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Ari’s expression twisted. “There was a bomb. Gage took command as third-ranked. Brie and I took charge of the survivors. He immediately relieved Aiden of duty and basically shoved him and Darian through the portal. He, Priest, and Oron stayed behind. We waited for them to come through, but they never did. Thane said based on what he saw of the bomb, it should have gone off minutes after we evacuated.” He stopped speaking.
Zoe froze in the street. “What aren’t you saying?”
Ari turned to her, his face a mask of grief. “We went back through, and there was nothing left.”
Zoe swayed, and Ari was instantly at her side. He scooped her up and resumed running, Kincaid sobbing, ran beside them.
“No. He’s alive. I would have felt it if he died, wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know, but I wanted you with us for any updates. You have that right,” Ari said, his face a mask of grief.
Once they got to the palace, Ari slowed his pace but didn’t put her down. They went immediately to the queen’s chambers. When they neared, they could hear bone-numbing roars from inside.
Ari winced. “Aiden’s awake.”
He opened the door, and they walked inside to face devastation. Aiden had flipped the table and stalked back and forth as he wrestled with his bear. To one side, the queen was seated between Darian and Brennus. All three of them were wrapped in palatable despair.
“Aiden, if you don’t fucking calm down, I’m going to get upset. And that will probably make me puke, then I could hurt our jellerbean!” Meryn threatened.
Aiden snarled at her.
Her eyes narrowed. “Did you seriously just snarl at me?”
Aiden huffed, but his erratic pacing slowed.
Meryn turned to her. “We know nothing for certain.”
“There was a crater, Meryn!” Darian exclaimed, tears streaming down his cheeks. He jumped to his feet. “I had to walk away for a second time! First with Keelan and now with my own brother. It should have been me!”
Brennus stood and pulled Darian into an unbreakable hug. Darian thrashed about until he lost strength, then sagged against the older fae.
Zoe looked around the room. “Kendrick?” she asked, her voice breaking. If anyone could make this all go away, it was him.
Kendrick shook his head. “It’s been over twenty minutes. They would have contacted us by now.”
Her knees gave out, and Ari easily lifted her and sat her down next to the queen. “He’s alive. I can feel it,” she said.
The queen nodded. “I will not give up hope. Though I am not his mother by birth, he is still my son. I would know if he departed from this world.”
Around the room, the warriors lingering for news looked at them with a mixture of pity and grief.
Zoe thought things over. Gage was smart. He was resourceful and thought quickly. If anyone had a chance at surviving this, it was him. “It is rather concerning they haven’t contacted us. What could cause that?”
Darian’s head rose from Brennus’ shoulder. He gave her an incredulous look as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Meryn scrunched up her face. “Well, if they aren’t dead…because you know death could keep them from reaching out.” She looked over at her laptop. “The only way they have to contact us is via cell phone, but if that crystal bomb thingie acted as an electromagnetic pulse, it could have fried their hardware.”
Aiden swung his head in her direction. “There’s a chance?”
Meryn nodded. “It’s slim as fuck, though.”
Aiden took a deep breath and centered himself. “How can we find them?”
“Aiden?” Darian asked.
Aiden looked at Zoe. “I won’t give up on them. Not yet. In my heart and soul, I know that I would feel it if Meryn left this world before me. Until Zoe feels otherwise, we have a rescue mission to plan.”
Darian straightened. “I’m scared to hope.”
