Freed (Imprisoned by the Fae 3)

And how the hell do these two fae know that we’re on a secret mission from Oberon?

I never get an answer to my questions. Before Dusk can reply, an alarm suddenly goes off. And I mean off. It’s loud. Pulsing. Blaring. Even from the outside, you can’t miss it. At the same time, the torches lining the prison building flare, each flame climbing so they’re at least five feet tall.

Oh, yeah. Something’s going down.

“What’s that?” whispers Riley, sounding super spooked. “What’s going on?”

It’s not exactly the same high-pitched chime that rang out through Siúcra, but it’s close enough.

“The prison. It’s the prison alarm.”

I’m not the only one who knows, either. The instant the alarm starts to sound, the two Unseelie immediately react.

Only… they both react differently.

Crap.

Nyx takes off toward the prison’s gate. Exactly what I would’ve expected from anyone who has an interest in the prison—or its prisoners.

But Dusk? Instead of looking behind him, he goes eerily still. What’s he doing? He moves his eyes, almost like he’s searching for something, but that’s it.

Until, quick as a rattlesnake striking, his head turns, his mirror-like eyes locking on the spot where I’m standing with Riley. Can he see us? She said that he shouldn’t be able to—but should is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

I can’t risk it. “Take us back.”

“What?”

I don’t want to raise my voice, just in case, but she can?

??t hear me over the blaring noise of the alarm. Here’s hoping that Dusk’s senses are just as dulled by it.

“Take us back!”

Dusk’s eyes widen. His trot turns into a run.

No!

I don’t grab Riley. One of the first things Rys warned me when it became clear that I was coming along on this mission was that Riley couldn’t handle being touched by anyone who wasn’t her mate and she proved it earlier. I used to think that was why she wore the leather gloves, too, unless she mentioned faerie fire while staring at her covered hands. Either way, I know better than to grab her.

Instead, I clasp my hands together and hope that she can whisk us back to the clearing we left behind before Dusk gets closer.

Riley pulls it off.

Thank freaking God.

Dusk was only a few feet away when the wind picked up, throwing my hair into my eyes again. The world shifted, spinning, tilting, twisting, and then we were landing hard on the icy ground where we were supposed to be waiting for Rys and Nine.

They’re not back yet. I didn’t think they would be—especially since they probably have everything to do with the ringing alarm—but I’m more concerned about Dusk.

So’s Riley.

“What the hell just happened?”

I’m pacing. It took me a second to recover my balance, but now that I have, I’m pacing again. It’s almost like I never stopped.

“He had to have seen us,” I say. “Can he follow us here?”

“How the fuck am I supposed to know?” As soon as she snaps that out, Riley holds up her hand. “Sorry. Sorry. I didn’t mean it. I just… back in Black Pine, a siren going off like that meant shit was going down.”