Hunted (War of the Covens 1)

“I can do it,” Saffron sneered at the faerie in the chair.

“How?”

“Faeries can unmask one another.” She stepped forward and put her hand on top of the imposter Jaeden’s head. Saffron’s beautiful face crumpled into a mask of distaste and a wave of energy hit them all as the faerie’s form wavered in the chair. Eventually Jaeden disappeared. For some reason, that made Caia want to cry even harder. She glanced at Sebastian, who trembled with rage. His best friend was gone and had been in the hands of the enemy for how long?

The faerie, now a serene-looking blond with velvet brown eyes, stared expressionless at them.

“Your name?” Saffron hissed.

The faerie said nothing. Saffron did the honors and slapped her with surprising force.

Caia was troubled with more than the faerie’s name. She stepped toward the faerie involuntarily and her brown eyes locked onto her. “How long has Jaeden been gone?”

The faerie shifted nervously.

“How long?” Caia repeated.

Nothing.

“HOW LONG?” It was Dimitri who bellowed and had to be restrained by Magnus and Lucien. He would rip the supernatural apart before they had the information they needed.

“Let’s get her down to the basement.” Lucien was grim-faced.

“The basement?” Caia asked in confusion. Why the basement?

Magnus cleared his throat. “They need to unearth Jaeden’s whereabouts from her, one way or another.”

She understood, and a shudder ran through her. They were going to torture this creature.

No.

Without thinking, Caia hurried to the faerie to question her once more, placing her hand on the faerie’s shoulder. Before she could say a word, a riot of images blasted her mind and threw her physically back. She landed hard on the floor, and although she could hear the ensuing chaos, all she could see were dark images of rusty bars and the smell of fear. Unfamiliar faces hit her, and blood, lots of blood. The most prominent images, however, were of the bars. Caia tried to hold on to them.

And then she saw her. Jaeden, lying naked and bleeding—her skin ripped and torn and burned—behind the bars of a cage. White heat shot through Caia’s body and she came back to the room she was in, Lucien bending over her anxiously and Magnus holding Dimitri back while Saffron interrogated the faerie.

Caia looked at the remorseless creature in front of her, and tears of fury tumbled down her cheeks at the images of Jaeden. They were real. She knew they were real.

“They have Jaeden in a cage.” Her voice came out in a growl. Her wolf took over in her own frightened rage.

Dimitri’s growls sounded from deep in his chest.

“Caia, how do you know?” Lucien asked, helping her to her feet.

She shook her head. “When I touched her, I saw things. About Jaeden.” She glared at the murderess. The faerie looked frightened now. Good. Caia glanced up at Lucien. “Take her to the basement. Find out everything you can … however you can.”

He nodded, but his jaw tightened. He wasn’t happy about torturing any creature, for any reason, and he seemed even less happy that Caia was ready to do so.

“You didn’t see her,” Caia choked.

“Is she alive?”

“Barely.”

It was as if someone had died, the dark tension of grief that gripped the house was so intense. Sebastian was sent home, despite his protests, while Dimitri, Lucien, Saffron, and Marion interrogated the prisoner. The basement must have been soundproofed because no noise filtered up to Caia’s ears as she sat anxiously with Ella and Magnus in the kitchen, cupping a now-cold mug of coffee.

Magnus sat close to Ella, his big hands wrapped around hers on the table, offering her comfort. Her steel-gray eyes were puffy from crying. She’d just returned back from Julia’s, having left her in the care of Christian and Lucia.

Caia hissed. The tension made her frustrated and angry. Everyone, including Jaeden’s own mother, was acting as if Jaeden were dead. She wasn’t. Caia didn’t know why she was so certain, but she was sure Jae was alive somewhere.

The handle on her mug broke off in her hand and she glanced up sheepishly at Magnus’s and Ella’s inquiring eyes.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“A few days ago and this place would’ve been flooded. Furniture broken,” Magnus said. “I’m proud of how quickly you’ve mastered your powers, Caia.”

She flushed at his praise. “Marion has been very patient.”

“She says she’s never seen anything like you. Marion’s not one for exaggeration.” His lip curled as if he remembered something. “Or praise, for that matter.”

“It’s no big deal.”

“Cai—” Magnus stopped abruptly at the sound of feet stomping up from the basement into the hall. They waited expectantly, and while she knew Ella and Magnus could smell it was Lucien and Dimitri approaching, only Caia knew Dimitri’s rage was now mingled with grief, and Lucien oozed anguish. Her heart faltered. She must have been wrong. Oh Goddess, Jaeden.

They appeared, their expressions reflecting their inner turmoil. Not only that, but Dimitri’s knuckles were smeared with blood. Caia sniffed subtly. Not his. She winced, but then stamped out any sympathy for the faerie who’d caused more bloodshed than Caia cared to know about.