Page 10 of Centaur Bolt

“Concentrate, Triss,” Cara said. “Where is he?”

Triss’s eyes snapped open. “He’s at the market!”

Cara’s mouth pulled straight, but she kept her gaze on the gate. “They’ve made the exchange. At least they’ve kept their word.”

My heart twisted.No.

“I have to go to Manny.” Marcus’s mother spoke through gritted teeth.

“Use the forest gate,” Cara said. “We will continue to try tracing Marcus through this one. I will come as soon as I can to check Emmanuel over and make sure he’s okay.”

“But Marcus—” The torment in her voice tore at my already beleaguered heart.

“This is going to take time, Triss. If Isobel has already done the exchange—we are now back to trying to find her hideout.”

Triss uttered something that could only be a curse, but pain twisted through it.

“Go to Emmanuel,” Cara said.

The older male that had carried me put a hand on Triss’s shoulder. “Emmanuel might know where they took Marcus,” he rumbled.

Triss glanced at him, then pointed at two of the others. “Stay here in case they need backup.” Then she whirled, and the remaining three galloped away with her.

The Satyr planted fists on shapely hips and stared at the Bellati standing with Tyrez. “Why didn’t you stop him from going through?”

The Bellati shook his head, but he looked dismayed. “He had a homing crystal. I didn’t think to stop him. Nothing about it looked suspicious.”

“It’s not his fault,” Tyrez rumbled. “He had no reason to stop him.”

The Bellati grimaced. “I should have known something was up. His life essence was off.”

Tyrez blew steam through his nostrils. “A simple guard might not be enough for the gates.”

“Amadeus has resisted official gatekeeping protocols due to Bess and I spending so much of our time here. But we’ve already had one serious incident, and now this,” Cara said.

“You could not have foreseen that Marcus would voluntarily go to her,” Tyrez protested. “Isobel would have found a way to get to him, regardless.”

I only half listened. What could have, or should have, been done was a moot point now. I swayed from one foot to the other as I hugged myself.

“Are you also friends with Marcus?” The Centaur that Kiko had ridden stood very close to her as he spoke. His equine body was jet-black, and his skin almost as dark.

“Not friends, no. He is my teammate, though,” the Satyr replied to him. “How about you?”

“I have known Marcus for many years,” he said. “What that Sorceress has done to him—”

“It’s awful.” The Satyr eyed him.

I shot her a glance. Her focus was entirely on the Centaur. His dark eyes gleamed as they met hers. And my gaze caught on something dangling below him.

She’d said she couldn’t entirely switch it off. As I glared at her, she raised a brow. “Ten,” she mouthed.

I turned away. Marcus was all I cared about.

She moved up beside me. “Look, I really don’t know him, but Sixey strikes me as one damned tough guy,” she said. “I’m sure he’ll be okay.”

I appreciated the effort, but I’d glimpsed just how broken Marcus really was. And now, he was back in the hands of the woman who’d torn him apart. My heart felt as though it were going to break.

The blue gate energy became increasingly erratic. And then, it shut off, as both Watchers lowered their hands. When Cara turned to me, I already knew it was bad news.

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