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I pushed open the barred door and slipped inside. Then I crept across the room toward the flash of light I’d seen. No beasts remained. Someone must have removed their bodies after the fight. In the dim light, I could just make out a cluster of figures huddled together at the far end of the arena. I ran to them.
“Nephew,” Sorcha said in greeting when I reached her. She took a step toward me and reached out her hand. I saw the flash of gold on her wrist and realized she was wearing Godda’s bracelet. I grasped her hand in both of mine and glanced past her at the two Fae females huddled against the wall in identical tattered white garments. They shivered and stared at me with wide eyes.
“Where are you taking them?” I asked.
“Through there,” she said. She nodded toward the tunnel entrance I had seen earlier.
“Do you know where it leads?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “They kept the beasts back there, and they didn’t bring them through the dungeons. So they must have let them in that way. If they’re conjuring them in through here, then there must be a place where the wards are relaxed.”
“Who created these wards, those keeping us here and the ones cloaking the temple ruins?” In those first moments of joy, when I saw that Sorcha lived, it didn’t occur to me that she might have been the one helping Edric and his Hunters. Even now, I dreaded her response would reveal that my long-lost aunt had acted against her kin, even if it had been against her will.
Her eyes flicked to the prisoners she’d set out to free. Then, in a hushed voice, she said, “Eventually they break. He tortures them for information. Then, when they can take no more, but before he’s exhausted them beyond their ability to conjure, he bargains with them.”
“For protection?”
“For magic that will hide this place, magic that will keep Fae from escaping, anything he thinks will help him. Once they’ve completed their end of the bargain, he kills them. He knows we can’t undo what another has done. He knows the bargains will remain so long as he does. He makes sure of it.”
“He hasn’t used you this way?”
She shook her head.
“Why didn’t you warn them?”
Her blue eyes glared at me. “Don’t you think I’ve tried? You don’t know what he does to them. What he’ll do to you when he finds you. Come with us.” Her hood had fallen back, revealing her golden hair, now loose and cascading around her face. Nearly as ancient as my mother, she still appeared young enough to be my older sister.
I shook my head. “I can’t leave without Eve. I have to go back for her.”
“Our responsibility is to our people.” She looked over her shoulder at the Fae who were waiting for her near the tunnel entrance. “You’d put their lives at risk for the sake of one human?” Of the seven sisters, Sorcha looked the most like Godda. They’d each had different sires, since male Fae could only sire one child, but Godda and Sorcha, the oldest and youngest, had ended up looking nearly identical despite that fact. Sorcha hadn’t said so, but her appearance may have been what had ultimately prevented Edric from killing her.
I wanted to join her, but Evelyn was defenseless and innocent. She deserved a chance to live. “It’s my fault she’s here.”
Sorcha narrowed her eyes at me. “Your feelings for her are getting in the way of your responsibilities. Did you come here to save her? Or to put an end to the Hunt?”
“I can do both.” I’d find a way to destroy Edric before he could harm anyone else, even if it meant my own death.
She shook her head. “You know what you have to do. Most of the guards are at the party, but our absence will be noted soon. We need to go,” she said.
“Go,” I said. “Get them to safety. Find Ari, if you can. Tell her where we are.” I knew she’d tell Ari and the others more than that. She’d tell them about my distraction, and Evelyn would be at Fiona’s mercy if we got out of here alive. But I couldn’t help that now. I needed backup.
Sorcha nodded. Then she turned and guided the others into the passage. She paused in the tunnel entrance and glanced at me over her shoulder.
“Good hunting,” she whispered. Then she disappeared.
I turned and made my way back across the arena. We had a way out. Now I needed to get Evelyn and find whatever was holding Edric here so that I could destroy him. But first, I needed a weapon. I scoured the arena with my magic, searching for anything sharp and made from iron. Something near the wall caught my attention, and I switched directions to investigate.
My ball of light illuminated a hell beast claw lying partly covered in dirt on the arena floor. The claw was coated in a thick layer of dried blood. I’d never had much talent for Elemental magic, despite having such a powerful Elemental for a sire. Still, like any good apprentice, I knew the basics.
Cradling the claw in one hand, I focused on the iron in the dried blood. With my other hand, I reached for one of the metal rings imbedded in the stone wall. Similar rings, likely used to chain up the beasts occupying the arena when they weren’t fighting, dotted the walls at regular intervals. I couldn’t manufacture a weapon from nothing, but I could alter the makeup of the claw, so long as I had a source of additional material to pull from. Recalling an old lesson, I swapped out the organic material from the claw with iron from the metal ring until I was left with an iron claw and an organic ring.
I needed to find the object holding Edric here if I hoped to banish him completely. But even if I could only eliminate him temporarily, it might be enough to get Evelyn to safety and buy time until Arabella arrived. I tucked the claw into my pants and exited the arena the way I’d come in. Then I conjured myself back to my hiding place on the balcony overlooking the party.
15
Nigel spun mearound the dance floor. It gave my body something to do while my mind churned through everything I’d learned about Edric and Godda and my eyes searched the room for any sign of Liam.
“Why are you helping them?” I asked, looking toward the Hunters gathered at the edges of the dance floor.
