a headstrong, rebellious daughter who had no respect for her father. I couldn’t let the Keepers know that only two out of those three things were true.
I couldn’t see out of the dark tinted windows of the limo, but we drove for about an hour. My mind was still back in Vail. I wished there were some way to talk with my father. He would help us. He would fight the Keepers. But how could we possibly link his pack with the Searchers?
My body was exhausted. My mind in a frenzy. I still had no idea where I was being taken or what would happen when we arrived at our destination. No matter how confident I wanted to appear, curiosity won out when the car pulled to a stop.
“Where are we?”
“A terribly inconvenient location insisted upon by your friends.” Efron set down the glass of brandy he’d been sipping during the ride. “We should be commended for our cooperation.”
Emile growled quietly. He’d been staring at me for the entire trip. I knew he wanted to intimidate me, but it only made me hate him more. When he climbed past me, following Efron out of the limo, I whispered, “Someday I will watch you die.”
He smiled at me. All fangs. “Too afraid to try and kill me yourself?”
I slid a hard smile back at him without flinching. Fear had no part in it, but there were a number of people on the list of Emile’s enemies who deserved revenge more than I did. Including my father. Including Ren.
“Move along, Calla,” Lumine said, flicking me with her long nails.
I climbed out of the car. Emile stayed at my side, playing the role of prison guard, while the Keepers spent time smoothing the lines of their respective Chanel and Gucci suits. The driver and another man exited the car. I recognized both as elder Banes. They took up flanking positions beside the Keepers.
I looked around, trying to figure out where we were. We stood at the edge of a small meadow that broke up the pine forest. In the distance I could see the outlines of mountain peaks where snow-laden clouds curled around jagged rock. The air was too fresh to put us near any city, but we weren’t in the territory around Vail either.
We’d driven out of the storm as well. Here the occasional icy flake drifted past, but there was almost no sign of wind and the snow only reached our ankles in depth.
I caught the sign of movement in the trees across the open space. Figures emerged from the forest, coming toward us.
When I recognized the tumble of chestnut hair and long duster, I almost called out. Connor was alive. Just seeing him gave me hope that maybe the mission in Eydis hadn’t ended in disaster. Without thinking, I stepped toward him. Emile grabbed my arm, his fingers digging into my flesh hard enough to bruise. I ignored the pain as my eyes moved over the rest of the party, but I didn’t find who I was looking for. The two people I’d expect to lead an effort to rescue me, Shay and Ren, were nowhere to be seen. Neither were Bryn or Mason or Nev.
Connor was leading a slumped figure, who stumbled through the snow. Logan looked in much worse shape than the last time I’d seen him. When he got close, I saw his swollen, split lip and black eye.
“Father!” Logan cried out. Connor shoved an elbow into his ribs and Logan doubled over coughing.
“How dare you lay a hand on my son!” Efron shouted, eyes blazing. I saw power rolling over his shoulders like lightning and hoped Connor knew what he was doing. Even if an exchange had been agreed upon, if a wraith was in the mix, I didn’t have a lot of faith in our chances of getting out of this alive.
Anika glanced at Connor, shaking her head. “Enough.”
Connor continued to hold Logan’s gaze and dragged a finger across his throat. The young Keeper cowered and threw a pleading gaze at his father.
Even though I wasn’t in on the plan, I trusted it was a good one.
A proud, stiff figure whose wrists were cuffed with steel kept pace with Anika. Sabine’s eyes were bloodshot, limbs trembling in the cold.
Two more Searchers, armed with crossbows, took up the rear of the small party. They kept their weapons trained on Emile and the other two Banes. The small party came to a halt when they were about five feet away from us.
“I’d offer you refreshments, but you turned down my offer of hospitality,” Efron said to Anika, though he was watching Sabine. He looked as puzzled as I was by her appearance. His gaze was hard, shifting from fury to curiosity as she kept her own eyes downcast.
“Your offices hardly make a hospitable meeting place to us, Efron,” Anika said with a cold smile.
Efron shrugged. “Shall we do business, then?”
“As we’ve agreed,” Anika said. “The wolf for your son?”
Efron nodded.
Sabine stumbled forward suddenly, throwing herself at Efron’s feet. “Wait! You promised I could speak!”
The Banes sprang forward, shifting into wolf form. They stalked around Sabine.
Efron’s lips curled back in a sneer as he looked at the trembling girl on her knees in front of him.
I stared at her. What the hell was she doing?
“Please,” she said. “Please.”
“What is this?” Efron spat.
“That girl is useless to us,” Anika said stiffly. “But unlike you, we aren’t monsters. We don’t execute prisoners for no reason and we can’t risk her seeing our operations. She’s a liability.”
Sabine was sobbing and trying to tear out her hair through her bonds. “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry. I made a terrible mistake.”
“How pathetic,” Lumine said. “What a joy that we don’t share your burden of conscience.” She looked at the Banes and raised her hand. I couldn’t breathe, knowing she was about to give the order for them to rip Sabine apart.
“No.” Efron threw her a sharp glance. “This is for me to deal with.”
Lumine sighed, letting her hand fall. “As you wish.”
“Please forgive me, master.” Sabine stared up at him, her face wet with tears. “Show me your favor. Take me back.”
I felt sick, knowing this wasn’t real but unable to understand how it could be part of the Searchers’ plan. Why would Sabine come back to Efron? What good would come of that?
A smile slowly curved Efron’s mouth. “Dear Sabine, why would I open my arms to you? Betrayal cuts like the sharpest knife. Surely you know that.”
“I know,” she pleaded. “I didn’t understand. But I don’t belong with them. I belong with you.” She turned to glare at Anika. “They are fools,” she hissed. “I want to live. Let me come back to the Banes.”
Efron nodded. “You always were a survivor.”
She nodded.
“Dax and Fey would certainly welcome your return,” he continued, lazily trailing his hand through his golden hair. “Particularly since the third in your party proved a poor replacement for you.”
My blood felt colder than the air around us.
Lumine smiled cruelly. “I told you she wouldn’t last.”
Efron shrugged.
Sabine wasn’t moving. She kept her eyes on Efron but didn’t speak.
My voice broke the silence. “Cosette?”
The question earned me a knock on the head from Emile that made my ears ring as I hit the snow on all fours.
“Keep your mouth shut, bitch.”
“Such a frail girl. Not much of a wolf either.” Efron shook his head slowly in mock regret. “One day after you’d left, we found her hanging from a tree outside the Bane compound. Only one day.”
His gaze slid over Sabine, his smile razor sharp. She didn’t flinch; instead she murmured, “Cosette was always weak.”
“Indeed.” Efron stretched his hand to Sabine. She took his fingers, letting him pull her up. “Welcome home, my
