Page 61 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

“I found her,” I said. “Let’s go.”

Without argument, they followed me. As I led them out of the café and onto the bustling sidewalk, Freya’s location was locked in my mind. Arion jogged at my side, and magic rumbled from him. Whatever trouble Freya had landed in, he sensed it too.

“She’ll be okay,” Cady said, but she didn’t sound sure.

I didn’t have it in myself to comfort her. All I could think about was Freya. All I could do was get to her.

Block after block, we weaved through the crowds. My magic simmered under my skin, and I used it periodically to check Freya’s location. As we grew closer, she didn’t move and neither did the dark cloud of magic. I quickened my pace.

When we reached a huge, gray mansion, we skidded to a halt. Though it was in mint condition, people on the street veered away from it. Darkness loomed behind its windows, and acrid magic poured from its depths. I cast my magic senses once more.

Amid that terrible magic was Freya.

Arion recognized her too. He hissed and raced across the street. Without hesitating, I followed the familiar and frowned at the padlocked door. Cady and Ryder stopped right behind me.

“How did she get in?” I wondered and picked up the lock. Despite the sunshine and high temperatures, it was cool to the touch.

“Portal?” Cady suggested.

“Freya doesn’t Portal,” Ryder and I said at the same time.

We met each other’s stares.

“Something drew her here,” I said. “She wouldn’t have gone off on her own without good reason.”

“Do you think she found it?” Cady asked. “The chimera?”

“Why would she go after it alone?” Ryder asked. “She didn’t even take her familiar with her.”

“She wouldn’t have left Cady by herself,” I realized, “andshe would’ve done anything to keep the chimera from getting away.”

Guilt and worry turned my stomach. If not for me, Freya never would’ve ran headfirst into danger alone.

I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

I pulled the Sol Sword from where it was sheathed at my back and raised it to break the chain.

“Wait,” Ryder ordered with a feral grin. “No need to dull your blade.”

After making sure we hadn't garnered attention, Ryder morphed his right hand into a grotesque mash-up of a wolf paw and a human appendage. Fur lined his muscular knuckles, and claws replaced his fingernails. Ryder grasped the padlock and wrenched it a part. I shielded Cady with my body and opened the door.

A shadowy entryway greeted us. Warily, we stepped inside. Marble floors shined despite the dim light and unnaturalquietness pressed in on us. Though no air conditioning ran, it was as cold as the vampire’s castle.

I swallowed. “Freya?”

No one answered. Cady studied our surroundings with open-mouthed horror. “This is Madame LaLaurie’s mansion.”

Her words sent a chill down my spine, and a scream shattered the heavy silence.

Freya.

???

Freya

As I floated in darkness, lost to the rocky sea of pain, familiar magic skittered down my senses like a caress. My magic hummed in response and pulled me back toward awareness. Agony echoed down my shoulder and up my neck, but I refused to slip away again.

I recognized the magic that had woken me.

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