Shrugging and sounding bored, I say, “Told you I wasn’t interested in Ella.”
Dice snickers while moving over to the window. His mother is returning, and his smile falls.
“I love my mother, but I never tell her a thing. It’s to keep her safe. But someone has been talking.”
She returns before any of us can comment, and the powerful ones are all assembled in a circle to complete the blood oath. Kimber’s eyes find mine, and she holds my gaze the entire time the oath ceremony is in procession.
There’s something in the depths of her blues that I’ve never seen—certainty. There’s no hesitation, no second-guessing, no resistance. It’s a look I could get used to seeing.
I don’t resist the slight curl of my lips, and her grin blossoms. I think I’m going to enjoy being her new fixation.
“This is going to be epic,” Zee says on a sigh, but I don’t break the eye contact I have with my girl.
“The two of them?” Dice asks.
“No. The big reveal. Kane and Drackus are going to go ape shit.”
My smug smile only grows, and I shrug a shoulder. “It’ll be worth it.”
Finally, the blood oath circle is broken as the spell resonates, and Kimber returns to my side as the others break off and start talking amongst themselves. She leans against me, and I fight really damn hard not to wrap my arm around her, reminding myself that this isn’t the time for our epic reveal.
“Now, where’s your witch?” Drackus asks Liza, growing impatient.
Liza sighs, and then she types a message on her phone. Within a few seconds, the air stirs, and a woman I’ve never seen before materializes. Liza tilts her head as though she’s confused, but she doesn’t speak.
“My name is Sadie, and I know you’re concerned about me, but I really am here to help you free the slaves,” the woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a much too bright smile says. Already I have a bad feeling. “With the exception of the two gatekeepers, I need everyone who took the blood oath to help me with this spell. We’ll find the rings.”
Liza looks away, not letting her eyes show any more confusion. There’s only one reason she would seem confused.
“She’s in a mask,” I say to Kimber, keeping my voice too low to be overheard by anyone else.
She looks up and nods once, letting me know she has already deduced that much.
“How do you know this spell?” Drackus questions.
“Because I’ve been inside the rings before. They created this spell for when they move them. They need a way to be able to find the next location quickly and without asking questions others might hear.”
No one else asks any questions, but everyone seems to be skeptical. It doesn’t stop them from doing the locator spell with her, but Drackus meets my eyes, once again making a silent request. I’m all too happy to oblige.
As soon as the spell is complete, the ground rumbles beneath us. Instinctively, I pull Kimber to me, holding her until the shaking stops. She’s stifling a small smile when the ground grows steady once more.
“Worried I’ll fall, Gage?” she whispers, amused. “Last I checked, I’m immortal.”
Before I can throw out a witty retort, a loud sizzling erupts through the air, drawing my attention. I stare as lines grow on the wall across from us, spreading from the center and gradually growing.
Etchings appear all around, and shading variations form. A map. It’s a map.
B
reathing in deeply, I just watch in awe as nine spots catch fire, burning with a flame no larger than a match can produce. The flames stay isolated to their own individual spots, marking what I assume are the sites of the rings.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Dice says in a quiet breath.
“Just because she tells us this is true, it doesn’t mean it is. Could be a trap,” I say to the gullible incubus.
“It’s the truth. You’ll see for yourselves, but this has to remain silent. They’ve already learned about this mission once,” the witch says behind her mask.
“How do we know we’re not walking into a trap?” I ask her, crossing my arms over my chest.