Page 12 of Magic Betrayed

My fae light died, but the pressure only grew, and my vision narrowed as my whole body went limp. Something lifted me up and pulled me forward. My hood was yanked away. And in the darkness just in front of me, a pair of glowing amber coals flared to life.

I somehow tilted my head back enough to stare into those fiery eyes and saw when they widened with horror and recognition.

“Raine?”

I knew that voice. Had dreamed of it so many times in the past few weeks. Might even be dreaming it now.

The iron vise on my throat disappeared, and then I was being held up by a trembling grip on my shoulders. The lights flicked on, and I flinched away from the searing brightness, my eyes slamming shut against the pain.

“All hells, Raine, what happened to you?”

Suddenly, I wasn’t sure anymore. Was any of this real? Because that sounded like Callum, and he wasn’t in the city. I’d broken into his apartment only because I knew he wasn’t there. Maybe all of this was a dream that I could shake off. Wake up from. Maybe Ari and Kes and Logan were still asleep in their beds and everything would be fine…

My knees buckled, and Dream Callum caught me. I caught a hazy glimpse of his face as my consciousness faded and comforted myself with the reminder that he didn’t hate me in my dreams.

“I didn’t know where else to go,” I murmured, but the words were slurred and I didn’t know if he could understand them. “Need help. Kids. Kes. Gone. Call Faris.”

“I’ll take care of it,” he promised, and his voice was everything I remembered. Deep and warm, with a hint of impatience and… a whole lot of worry. He definitely sounded worried. “I’ll take care of everything, just… Raine, can you tell me who hurt you?”

I couldn’t. My mouth didn’t seem to want to form words anymore. But it was okay now because I was safe. Safe in a dream, or safe with Callum. He said he would take care of everything, and he always kept his promises.

Always…

With that last comforting thought, I let go and drifted away from the pain, into soft and welcoming darkness.

FOUR

Ow.

It was my first and only thought upon regaining consciousness—just one all-encompassing sensation of unrelenting yuck.

My head throbbed. Breathing hurt. My back hurt, too. I was warm, at least, and that counted for something. But why did everything hurt so much?

Last night… Kes. The kids. Gone. The attack… My eyes flew open and then slammed shut with a groan. When I flexed my fingers, they curled around something soft. It didn’t feel like my blanket…

This wasn’t my bed.

Which of my fragmented memories were real and which were a pain-fueled dream?

More slowly this time, I peeled my eyes open, squinting against the light filtering through narrowly open shutters. I was in an unfamiliar bedroom, one with dark sage green walls and wood floors. When I turned my head to the side—not without a wince—I could see a bookshelf, a wingback chair, and a rag rug on the floor. Two doors, probably one for a closet.

My final memories from last night began to play, but with gaps and static, like damaged film. I’d been looking for a phone. The Portal was closed. So I’d crossed the street, picked the lock, and broken into Callum’s empty apartment.

Exceptit wasn’t empty.

Maybe I’d dreamed that part. Maybe I’d dreamed it all. But this room, this bed, suggested otherwise.

Someone had found me. But when and where? Had Kes and the kids been found, too? Were they okay? Or had Shane’s warning come just a few hours too late?

The door to the bedroom flew open without warning. I flinched from the sound, as a brown-bearded mountain paused in the doorway, his green eyes glowing with fury as he scanned my face.

“Faris.” I sat up, too quickly, and gasped as pain stabbed at my ribs and my skull. My hand darted to the side of my head and encountered a thick bandage. When had I been seen by a medic?

“Did you find them?” My voice cracked and trembled. “Are they okay?”

He looked back at me, and I saw the answer in his granite-hard expression.

“We tried tracking the phone, but it seems to be turned off. And we searched the building.” His voice rumbled ominously, but in circumstances like these, it was a comforting sound. “They aren’t hiding there, and even if they were at the start…”

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