Page 112 of Drawn in Blood
Fen seemed to read her mind. “We’re taking Theo too,” he replied. “Killian told me everything. We can easily Echo, like, five people at a time no problem.”
“No, it’s not that,” Ember said, as she shook her head. “The missing kids are here.” She took a breath as she looked at Fen, hope blooming in his eyes. “Maeve is here.”
Fen straightened his spine, his face growing dark as he tapped his finger against his leg. “Where?” he breathed, his voice suddenly shaky.
She heard the question he couldn’t say out loud.
Is she okay?
“She’s in the castle,” Ember whispered, nodding for them to walk onto the balcony and quickly closing the doors. “They all are. In the… dungeons underneath.”
She didn’t mention why they were in the dungeons—what Helvig was doing with them. Fen didn’t need to know that, or he might never leave.
“So, what are we waiting for?” He steeled himself as he looked between his friends. “Let’s go get them.”
“It’s not that simple,” Ember replied, as she shook her head. “We can’t just storm into the dungeons and whisk them away. It’s too heavily guarded. But we have a plan and?—"
“Who is ‘we?’” Killian asked, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned on the railing.
“Oh,” Ember replied, gritting her teeth, “um, Rowan has been helping me.”
“You’re joking,” Fen gaped. “Ember, I will not leave my little sister’s life in that psycho’s claws.”
“I’m not saying we should trust her entirely, Fenrir,” Ember replied, “but she’s not that girl from last year. She could be our only shot at getting Maeve out alive.”
Alive. The opposite is something she hadn’t allowed herself to think about, to even consider.
“And what’s the plan?” Killian asked, as he furrowed his brow. “Why can’t we just execute it now, see if we can Echo the kids out?”
“We would never get past all of Helvig’s guards,” Ember replied, as she shook her head. “During the ball, they’ll be busy. There will be so many guests, they’ll be too focused on keeping an eye on them to heavily guard the dungeons. It should work.”
It was a bigshould.
“Oh, great.” Fen rolled his eyes. “Rowan has a plan, and I’m sure it’s lovely and not riddled with boobytraps.”
“She knows the castle like that back of her hand,” Ember replied. “She can help us if you will set your stupid pride aside.”
“Stupid pride?” Fen bristled. “Shall I remind youwhyshe knows the castle so well? She’s been working with him for over a year, Ember! Or do you not remember last spring and how she almost killed all three of us? She can’t be trusted.”
“I’m not asking you to trust her,” Ember pleaded. “I’m asking you to trust me.”
Fen bit his lip. He didn’t say anything else.
“So, what’s the plan then?” Killian asked, as he checked over the garden again, shoulders tense. “If the dungeon is crawling with as many guards as Rowan says, how are we supposed to get down there?”
“The castle will be busy during the ball,” Ember replied, beginning to pace, “and while that likely means a larger presence of guards, they should be mostly upstairs. Rowan will cause a distraction while we slip away, and she’ll meet us downstairs.”
“I’m listening.” Fen nodded, brows furrowed.
Ember detailed the plan she and Rowan had outlined, down to the abandoned hallway they would be meeting in. She pulled out the map Elowyn gave them, marking the rendezvous points and the tunnel that led under the mountain—to freedom. To home.
“Why can’t we just Echo them out of the dungeon?” Fen asked, as he studied the map.
“It would take too long,” Killian replied, almost reading Ember’s thoughts. “There are so many children, and we would have to take long breaks in between groups to make sure our magic wasn’t depleted too much. It leaves too much room for error, too much time to get caught.”
“And the castle is warded,” Ember added. “Collum has only ever echoed me outside of it, never inside. I don’t even know that echoing out would even be possible.”
“There are too many variables,” Fen said, as he shook his head and handed her the map. “What if it doesn’t work?”
