Large shadows broke from the walls and rushed me. I reached for my switchblade, but it was knocked from my hand before I could trigger the blade. Fear shot through me, increasing my pulse to triple time. A sword flashed just as my arms were pinned. I braced for the thrust, but the tip hovered mere inches from my neck. This explained why I’d lost my tail so easily, but not why I’d had one in the first place.
“Search her,” a female voice ordered.
The four goons closed in, hands searching and removing most of my weapons.
“She’s clean,” one goon said.
“Put her in the chair,” the lady said.
I was shoved into the old armchair. Dust puffed up in a cloud. The goons moved, making a tight semicircle around me, revealing Selene Moon, Owen’s wife. Her long blond hair shone almost white in the sunlight. Normally as pale as Valek, she appeared as if she’d been spending time in the sun. Worry for Ari and Janco flared to life. Had she captured them while they tried to sneak into the compound and learned our location from them? If so, all was lost.
“I see prison’s been good to you,” I said.
“I wouldn’t think you’d be so smug, considering you walked right into our trap.” She gestured to the corner. My bags of food were slumped against the wall. “You thought you were safe once you’d ditched the tail.” Selene tsked. She had me there. I refrained from commenting. Instead, I dropped my gaze as if dejected, but I scanned the floor for my switchblade and spotted it near her left boot.
One of Selene’s goons came down the stairs, increasing the total to five. “Nobody is up there, but there’s evidence of at least three others living here,” he said.
Selene turned her silver-eyed gaze on me. “Who are they?”
I considered giving her the silent treatment, but I needed to stall for time. Once they dragged me into the garrison—if they didn’t just kill me here—it’d be harder to escape. “My Ixian friends. The people who helped stop you and Owen from getting the Ice Moon.” Ah, the good old days. Reminding her of the past had the desired effect.
A flush of red painted her cheeks. “Where are they now?”
“Gone on a mission.”
“What mission?”
I smiled. “To hunt you down, of course. We know what you’ve been up to, Selene,” I bluffed.
“Is that so?” Her icy tone promised pain.
I ignored it. “Yup.”
“Are you having fun?”
Not at all. I gripped the armrests to keep my distress from showing on my face. “Yup.”
“Not for long. You have no powers, Yelena. You’re not even wearing a null shield. There is nothing to stop me from taking the information from your mind.”
Except the baby. But I wasn’t going to tell her that. “So why bother with all these questions?”
“I thought I’d give you the option to cooperate.”
“How nice, but would you believe anything I told you?” I paused long enough to see her doubtful expression. “No. So why go through all this? Unless...”
Selene arched a nearly invisible eyebrow.
When she failed to take the bait, I continued. “Unless you’re still terrified of me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re no longer the Soulfinder.”
Had she done something to ensure my fate? We’d thought it was the baby blocking my magic, but it was just a theory. I could have been targeted around the time of conception. Swallowing my alarm, I bluffed, “How do you know my powers haven’t returned?”
“In my experience, once they’re gone, they are gone.” She smiled, showing a row of straight white teeth. “But just in case, I’ll make sure you’re never the Soulfinder again.”
I lunged, grabbing her wrist. “Too late.”
Her goons rushed to her aid, and multiple hands seized me. When I spotted the terror in her eyes, I knew she’d tried to use her magic against me and failed. They broke my grip and shoved me down into the chair.
She rubbed her wrist and stepped back, but then stopped. A cold calculation slid into her gaze. Oh, no.
“That was...interesting. But if you truly had your powers, you wouldn’t need to touch me.” Selene dropped her hands. “Something else is going on. Care to tell me?”
“No.”
“That’s okay. We’ll find out soon enough. Let’s go.” She gestured to the goons bookending me.
They seized my upper arms and hauled me to my feet. I struggled and managed to break free for a second before goon number three stepped in. Pinned between all three of them, I gasped for breath from my exertions.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Yelena. That baby in your belly won’t prevent me from hurting you.”
“That’s because I will prevent you,” Valek said from behind her as his knife appeared at her throat.
Everyone jerked with surprise. I silently cheered. My delay tactics had worked.
“Tell your thugs to unhand my wife,” Valek ordered.
“Do it,” Selene hissed as blood welled under the blade’s sharp edge.
They released me. I smoothed my garments, making a show of it as I scanned the room for Teegan. No sign of him. Good.
“Now tell them to return to the garrison.”
An odd command. The goons looked at each other in confusion. I met Valek’s gaze. He winked at me. Ah.
“Go.” Selene waved them off. “Bring reinforcements.”
“Please do,” Valek said.
Now I was confused, but I trusted my husband.
After the goons left, Valek pushed Selene away. “Let’s talk.”
She touched the cut on her neck, then glanced at her hand. Blood coated her fingertips. “Big mistake.”
“Oh?”
“Owen isn’t the only one who knows how to build a null shield.”
Valek froze with his hands and knife pressed to his side, acting as if trapped. Not sure of my role in this, I dove for my switchblade. Sweeping it up from the floor, I triggered the weapon. The blade shot out with a distinctive snick. Selene faced me.
“I can squeeze the life from him,” she said.
“Not before I stab you.” I advanced.
Fury and frustration creased her beautiful face. She bolted for the door. I moved to give chase, but Valek caught my arm.
“No. Let her go.”
“Why?”
“Because if she and her men went missing, there would be a manhunt.”
“But there’s still going to be a manhunt once they all return to the garrison and report they’ve seen us.”
“Yes, but the Cartel won’t think we’ve gotten information from Selene and change their plans.”
Oh. That was a good point. “It still would have been nice to discover what she knows.”
“Who said we didn’t?” Teegan asked. He stepped from the back room with a huge grin on his face.
“What if she sensed you in her mind?” I asked in alarm.
“Uncle Valek had her quite distracted. Besides, I’m smooth.” He swiped his hand through the air.
Teegan has been spending too much time in Janco’s company. Before I could move, Valek wrapped me in his arms. “Thanks,” I said into his neck. He smelled of the forest.
“Anytime.” He released me and we shared a smile.
“Enough with the kissy face,” Teegan said. “They’ll be back soon.”
Right. “Okay, Mr. Smooth, time to pack up.”
We rushed around and grabbed our belongings and the food. Dashing through the streets of Longleaf, we made quite the sight. Eyewitnesses would report that we’d fled town and disappeared into the forest, heading northwest. In reality, we looped around to the south side of the garrison, but far enough away from the reach of their magicians. We hoped.
; “What about Ari and Janco?” I asked as we set up camp. “Were they captured at the complex?”
“No,” Teegan said.
“How did Selene find me, then?”
“She received a tip from one of the merchants.”
So much for my disguise. “We need to warn Ari and Janco not to return to town.”
“We’re pretty close to their return route. The horses will alert us when they’re close,” Valek said.
“Are we still going to rescue the Councilors?” Teegan asked.
“Yes. In fact, tonight would be ideal. The garrison commander will send extra patrols into town to search for us, which means not as many guards in the garrison.”
“Yeah, but there will be more chance of us running into all those extra patrols,” Teegan said.