs.
“It’s okay,” Nathaniel whispered in my ear. “He’s here, Evie. And he’s alive.”
I turned and looked at my father for the first time.
He smiled at me. “I should’ve known you’d be the one breaking us out. You’re a spitfire. Just like your mother.”
The world narrowed until all I could see was his face. He needed a shave. His eyes burned into mine, and his long, dark hair was matted with blood.
“Hi.”
His mouth curved up. “Hi.”
