Page 29 of These Deadly Dreams

“This might make training more difficult,” I say. “If she gets a fever every time she uses our abilities, we’ll have to limit the amount of time she uses them.”

“Yeah, not ideal, but we’ll figure it out.”

We fall silent again. Cade doesn’t turn back around. He continues watching Ellis, like he’s prepared to jump in if needed. I smooth her hair back from her face and she whimpers in her sleep. The sound breaks my heart. I’m about to ask Cade or Sterling if they have any aspirin, when my phone rings.

Fishing it out of my pocket, I groan when I see who’s calling. I swipe to answer, fangs extending and lips curled in a silent growl. “Kennedy. What do you want?”

Cade and Sterling both stiffen in the front of the car. Cade whips around to mouth something to me, but I’m too focused on my phone to make out what it is.

“Thorne, always a pleasure talking with you.” Kennedy’s smooth voice reeks of sarcasm.

“What do you want, Kennedy?” I ground out.

“I have the details for the second challenge. I figured you’d want to know what they were.”

Disbelief stuns me to silence. We were just attacked at the estate, and this man, who isn’t even Ellis’s dad, wants to continue with the challenge? Not a fucking chance.

Cade finally gets my attention. “Go along with it,” he mouths.

I glance back to my phone, making sure to keep Ellis out of the screen. “What’s the challenge?”

“Have you ever heard the tale of the mountain troll who stole the gem of Lustros?”

I blink. Then blink again. He can’t be going where I think he’s going.

Kennedy smiles. “The second challenge is to get the gem.”

Yep. He went there. “You’re fucking crazy,” I breathe. “First, that’s a legend. There is no proof that gem exists. Second, if it does, it’s suicide going into a mountain troll’s lair.”

“If you want to keep my daughter, you’ll have to risk it.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say she’s not his daughter, but I bite it back. Cade says to play along, so I will.

“When does this challenge go down?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“It starts now. The other contestants are being informed of the details as we speak.”

“Perfect,” I growl. “We’ll talk later.” I hang up and look at Cade. “Well? We’re obviously not doing this. So what’s the plan?”

“We need to get that proof Sam mentioned about Kennedy not being her dad. If we can prove she isn’t his daughter, this contest is over.”

“And if we can’t get the proof?” Sterling asks quietly.

After a beat of silence, Cade says, “It doesn’t matter. This contest is over no matter what.”

“What about your mom and sister?” I ask.

Cade doesn’t reply, and I know the answer to that question tears him up inside. When it comes to Ellis, nothing is too great a sacrifice for her safety.

The drive to the cabin is torture. With the winding roads and being stuck in the back seat, my car sickness has reared its ugly head. Nausea churns in my gut, and there’s a steady throbbing behind my eyes. I just want to get out of this godsforsaken car. When Sterling pulls off the road and starts driving up the rocky slope, I cringe.

“What the hell, man? This car is not built for off-roading.”

The undercarriage scraping against the ground emphasizes my statement. We hit a rut and the car jerks violently, causing Ellis to moan.

“Sorry. It’s the only way to the cabin. My dad didn’t want any roads leading to it. Less chance of discovery.”

More scraping and bouncing, and I feel each one deep in my soul. “You’re paying for any damage, asshole.”

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