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Back off! I snarled back. Maybe he should stay dormant, so he wouldn’t be such an opinionated, aggressive asshole. And if he thought he was more dominant than me and tried to take the reins, he’d be in for a world of hurt. I wasn’t even known to be merciful to myself. You won’t find her in the sky. They took her somewhere else.
Where? he demanded.
That’s what I’m trying to suss out. Be silent and let me think if you want to help! I said harshly. The day will come when I need you to be in your beast form. But the day isn’t today. So fuck off!
He huffed out a jet of fire, as if that could unnerve me while I was already on the edge. I’ll give you one day to find our mate!
I ignored his threat, regretting my bond with this asshole.
A rush of footsteps came my way. The other heirs had arrived at the scene.
“Barbie was taken, wasn’t she?” Cade shouted his question, panting from running, his face paling. Usually, nothing could unnerve the high mage.
Louis sniffed, then twin crimson rings formed around his pale blue irises. “They bled her! She shed their blood too. Barbie was taken!”
“I felt her distress while I was in the Jacuzzi in my house,” Silas said, his amber eyes glowing. “She and I have a bond too, as she’s no doubt a shifter. Her animal called to my alpha wolf for protection!”
“We all felt Barbie’s panic for a second before her call was muffled,” Rowan said grimly, his silver eyes shining with fury before he stalked toward the perimeter to check around.
I wasn’t too pleased to realize that the other heirs were all drawn to her as well. Power called power. That’s what it was.
Growling, Silas shifted to a large wolf, bouncing here and there to sniff around before he ran off to find where the trail ended.
I could dismiss the heirs. I had every right to do so, as Barbie was a member of my house, but I didn’t. I swallowed my pride, as I needed all the help I could get. I even let Silas participate in our joint effort.
While the shifter heir had always hated me, he also held a grudge against Barbie for rejecting him, so I had no idea why he’d even bothered to come and help. Perhaps he just didn’t want to miss out on any chance to show off his power. While he thought he was in constant competition with me, I’d never really engaged. If he ended up being the one who found Barbie, he’d have bragging rights. If he did, I’d bow to him. I’d bow to anyone who located my Barbie.
Rock returned soon, shaking his head in dismay. Silas also came back to the clearing. The werewolf and the wolf stared at each other for a long second, snarled, then shifted back to their humanoid forms.
“The trail died right here, Your Highness,” Rock said. “There’s no other trail.”
“Guys, look!” Cade called, an incredulous expression on his solemn face.
I tore my gaze from a silver tree, thick blood coating its bark. The blood must’ve erupted from a severed neck. The enemy’s witch magic hadn’t erased every hint of a brutal battle in their hurry to leave the scene. A small measure of comfort and relief settled in my stomach, for I knew that it wasn’t Barbie’s blood. My little scorpion had been fierce, but she’d been outnumbered.
I turned to look at where Cade’s wand pointed—a cluster of white flowers sprouted out from the earth where Barbie had shed blood.
Pain stabbed my chest. Acid rage flooded me as I pictured how those motherfuckers had made her suffer. My dragon thrashed within me, bellowing and demanding to slay every single one who had hurt our mate.
I’d have gutted them if they were still here, I said, clenching my teeth, as it was getting hard to leash him. We have a lot of powers, but neither of us is a tracker. We aren’t good at detective work either, so we must cooperate with others to ensure our mate’s safe return. Keep watching diligently, so even if I miss something, you won’t. Got it?
I won’t even blink! he snarled, peeking out of my eyes in a nasty mood.
“I’m not surprised to see the flowers bloom from where Barbie’s blood soaked the earth,” Louis said. The vampire prince had drunk from her when she was his squire. I gave him a hard look, a muscle twitching in my jaw. He’d never take a drop of blood from Barbie again. “Barbie’s blood is very powerful, as pure as a goddess’s nectar.”
“There hasn’t been any god or goddess roaming for an eon,” Rowan said, frowning. All the heirs had returned after they spread out to find the trail, which led back here. “Let’s focus on helping find Barbie. The battle started and ended in this circle.” The fae heir swept his large hand across the area. “They came to her from all directions to cut off her escape route.”
Silas sniffed and nodded. “There must be at least two dozen of them.”
Rock confirmed, “With another dozen on the perimeter to make sure she wouldn’t get help.”
I knew they were trying to be objective, letting cold logic guide them to sort out the scenario of the kidnapping, yet I was still utterly pissed at everyone. Hatred and anxiety lapped at me as I pictured how my foes had dragged my mate off.
“What did they want from Barbie?” Cade pondered. “We know that Barbie is special. But what made someone send a small army to come after one girl? What are we missing?”
“Barbie isn’t just any girl,” Louis drawled. “She’s been around for a couple of months, yet no one knows her origin.”
“Don’t fixate on her origin!” I hissed, my jaw clenched in fury. “Focus on who the fuck took her!”
