Page 25 of Hidden

Galeeta took Lila’s arm and drew her down the hall at a brisk pace. A frown puckered her brow. “This should not have happened. No one escapes the fae.”

“I’m sorry,” Lila answered.

They stopped before Rafe’s previous cell. The sliding panel at the top of the door was buckled, wrenched open by brute force. The bars were warped, as if they’d been made of putty.

“This wasn’t your fault,” her mother said, running the tips of her long, slim fingers over the damage. “Such a creature is hard to deny.”

A frisson passed through Lila’s frame. Deny how? Her gaze locked on the crumpled metal, mesmerized by such raw strength. Fear rose like bubbles in her blood, but so did fascination.Physical power alone hadn’t opened Rafe’s door. He had brains and courage, too. He’s fighting for the young of his pack, trying to save them from someone he thinks might be us.

“Still,” Galeeta continued, “that can’t happen again. We can’t afford to look weak right now.”

Lila turned away from the ruined door. It was too distracting. “What do you mean?”

“Remember that I’m fighting to save your father.” Galeeta’s lips thinned. “Let’s not lose any more family members.”

Lila looked down, unable to meet her mother’s eyes. She’d had four siblings once, not just Sala and Ademar. “No.”

“You spoke with the wolf again. Did you learn anything new?”

“He says the Magician is a light fae.”

Galeeta made a dismissive noise. “Nonsense. He’s holding out on you. How do we make him give us information?”

As they began walking again, Lila replayed her conversations with the wolf. He was a highly skilled fighter. Self-contained. She could tell from the way he held himself, the confident lift of his head, that he trusted his own abilities. He was a loyal friend, based on the fact he’d saved his vampire.

And behind all that bravado, he had the saddest eyes she’d ever seen. Maybe that’s why she’d spared him. She wanted to know why.

“He’s proud,” Lila said as they reached the staircase and mounted the steps. “He knows who he is.”

“Males like that are easy to break,” Galeeta replied with a shrug. “They assume everyone fights fairly.”

Not like a fae, Lila thought darkly.

“In the meantime,” her mother went on, “go assist the others to capture the Undead. If she reaches her Master, word of this place will spread like fire.”

Then all Galeeta’s plans—whatever those were—would be lost. Lila cared only about saving her father, but that was more than enough. “On my way.”

Rafe landed badly, knocking his elbow on the cell floor. Pins and needles swarmed up his arm, but he had no time to think about it. Hoods One and Two flipped him onto his stomach, pinning him down. He writhed, using all his strength, but he was no match for two of them.

Rafe turned his head so he could breathe and caught a glimpse of the closest creature’s face looming over him. The mouth and chin formed a serrated beak that could easily slice through a limb. These had to be gargoyles. That was the only species that made sense, but they weren’t like any he’d seen before. Where in all the Hells had the fae found them?

When the closest monster saw him looking, it opened its mouth to hiss, showing off a wormlike black tongue.

Cold metal slid around his wrists, snapping tight. Immediately, he felt a prickling burn against his skin. Silver. It affected shifters almost as badly as cold iron poisoned fae.

Hoods One and Two abruptly let him go. He rolled over, expecting a rattle of chains, but found his arms free but for a cuff on each wrist. By the time he jumped to his feet, his guards had retreated to the cell door and were leaving. The last one out turned, an unreadable look on its alien face, and studied Rafe before slamming the door shut. The metallic locks clicked into place.

The sound sent a stab of panic through his gut, but he forced it down, putting a paw on its throat. He needed facts. Logic. Discipline. That was how he’d survive.

His first step was to take stock. The whole process, from dragging him here to locking him in, had taken less than a minute. His captors had been brutal, efficient, and impersonal. He had cuts and bruises, but nothing too bad. He flexed his arm. His elbow complained, but it wasn’t broken.

Rafe paced to the wall, then to the door. This cell was identical to his old one, taking exactly the same number of steps to get from end to end. The last few hours had only changed three things. One, it would be far harder to break out of this cell now that they knew what he could do. Two, he had freed Izetta. Three, they had put him in cuffs.

He stopped moving long enough to examine them. They were about three inches wide and perfectly plain. The only blemish on their smooth surface was a tiny keyhole on the edge of each band. Hair prickled at the base of his neck as he thought about who might hold that key. Lila’s mother? The fool he’d bitten? The only reason the fae would create these cuffs was to keep him under control.

His beast rose, begging to be let out, and Rafe discovered the first thing his new bonds did. The power that let him change form slipped out of his reach as soon as it stirred. He was trapped in man form, half of him cut away.

A wave of breathless nausea made him sit down on the floor.

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