“None of your business,” I say back just as quietly as the rest of them file in.
“How did this happen?” I ask again, expecting an answer.
“They stormed the castle and threw these powdery bombs at us. It took our magick and then we fought as best we could until we could escape,” Devon says.
“Powdery bombs?” I repeat with a frown. “What about Arathia?”
“Unclear whether she was affected or not,” Constantine answers.
“Where is Remiel?”
“No idea,” comes his stiff reply.
“And Cade?” I glare around the room once again.
“The Hunters were after him,” Marguerite says from the doorway, her voice husky and raspy from the scar across her throat. She has showered and changed into some of my clothes. They are ill-fitting, but no one says a word or looks at her as she re-enters the room, except me.
“Did they get him?” I ask earnestly. If they did, he is probably dead by now.
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “I just overheard when...”
I nod, giving her permission to not go any further. She gives me a grateful smile and sinks into the corner of the squashy sofa, curling her legs up and hugging her arms tightly around herself.
“Remiel!” I yell, startling everyone in the room. “Where are you?”
“Right here,” he says, Astralling in with a blank look on his face.
“Oh, good,” I say with relief, which triggers a concerned look from him.
“Are you all right?” he asks, coming to me and reaching hesitantly for my hand. I let him take it because I feel like I need to feel his power, his strength, right now.
“Not really,” I say and fill him in on what I know.
“How did they get in?” he queries.
“Good question,” CK growls. “My wards were up.”
“I dismantled mine after Delinda left,” Remiel says vaguely.
“Who, apart from, uhm, you know...can undo your wards?” I ask CK.
He grits his teeth and ignores me. I don’t think out of malice; he is just thinking.
“Well, we need to go and take it back!” I declare.
“Wait,” Vito says.
“I still have magick,” I say shortly, looking at him properly for the first time since he ruined my World with his words. “And so, does Remiel. I am not leaving Cade there.”
“Fuck’s sake,” Devon grumbles. “That man needs rescuing more times than any damsel in distress I know.”
“How about you?” I ask Frederick tartly, but then don’t wait for an answer. “We go. Yes?”
“Yes,” Remiel says immediately, anxious to agree with me and get back on my good side.
“Right, we will go back and see if we can find any alive Hunters to interrogate,” I say, slamming my fist into my palm. I have a sudden roar of bloodlust coursing through me and I want to taste it. Not literally, as Hunter blood burns, but I want it on my hands.
“Aefre,” CK says to me quietly with an imploring look. “Your Fae side is...”