Page 59 of Bound to Four Alphas

Caeda nodded, “I woke up long enough to see Father carrying her there. I tried to get to her, I promise I did. I wiped out six humans before they knocked me out again.”

“And we are very grateful,” said Kaelen, using the same alpha tone. “Can you tell us anything more about how to get there?”

“There are catacombs under the temple that lead to a series of caves connecting to the mountain passes,” Caeda said, trembling slightly with effort to keep her rising emotions under control. “It’s one of the ways I sneak out of the Marble Halls.”

“I know them,” said Elian. “Are you going to be okay?”

Caeda’s eyes widened, her gaze flicking between them, the distress clear. “Father has made an alliance with The Silverthorn Kingdom. Prince Damien is here. They’re going to use whatever horrible weapon it is they have on us to take power. Father was going to make me mate Damien, unite the humans and the Fae so that he could keep control.”

“That’s not going to happen,” said Elian fiercely. “Can you hide in the woods? Wait for us to come back for you?”

“And what if we don’t come back?” Ronan said quietly, the words dropping to the floor like stones.

“You said you can fly, is that right?” Kaelen said suddenly, his gaze intense.

Caeda nodded. “I can shapeshift just like Elian.”

“Then fly north,” he said, “go to the volcanoes. My people are there, alongside Ronan’s. Find a dragon called Iveir, and tell him who you are and what has happened. They’ll keep you safe if… until we return.”

Caeda paused; then, with a determined gulp of air, nodded. She leaned up and pressed a kiss to Elian’s cheek before moving to the entrance of the tent.

“Good luck,” she whispered before transforming into a sleek, golden falcon and darting off into the night.

Chapter 26 - Selena

Her throat was on fire. That was the first thing she registered as she woke, groggy and dazed.

She tried to lift a hand to her neck, certain in her stupor that she must be on fire, but her wrist met resistance alongside a sharp bite of pain.

Cold, hard stone grazed her back as she tried to jerk up to see what had happened.

Stone.

That wasn’t right, she had been in her room.

Hadn’t she?

As she blinked, moaning in pain, everything came crashing down with ferocious intensity.

She was on a stone table of some kind, cold and rough. Her hands and feet were bound with iron manacles, securing her, the sharp bolts biting into her skin whenever she struggled too much. The cold had seeped into her very bones, her muscles trembling.

Oh Gods.

The baby? Was the baby alright?

She craned her head, trying desperately to look down at her stomach. She breathed out. There was no blood between her legs, no pain. Only relentless, driving cold shielded only by a thin, white shift.

Her baby was still alive, still thrumming with life within her.

She had to get out.

With a groan, she lifted her head, surveying the room with rising panic. It was built of crumbling stone, dead leaves drifting on the drafts from holes and cracks over the uneven floor, iron sconces coated in dust bolted into the wall. There were various arches and doorways leading deeper into the gloom, dark with shadow.

It was old. Ancient, even.

Dead.

There was such a profound absence. A freezing void that she could sense once teemed with life. A bleached skeleton long since rotted away.

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