Page 99 of Hidden

Rafe had the door open a few inches. He wrapped his fingers around the front edge of the heavy oak planks and planted his feet. Plaster coated his hair and clothes, sweat streaking his dusty face like war paint. He strained against the door, bare arms bunching and feet pushing against the floor. The door moved, but only inches.

Lila joined him, bracing her back against the frame and pushing while he pulled. It probably cost her more effort than it helped Rafe, but the door moved another foot before it wedged against the buckling floor. With a massive crunch, the high ceiling of the foyer collapsed in earnest. Chunks of wood fell like gigantic hail.

Wasting no time, she wriggled through the opening. Rafe barely squeezed through behind her. The air outside was cold and fresh, the stars like ice chips above.

CHAPTER 35

He caught her hand, pulling her across the grassy clearing until they were well away from the way station—and just in time. The remains of the building finally crashed to the earth. A faint glow clung to the rubble, the last of King Elroth’s fiery portal. Perhaps the way station’s collapse had rendered it unstable. The release of that much magic was as good as a detonation.

Bit by bit, the rubble of the way station dissolved to nothing. Soon, the hilltop would be as pristine and wild as the rest of the woods. Lord Farras’s hidden prison in the woods was truly gone.

“Thank you,” she said, still holding Rafe’s hand.

“For pulling you out of a building that wanted to be a forest?”

She gave him a sidelong look. “And other things.”

He frowned. “What happened back there? Why didn’t you leave with the other fae? When I couldn’t find you, I went looking.”

“Farras. He triggered the building to collapse and came back for a last hurrah. A tree ate him.”

Rafe’s brows rose.

Lila sighed. “He blamed me for everything that happened to him.”

Weariness swamped her, and she leaned against Rafe’s side.

He squeezed her hand. “You set us free by refusing to fall in line with his plans. Remember that part.”

“Lila!” Ademar stood a few yards away, at the crest of a rise in the grass. He beckoned frantically. “Come here.”

As she tried to move, all her bruises made themselves felt. Another time, she would have eased them with magic, but she was spent.

“Hurry!” Ademar called.

She started to walk. “I’m coming as fast as I can.”

Her brother quickly moved in to take her arm, putting himself between Lila and Rafe as he urged her along. The wolf’s eyes flashed yellow, but Lila shook her head, silently asking for patience.

“Come along if you must,” Ademar said to Rafe. “There’s no time to waste.”

“What’s the matter?” Rafe asked.

“You’ll see. Maybe you can help.”

“Fine.”

Rafe took Lila’s other arm and fell into step beside them. When they reached the top of the rise, Lila saw what was left of the crowd. Fae lights hung over the scene, supplementing the starlight. From what she could see, most had fled or dispersed to the woods and were now gathered in small knots, some talking but more sitting in silence as if to digest everything they’d just learned.

She glanced to the left. The walkways and pool had vanished. The tents and vehicles of Farras’s followers were swallowed by dense brush. Only the horses had escaped unscathed and were now happily grazing on the new growth.

Then she looked toward where the lawn had been and understood Ademar’s urgency. King Elroth was there with two of his warriors and the leaders of the Undead and the wolves. The king had his hand on her father’s arm, holding him back from—she tried to make sense of what she saw.

“Come on!” Ademar shouted, trying to hurry down the slope with the aid of his cane. “You’re the one they trust. You try talking to her.”

Lila wasn’t sure what he meant, but she leaned on him and Rafe as they hurried toward the scene. At first, all she could make out was the vampire leader—Malatest—in his pinstripe suit, with Izetta beside him. They were looming over her mother, who was on the ground with her tattered green gown pooling over the grass. Izetta held a long blade.

“Wait!” Lila cried, all injuries forgotten. “Don’t touch her.”

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