Page 41 of Fractured Souls
I let out a shaky exhale, not feeling guilty, exactly…just feeling off about it. Had we summoned the creature in there? Or had it reacted defensively like Adriel suggested?
I ran a hand over my face. “We are leaving. I’ve learned way too much and haven’t had any time to process. Did we get enough books?”
Desmond nodded. “Most of them were on the tombs of the last successors.”
“I wonder if all those people are actually dead,” I muttered, thinking about Beryl and how she’d been alive eighteen years ago. I definitely needed more answers, but not right now.
“Do we just walk the fuck out of here?” Cash asked, narrowing his eyes on the graveyard gate.
“I can transport us to somewhere in the Kingdom of Day, closer to the exit,” Adriel explained, “but we have to walk out of the gate first.”
“We need to be really fucking careful.” Dean looked towards the crypt. “I would love to say those were simple grave robbers, but I’m not sure I believe that.”
I nodded in agreement and hesitated before saying what was on my mind. “The surge of magic from opening the crypt and then the door… It may have attracted them, even if they just wanted to see what was happening.”
“They weren’t that innocent,” Draven said knowingly.
“You’re right about that.” Zander’s gaze flashed dark. “Their desires were muted, but they weren’t ones I particularly wanted to delve into.”
“Yeah, I would prefer we leave before anyone else takes an interest,” I murmured. As we walked towards the gate, I couldn’t help the sense of dread that filled my stomach. The streets were quiet, more than when we had first arrived—the crowds having dissipated—but I still had the feeling there were eyes on us. It had my siren feeling defensive over my men.
The moment we’d stepped out of the graveyard, Adriel transported us without warning.
“Sorry—fuck.” Adriel winced as Rhett groaned, leaning over as if he were about to throw up. “I could feel someone trying to track us.”
“I didn’t see anyone, but I could feel magic reaching out to us,” Desmond agreed.
“I can’t feel anything.” I frowned, looking around at the abandoned warehouse Adriel brought us to, empty with the exception of debris and some other shit.
“That’s because of my magic,” Zander assured me. “We’re shielding you a lot.”
“We’re close to the city gate,” Cash said. “I can scent the change in the air.”
“Possibly not close enough. I can also scent a lot of people around us—there are a fuck ton,” Rhett growled.
“I think it would be in our best interest to avoid as many people as possible, especially if you felt someone following us,” Dean said evenly, but I could see how tense his entire body was.
“We’re going to scout different directions,” Zander decided. “See which is the easiest way to leave and confuse anyone trying to follow us.”
“I don’t want her out there. She should wait here,” Draven demanded softly. I would have scowled at what he was saying, trying to leave me in the warehouse, but I could also see how worried he was.
“Someone should stay with her,” Zander agreed.
“You,” I said to Zander, not bothering to fight them on the plan. I knew how protective my boys were over me, which meant I was stuck in this warehouse whether I liked it or not. “You’re using your magic to shield me as it is, so it makes the most sense for you to be the one to stay. Plus, I’m guessing this won’t take long.”
“Fifteen, twenty minutes max,” Adriel said.
“Let’s go,” Rhett ordered, far more serious than normal. I stepped closer to Zander as they put their large stacks of books in front of us and began to file out of different exits. I didn’t understand the exact dynamics of why we couldn’t just portal out of here, but I could feel a strong restrictive magic underlying the land, so I was guessing it had something to do with that.
I mean, hell, it took me a bit to figure out why we couldn’t leave Broken House so easily, so other places having restrictions wasn’t shocking. Especially a place like this.
“I have a bad feeling about our visitors in the crypt,” Zander murmured. I turned into him, offering an arched brow. Zander wasn’t one to worry about pointless shit, so if he was concerned, there was probably a damn good reason for it.
“You don’t think they were just grave robbers or whatever?” I asked, wondering if he agreed with Dean’s analysis of the situation.
“Something like that.” He shook his head before nodding towards the pile of books on the ground. “We should probably look over what everyone grabbed.”
Needing to distract myself until my men were back here and safe, I crouched down with him and began to sort through the books, finding an assortment of journals, military logs, and extensive family tees that held details of each family member’s life. I felt confidence surge through me becausethis,if anything, was going to be the key to figuring out what the hell to do—
