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"You work for him," I disagreed, swallowing all my rage and panic so I could speak calmly.3"He's the one you're collecting alphas for; he's the one who gave you the power to control other demons. Tell me I'm wrong," I challenged.
Wynvail was silent, staring out the bay window. "There's more to this than you think. I didn't wake up one day and decide to make a deal with a titan. I exist because—"
He shook his head, face hardening. I hadn't noticed when his expression changed, and I couldn't put my finger on what emotion I'd seen on his face.
Oh, he wasgood.But if he wanted to lay the bait of vulnerability, I wasn't going to take it.
"And you're all suicidal if you're even entertaining the thought of hunting down Cronus," Wynvail added, his sneer back in place.
A deep, guttural noise tore from my throat in response, and I was surprised to find three others joining me.
"We're not leaving Wane there," Harvey seethed, clenching his bronze hands into fists and physically restraining himself from leaping to his feet.
Wynvail shook his dark head. "It's a death sentence."
I froze. "If it's a death sentence for us, it is for Wane, too. And there's no force on Earth, Hell, or wherever the fuck else we end up that can keep me from my mate."
"He's alive because he's useful to Cronus," Wynvail disagreed. "Your death is more useful to him than your life. He’ll kill you. So even if I knew how to contact the titan, I wouldn't tell you."
I got to my feet slowly, my heart hammering fast. "You're lying."
"He summonsme.I'm his servant."
He wasn't lying; I could hear it, sense the truth in his bitter soul. My stomach dropped, any shred of hope I'd held onto unravelling.
My face was suddenly tight and hot.
I'd got to my feet to break Wynvail's face but instead I rushed out the door and walked as fast as I could down the hallway past the kitchen, heading for a staircase at the end. Anywhere was better than staying in that room and getting crushed by grief.
We didn’t know where to find Wane. I would lose him too.
"Haley?" Kai called, hurrying after me. "Where are you going?"
"The roof," I bit out, not turning as I took the stairs two at a time.
I heard the low murmur of Emlyn's voice, and Kai fell back, letting Em take his place. I raced past the second floor, struggling to breathe, and shoved open the door at the top, relieved it was unlocked. I honestly thought I would have cried if it stuck.
The terrace space wasn't big, just a rectangular space with the roof and chimney behind me and an iron fence in front. I grabbed the railing in white-knuckled hands, gulping down air, each breath faster and shorter. Wind grabbed my pink hair and twisted it through the air, but I barely noticed.
Emlyn didn't say a word. He just wrapped his arms around me from behind and held me as I gasped and shook, and eventually the gasps collapsed into sobs.
I turned, burying my face in his chest. One arm locked me tight to his body while he soothed long, comforting touches down my wings. He didn't stop until I could breathe again, until my tears dried. I couldn't have said how long we'd been out here. Longer than ten minutes, I knew that for sure.
"He's being tortured," I said finally, my voice a hoarse whisper. I had almost drowning a few times to thank for that sexy rasp. "I felt it. I felt hispain,Em, and I don't know how he's survived this long. If the titan's had him for a hundred years, what if—"
"We'll get him back," Emlyn murmured, fingers gentle on my wings. "And we'll all be there to help him heal. If he has nightmares and scars, well—he's not the only one. We can get him through."
"What if it's worse than how he was before? So much worse? It felt—like someone was cutting his shadows from him."
Emlyn stiffened, sucking in a sharp breath. It took him a moment to compose himself. "He's been through things so dark no one should ever have to experience them. But he was still starting to heal before the assassins found us. I've never seen him hide less than those last few months we had together."
I tilted my head back, my heart aching. "You remember?"
"Most of it," he agreed, brushing a long kiss to my forehead. "Enough to know Wane was broken before, and he began to heal. He can do it again."
But that wasn't a hundred years. That wasn't a titan.
"A titan, Em," I said, my voice cracking. "Atitanhas had my mate for a hundred years. Torturing him. Cutting his shadows and—and doing gods know what else—"
