Page 104 of Gift from the Wing

“I found the entrance, but we have a small issue.”

“What?” they all ask at once.

“I can hold the concealment, but it’s going to take a lot. There’s some sort of, I don’t know how to explain it, but like stripping or blocking magic when I passed through. I don’t think it’ll mess with our own magic, gifts, or elements but definitely spells and enchantments. I felt it trying to pull my concealment away.”

“That’s exactly what it’s doing, Adored. Nor will you be able to transport. The Summum-Master has the enchantment placed around the forest as well. It’s one of his preventative measures from spies or unfaithful followers,” Keeper informs us.

Damn it. That makes sense.

“What do you want me to do?” I ask my men.

“Don’t waste your energy holding the concealment. We already have the element of surprise now. What did you see?” Tillman asks.

“This opens to an empty chamber with only one way to go.”

“Then that’s where we’re going. Palace team three, stand guard. Everyone else ready?” he asks.

At everyone’s definitive nods, I release our concealment, and he leads the way. He and Corentin step through first, followed by me, then Draken and Caspian. I hold my breath until my eyes find them and I move out of the way for as many of our men to follow in.

There’s no way everyone we brought with us will fit in here, but I leave that up to Tillman to handle. I can’t ignore the pounding in my chest any longer. I feel her. We’re so close now that I could follow the threads connecting the two of us.

My men sense it in me, and they position themselves around me wordlessly. As soon as the remainder of our family piles in behind us, we push forward.

Moving down the hall on silent steps, I bring my dragon forth, allowing my eyes to glow violet, and the dark hallway comes to life before me. There’s no one in my sight, but in the short distance, I see the first break away in the wall.

The small corridor is dark and only a few feet deep, leading to a solid steel door. Without a window, crack, or crevasse, there’s no way to tell who or what is behind it, but with one small nod at Caspian from Tillman, he moves through the shadows.

I try to reach out and grab him before he goes in alone, but I’m too slow. Not that it matters, though, because before I can get pissed or panic, he’s popping right back out.

“Twelve alive hostages,” he whispers, but I hear the strain in his tone and his emphasis on alive.

“No guards?” Tillman asks.

“No.”

“Leave them for now then. They’ll be safer there. Any guard we pass won’t make it to them again.”

That murderous promise draws a smirk to Caspian’s lips, and I see the rage morph into something far more fearful. Well, not fearful to me but surely anyone we come across.

We pass three more cells laid out the exact same way as we make our way through the winding hallway and each time, we handle it the same. So far, it seems as though the design is crafted that this one hallway covers the entire stretch of this side of the volcano. I’m almost positive it’ll lead directly to the magma pool, and from there, there will be other routes to take.

I only assume that because of lack of other directions to go other than straight and we’ve only encountered one Mastery member. I’m pretty sure he was going to the restroom that we passed.

He didn’t make it.

No instructions need to be given to Caspian as we approach the fourth steel door, and I keep my eyes peeled down the empty stretch of stone so we aren’t caught off guard by any wandering Mastery members.

“Everyone, get ready. Prepare yourselves,” Caspian says coldly not two seconds later.

That’s the only warning he gives us before wrapping me, the rest of our Nexus, Nikoli, and Jamie in his shadows and snatching us through the walls.

My dragon immediately rushes to the surface and bile collects in my mouth at the sight in front of me and the sounds flood my ears.

In the middle of the room, Ry and San are tied to a post with their backs to one another. Ry’s being restrained with massive ice blocks around his hands and feet, while San’s are contained in the stone blocks and shoes. Just like I was.

There’re four Mastery members on each side, taking turns laying into them whether it be with a gift, a fist, or an element. They aren’t even interrogating them. They’re just ruthlessly beating them to the brink of death.

Ear-piercing screams leave the chests of both Nikoli and Jamie. Concealed in this cloak of darkness, that’s all I hear. Their wails are so loud, they block out the grunts and groans falling from their brothers. The noise is haunting, and I know I’ll never be able to wipe any of these tortured sounds from my memory.

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