Page 53 of These Deadly Dreams

“Fuck!” Kai lets me go abruptly.

Drew backs away, eyes wide in a suddenly pale face.

Cade and Kai walk around me, coming to stand in front of me. Their expressions are the same. Eyes wide, but not with fear—it’s awe shining in their gazes. Cade reaches his hand out, and hisses, pulling it back to his chest quickly. I see their mouths moving, but their words aren’t getting through the ringing in my ears.

Sam has my mate.

“Ellis, baby girl, calm down,” Kai says gently. I hear him, but I don’t understand.

Calm down? How the fuck am I supposed to calm down. My mate has been captured.

The guys take another step back, Cade cursing. “Shit. You made it worse, Kai.”

Kai looks at Cade from the corner of his eyes. “What the hell am I supposed to do? I’d like to see you do better.”

Cade takes a step toward me, his violet eyes swirling and fracturing beautifully. Purple light envelopes his arms as his magic climbs to his shoulders. “Hey, love.” He reaches out, slowly grabbing my hand. “I know you’re upset, and that’s okay. I’m upset, too. But, I need you to close your eyes and take a deep breath.” His thumb rubs back and forth across the top of my hand.

I guess I can do that. For him, and his pretty eyes. My eyes fall closed, and I hear him murmur encouragingly. As I take a deep breath and my lungs inflate, it’s like cool water rushes through my body. All the burning in my veins evaporates, leaving nothing by smoke and ash. Slowly, rational thought filters back in and my eyes snap open. They land on Cade, and the shaking starts again.

“What happened?” I whisper hoarsely.

“You were … on fire.” His gaze scans my body. “But, the flames were golden, and your eyes. They shimmered and swirled with golden light.”

My legs tremble, and I’m second from falling to the ground when he wraps his arms around me, and pulls me close.

“You are so fucking amazing,” he whispers in my ear as he leads me into the cabin.

I follow on numb legs and let him set me on the couch. “What … what happened?” My voice is hoarse and everything seems as if it’s underwater. Like I’m slowly resurfacing and coming back to reality. “Fire?”

“Golden fire,” Kai says. He pulls his phone from his pocket and scrolls until he finds what he’s looking for. He shows me the picture from the book about magical creatures we found in the library. The one that told me about my Shields. The picture of the harpy. It’s black and white, so there are no colors, but she’s surrounded by flames. “I think it’s another of your powers manifesting.”

“Fire?” I squeal, rearing until my back hits the cushions. What the hell else can possibly happen?

“Hey,” Cade says quietly, sitting next to me and grabbing my hands. “It’s a lot. I get it. You have more questions than answers at this point and it’s overwhelming. But you’re not alone. We’re going to help you through this. I promise.”

His words hit their intended mark. The rest of the uncertainty melts away, leaving nothing but disbelief standing in its wake. He’s right. I know I’m not alone. It’s still hard for me, but I need to lean on them. I need to let them help me shoulder this burden until we figure it all out. With this new—somewhat—calm mentality, I remember the reason for my magical outburst.

“Sterling!” I gasp, hand flying to my throat.

Drew takes a seat in the chair opposite the couch and sighs heavily. “It’s not good.” He runs a hand down his face and sits back.

Kai tosses him a blanket, muttering something about covering himself, and I sit on the edge of the couch. “What happened?” My voice is shaky, matching my hands clasped in Cade’s.

“They had some sort of magical ward set up around the perimeter of the building. As soon as he crossed it, it immobilized him. It was … it was awful to watch.” His eyes shutter and he shakes his head. “Two mages came and dragged him inside. That’s all I know. I didn’t try to fly past the barrier. I don’t know if it just works crossing on the ground or if it protects against flying shifters as well.”

Fear floods me, making my body prickle and sweat break out on my skin. I glance at Cade with pleading eyes. “We have to help him. Please. We can’t leave him there.”

“Of course we won’t.” He reassures me with a kiss to the top of my head before standing. Grabbing his iPad from the kitchen counter, he returns and levels a stare at Drew. “Tell us everything you can about the building and what you saw.”

Thirty-six. That’s how many steps it takes me to get from one side of the abandoned office to the other. I know this because I’ve walked it about a hundred times at this point. This office building is one block from the warehouse. We’re using it as our headquarters as Cade and Drew scout the area, looking for more wards and getting as much information as they can before we make a move.

With each pass, I stop to peek out the boarded up window. There is a small sliver between boards that gives me just enough space to see the outside world. This area used to be a fairly nice area to live in. I didn’t come through here often, but I know it was pretty solidly middle class. After the school was bought and turned into this … whatever it is … the area has slowly gone downhill.

Now, most, if not all, of the homes are abandoned. The stores and office buildings have been left to rot to time. Trash blows through the empty streets, with an occasional stray dog or cat sniffing through the remains. It’s as if Sam and Noah have run off everyone who lived within a certain radius of the warehouse. This part of town has become the area everyone avoids. Even the police rarely patrol the streets, and the rumor is if they get a call from this area, it’s a 50/50 chance if they respond.

Each glance out the window increases the dread curling in my gut. Nausea has taken a firm hold on me, my stomach constantly tumbling and threatening to empty itself. I can’t help but hold my breath each time I approach.

“It’s been an hour,” I say as I turn from the window, fists balled against my tummy.

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