I shake my head helplessly. “I don’t know.”
As Layla examines the wound on Emmett’s side, she lifts his shirt, and her gasp sends a shiver down my spine. “They tampered with the knife,” she says angrily. “It’s already infected.”
Emmett’s breathing grows shallow as Layla’s words sink in. She directs us to move him to the sofa, her hands already glowing with magic as she begins to work her healing spells.
I watch in awe as Layla’s hands move with precision and grace, weaving intricate patterns of light around Emmett’s injured body. The air fills with a faint hum of energy as she channels her magic with laser focus.
Grayson, desperate to help in any way he can, grabs a towel and a bowl of water and sets to work cleaning the blood from the floor with shaking hands.
Colt watches Layla work and then looks at me. “Layla’s got everything under control here. You and I can go out and start looking for Selene.”
I nod, grateful for Colt’s level-headedness because right now, all I feel is helplessness.
Colt and I step outside into the cool night air, ready to start our search for Selene.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Colt mutters worriedly.
“Yeah. I just hope we find her before something happens.”
We split up, searching every alley and street corner, calling out Selene’s name into the darkness. Fear grips me as I imagine the worst possible scenarios.
“What if her brother does something to her?” I ask, voicing my worst fear.
“We’ll find her, Liam. We just have to keep looking.”
Hours pass, but there’s no sign of Selene. Not even her scent. It is like she disappeared into thin air, her and all the other vampires.
Each passing minute feels like an eternity. I can’t shake the feeling of dread that hangs over me like a dark cloud.
“We should head back,” Colt suggests, his voice weary. “There’s no sign of her out here.”
Reluctantly, I agree, knowing that staying out any longer won’t help.
Helplessness gnaws at me.
Where is she?
Back at the house, Layla and Grayson are still tending to Emmett, and their expressions are grim.
“Any luck?” Layla asks hopefully.
I shake my head. “No sign of her.”
Layla’s expression falls, and I can see the concern in her eyes. “We’ll find her, Liam. We just have to keep looking. Mom came by and did some magic. She says Emmett will be okay.”
I nod gratefully. “Does she know why his wound is infected?”
“Magic. The vampires are working with some witches. The knife was spelled. That also explains how they were able to bypass the wards we put up around your house.”
“A witch?” I gasp.
“We are not sure yet. We still need to figure it out, but we are all on high alert. We will get to the bottom of this, Liam.”
What in the conspiracy theory is going on?
Selene is out there, alone and in danger, and I don’t know if we’ll find her in time.
Chapter 50