I ran beside him as we sped through the desert. “Are we close?” I huffed, actually getting tired. I hadn’t run this long before, and I was coming to find that Fae did tire out. “Couldn’t the damn portal have dropped us off closer?”
“Just a little longer. As to your question, not only are portals fickle, but while they get you near to the desired location they always have to appear within deep forestation. It doesn’t help matters that humans have destroyed may forests.”
Touché.
A little longer turned out to be a lot longer. It also involved going into the dryland of Arizona. At long last, Roark slowed as we stepped into the boundary of lush green trees. Considering everything had been dried up so far, I would take a guess these were planted.
Roark held out an arm to catch me before I went barreling through the breaking of the trees. I oomphed and peeked through. “We have to evade the cameras and get inside. From there, we find Lucian. And Rae? Do as I say, we can’t be caught.”
I nodded, and he cocked an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and waved him forward. The darkness of night hid us from obvious sight as he led me closer to the gate. He put his arm out, and I halted as a camera rounded and then returned the other way. After making sure it couldn’t see us, we kept going until we reached the tall gate. Roark gripped the thick, dark bars and pulled them open. They screeched as he bent them to make a passageway.
“Let me make sure there aren’t any traps.” Roark maneuvered his way through the door he’d made and disappeared. I shuffled from foot to foot, waiting for him to appear again. I gnawed on my lip when a rustle sounded behind me. I whirled and eyed the dark forest as my neck crawled.
“Fuck this,” I muttered and hopped to the other side. As I stepped forward, a hand gripped my backpack and tugged me back sharply. A scream built, but before it could escape, a hand covered my mouth.
“Do you ever listen?”
I deflated like a balloon at Roark’s words. I smacked his arms and pushed him off me. “You scared me, you jerk.”
“I wouldn’t have scared you if you’d listen,” he said, exasperated. I stuck out my tongue at him. “I found an open window.”
Roark guided me through the yard. Who needed these many statues, anyway? They littered the lawn obnoxiously. The only perk was that we slinked behind them for coverage to get closer to the elegant mansion. A light in one of the highest windows flickered on, and a form was outlined. I froze. Moments later, it moved away. I squinted at it and rubbed my hands together, feeling like a ninja.
I had to do a double take when I realized Roark was already at the cracked window.
“Shit,” I mouthed and scurried after him as he slid it open. “You’re way to good at this ninja stuff.”
He pressed his hand over my mouth. Right. Unnaturals had super hearing. I climbed through the window after him and blinked as my sight adjusted to the darkness. I could see the outlines of furniture and the way the room extended. Wait a minute… We were in a hallway.
I stepped forward and kept my voice down. “I mean, he’s a freaking dragon. I expect minion dragons to circle us any second.”
I grunted as something hit me and I tumbled to the side. Light flooded the room, blinding me. When something cold touched my neck, I froze. My vision quickly adjusted to the light, and I gaped when I was able to make out who had me in the hold with a knife to my throat. The green hair was very much a dye job, unlike the mermaid youngling I’d met, but it was awesome, nonetheless. Her petite face was way adorable with her delicate features. Dark eyebrows winged her caramel face. I pressed my lips together and tried to force the billowing in my chest down. It would be so awkward if I just imploded under her. And after my first break-in.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
My eyes flicked to the side where Roark lay on the ground, a feather sticking out of his neck. My chest rose in fear. I made to move, but the sting of the blade on my skin froze me in place. Iron. “Oh, God, tell me you didn’t kill him.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I—we just—” I swallowed hard. Dammit! I needed to talk. The knife pressed into my neck threateningly. I wondered if I would have enough time to toss her off before she cut me. “We don’t mean any harm!”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s what they all say.”
“Now, Rita, let’s not be hasty,” a deep male voice said. I barely stopped myself from turning his way. It would have been a sure-fire way to put a knife in my throat. “Get off the girl.”
Rita pushed off me and said, “No quick movements,” as she waved the knife at me. I got up slowly. I’d been right. We’d stepped through a hallway. My eyes were automatically drawn to the beast of a man with his arms and legs splayed. He was dressed elegantly, with a vest, too. While I could tell she was human, I could tell this man was not. The threat to Roark pressed on my shoulders.
“Speak,” he ordered.
I pressed my lips together, shooting a look at the unconscious Roark. “Is he okay?”
“My uncle asked you a question.” Rita kicked my shoe. My eye twitched.
“We came to steal some type of powder,” I admitted honestly.
