Page 155 of Coerced

I opened my eyes to stare at him.

He stared back.

“Calm down and think with your head, not your heart.” He took my hand in his. “Was there anything you could have done to save Maddy?”

I could have screamed, but who would have heard? Or cared? I could have raced over to the demons’ lair after I’d dealt with Castle, but that would have only gotten me killed, too.

“No.” I let my head fall on his shoulder. “I guess Iwishthere was. It’s hard to accept that I’m useless in a crisis and even harder to live with the guilt that my uselessness can cost a life.”

“You arenotuseless. You kept yourself alive and rescued all of us. We’d all still be sitting in that workshop if it wasn’t for you. You are strong and brave.” He squeezed my hand. “And as for Maddy? None of us are to blame for what happened to her.Evildid that, Gemma. Not you.Evil. Hubler and Castle and those who follow them.”

“And those who live by the sword, die by the sword.” Chance sat down on my other side. “You can bet they won’t be alive for long. Not after we report this to the Council.”

“Forget the Council.” Jax laid his cheek against the top of my head. “They won’t survive Kerry.”

Kerry. Oh, my sweet boy, where are you?

My heart hurt from how much I missed him.

“Whoa!” Spin called out. “What in the world isthat?”

A little bird zipped into the room and paused, then headed straight for us.

“Watch out!” Jax jumped up and tried to intercept it, but it dodged him. “It’s metal or something!”

I was too heartsick to care. If it wanted to hurt me, let it hurt me. But it only landed on my knee and half-hopped, half-staggered up my thigh, moving like a clockwork toy slowly losing its wind-up. I picked it up and held it in my cupped palms.

“Careful,” Chance warned. “We don’t know what it is or who it’s from.”

I ignored him and examined it more closely. It almost reminded me of those caution birds from the Repository—

I gasped.

No. No way.

“What? Did it hurt you?” Chance reached for my hands.

“No. I think… I think it’s from Kerry!”

The bird opened its beak and a rolled-up piece of paper poked out. Using my thumb and index finger, I carefully pulled it out. The bird closed its beak and went still.

I unrolled the paper, which turned out to be a battered index card, and found my nightlight, the one Kerry had drawn for me months ago and recharged right before the ambush.

“Itisfrom him!” Relief made my eyes fill with tears.

“There’s writing on the back!” Jax reached for the card. “It looks like Gigi’s!”

I held it away from him, flipped it over, and read aloud, “Light up your candle so we can track you.”

Without hesitation, I pressed my thumb to it and flooded it with power. As golden light filled the room, a smile traced over my lips.

Kerry was coming.

43. She’s Gone

Rome

I slammed out of the room, careened down the hall, and stumbled outside. The fresh air helped, but not enough. I made it around the corner of the building before I emptied my stomach on the grass.

---