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She shakes her head. “No. It’s the Daughters of Eris.”
My mom hisses out a breath at the name of Antonia’s coven, hating them as much as I do.
“What about them?”
“They’re attacking the pack in Parry Sound where we found you,” she says, the words coming out rushed.
“But how?” I ask, looking around as if Antonia is going to jump out from behind a tree and take me back.
“I don’t know, but she’s saying you’re the only person she’ll talk to…” I look at my mother and back to Skarlyt. I am ready totell her that I would die a happy man if I never had to see that woman again, but she isn't done. “Loukas—I’m sorry?—”
“What is it?”
“She has hostages.”
That one word changes everything; I turn to my mom.
“Take care of the kids, I have to go.”
My mom grips my hands tighter as if she can keep me here. “Let someone else go. Please,” she begs, placing her hands on my face, tears streaming down her own. “I just got you back. If you go to her again, I’ll lose you forever, I just know it.”
“Ma. I can’t just leave them to clean up my mess,” I tell her, gently removing her hands from my face and reaching up to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “Please take care of the kids.” I don’t wait for her to answer, letting go of her hands and reaching out to Skarlyt.
Just like the first time I teleported, when we arrive, I’m a little woozy, but it passes quickly. “She grabbed two children on their way home from school before they crossed the boundary,” Skarlyt begins to fill me in as we walk. “She can’t get onto pack lands because of that boundary, and despite having the children hostage, they’re not tied into the spell so they can’t act as a bridge between the two.”
“Why doesn’t the pack here live on the island with you?” I ask, keeping up with her, the faint sounds of snarls beginning to float through the air.
“The people here are the ones who didn’t want to leave society and Aryn and Lucien have graciously agreed to be the go-between. It’s become sort of a waypoint for supernaturals in need of rescue. Besides, it’s our main source of income. The humans rent out cabins at the three resorts surrounding pack land yearly and pay very well.”
“Wait,” A blonde woman says, materializing in front of the two of us.
“Opal? What are you doing here?” Skarlyt asks, stepping closer to her.
Opal leans over whispering something in Skarlyt’s ear, the latter sneaking looks of concern at me as she does before stepping back and letting Opal walk closer to me.
“I know you and I have never met, but I need you to listen to me.”
“Okay…”
She closes her blue eyes and takes a deep breath. When she speaks, her voice takes on a more ethereal air.
“Beware the siren's call that echoes through the labyrinth of compromise. Shadows may whisper the allure of sacrifice, but within the dance of negotiation, guard the sacred ember of self. For in the hostage's ransom, the true cost might be your own liberation.”
She doesn’t wait for a response, disappearing before my eyes, leaving me standing in the middle of an unfamiliar forest wondering what the fuck she was talking about.
“Did you understand any of that?” I ask Skarlyt.
“You’ll know what she meant when the time is right.”
“How will I know when the time is right?” I question, as she begins to walk toward the snarls once more, following behind her.
“Trust me. You’ll know,” she says, giving me a pointed look that tells me she definitely knows more than what she’s saying.
“Just send the children back to us and leave. No one needs to get hurt.” I recognize Aryn’s voice.
“I already told you. I will only speak with Loukas. I know he’s here. That you’re harboring him,” Antonia sneers.
“I’m here,” I call out, making my way through the trees, stopping short when I see Antonia, along with a good portion of her coven spread out around her. It’s the two children, both close to Zach’s age, that Anthony and Roman have restrainedwith their magic that make my heart race. Their eyes are wide with fear, tears streaming down their faces. “Let them go.”
