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I gazed at the lapis lazuli, a sudden thought occurring to me. What was this but a bastardized tracking device? I couldn’t give it to Hellaphine—the guards would for sure check her for any weapons or other objects when they moved her. But I could tie the spell to the stone, ensuring it would work across realms.
It would no longer work for Kyla and me, but Nathaniel would be able to find her. Plus, if she were here, I knew she’d be telling me to stop deliberating and help Hellaphine.
“I need some of your blood,” I told her.
She nodded, holding out her hand. I found a clean throwing knife and made a shallow cut in her forearm, before turning her arm over until a few drops spilled onto the stone.
My heart stumbled. This was one of those times when I had to use my power, but my imagination provided me with all kinds of repercussions—most of them involving Nathaniel dying in front of me.
He was suddenly there, his arm wrapped around my waist. “You can do this. I’ll keep you safe.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” I gritted out.
He pressed a kiss to my cheek. I scowled, but the feel of him pressed against me was helping me summon my courage.
I concentrated, reaching for the strand of power that would help me with this spell. It wasn’t a large amount of magic—or particularly difficult—but it needed to be precise.
My power leaped forward, as if it had been waiting for this moment. I clamped down on it, only allowing the smallest tendril free.
Control.
There.
I reached for the stone and poured my power into it as I twisted the spell. When my eyes opened, the stone glowed.
I let out a shaky breath.
“The lapis lazuli will alert me when you cross into our realm, and I’ll be able to track you. But it’s likely that the lab has some kind of ward in place that prevents this sort of thing. They’ve stayed hidden for years at this point.”
She took a deep breath. “I understand.”
“How does it work?” Nathaniel asked.
“It’ll glow like this when Hellaphine’s in our realm. We can place the stone on a map, and it will show us an approximate location. It’s not exact, but it’ll help.”
His smile was all bemused pride, and I wanted to preen. Unfortunately, there was no time for that.
“We need to go before we lure whatever is coming here,” I said.
Hellaphine’s eyes filled. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me until we find you.”
“You’ve given me the first glimpse of hope I’ve had since my sister was arrested.”
“What’s your sister’s name?”
“Kostana.”
I gave Hellaphine what I hoped was a confident nod. She smiled back at us.
We continued walking down the corridor, and my chest clenched at the sight of so many empty cells. The seelie king was handing over his own people to be experimented on and killed.Thiswas how he was keeping them in line. All a dictator needed to do was present someone with a fate worse than death, and suddenly, that spark of insurrection was extinguished by a flood of self-preservation.
Picking up our pace, we pushed through the next door. I could practically feel the king’s wards targeting us for our use of magic. It was only a matter of—
The floor beneath us was turning to liquid.
“Fuck.”
