Page 47 of Hell Storm

Corina—a criminal according to Ianite law—was now ours.

And, in turn, that made us pawns in her cause if we chose not to act against her.

“I’m guilty,” I finally admitted. “Guilty of everything you said. Guilty of feeling connected to a girl I’m not certain doesn’t mean to bring the entire world down on top of us.”

To my surprise, Silas smiled at that.

Facing the road again, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. The world around me suddenly took new form. I’d lived my entire life believing that this façade Ian Percival created was the best version of life, because it suited me, suited my people. But what I’d learned observing Corina—what I learned fromClaimingher—was that my perception of reality might be somewhat skewed. A distorted picture was beginning to take form, and it told a different story than the one I believed my entire life.

I’d come to acknowledge a truth I’d always known, but didn’t have the audacity to admit. It was that our dream, to the humans, was a nightmare.

This thought led me to believe I finally figured out Corina’s motive for infiltrating the gala, figured out why she risked her life with such a reckless mission. That undertaking had been a step in a journey she hoped would ignite a change.

One, which would alter the course ofeveryone’sfuture.

I wouldn’t pretend to know what her endgame was, but I was certainly committed to gaining a better understanding.

A better understanding of her cause.

A better understanding of her as a person—this girl I was falling for, this girl whose passion for justice was so strong she’d managed to do the unimaginable.

She caused the man set to rule over her enemies to feel the single-most destructive emotion possible when it came to his ability to oversee his kingdom.

Doubt.

***

Trash was strewn everywhere—cigarette butts, empty beer bottles, stubs from lost bets. It would be nearly impossible to find a clue as to whether Corina or Levi had been here, but we had to try.

For my brother.

For the girl who’d recently become my mate.

Silas stood beside me and I almost felt sorry for him. Of the four of us, he was certainly the most optimistic, the most open-minded. It wasn’t far from my thoughts that Felix and Liv might not show. They honestly had every reason to stay away. With what I suspected their lifestyle to be, I imagined they lived in a constant state of fear—fear of Ianites in general—but that sense had to be heightened when it came to the four reigning families. And as I scanned the trees and found nothing, I was almost positive they changed their minds.

“Any idea what we should be looking for?” Silas asked.

Kicking an empty beer can, I let out a sharp breath. “Not a clue.”

It was like searching for one crafty needle in a haystack. Corina was unusual in every way imaginable, including being unusually smart. If she didn’t want to be found, she’d see to it that she wasn’t. Only, it didn’t seem she’d reached her intended destination. If she was taken, if Levi got to her first, maybeoneof them would have thought to leave a sign.

“They seemed … interesting,” Silas spoke, cutting into my thoughts as we continued to pace and search through debris.

“Who?”

“Corina’s friends.”He peered up and I guessed the look he gave was because we both knew they were more than her friends. They were a crew of some sort. For what purpose, we could only speculate.

“Interesting is a safe way of putting it,” I mumbled as I stooped to the ground, lifting a sign someone had leaned against the trunk of a large oak.

“You think they’ll show?”

Silas’ question barely got my attention, because I was pretty sure I’d just found a clue. And upon further examination of the duffle bag I’d discovered, I wascertainof it.

“This is it!”

I didn’t waste time bothering with the zipper. My claws elongated and I tore through the top, revealing what was inside.

Food.

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