“Come on,” I said. “We have to go.”
I turned to run but Isabella tugged me back.
“What about the others?” she said, motioning to the other long line of cells.
Most might have been empty but a couple of the prisoners had managed to pull themselves up to peer at us through the bars in the cell doors.
I had two sets of keys.
What harm would it do to give them one?
I handed the second set to Isabella, who approached the nearest cell and unlocked it.
The creature inside was small and only managed to reach the height of the window thanks to her delicate wings.
She had pure white skin with yellow accentuation marks around her cheeks, shoulders, and the bends of her arms and knees.
She shied back at the sight of me, no doubt used to the cruelty her fated mate had issued at her.
Although anxious, she approached Isabella, who extended the keys.
“Take these and let the others out,” Isabella said. “There are launch pads all around the Citadel. Hijack a ship and get the hell out of here.”
The pixie took the keys and backed away again.
She clutched them close to her chest and nodded her thanks.
I took Isabella by the hand and led her out of the cell, down the corridor, up the stairs and, I hoped, on to freedom.
But plans are never that straight forward.
The universe had plenty more variables to toss at us yet.
The jubilant roars from the crowd of onlookers watching the latest pair of mating creatures grew louder the further up the stairs we moved.
We began at a run but slowed when the traffic became thicker.
“Stay close to me,” I said. “Keep your eyes down and make no sudden movements.”
I placed my hand on the back of her neck the way I’d seen the Shadow do when they brought their captured mates to this place and led her through the Citadel.
What would I say if someone stopped us and asked what I was doing taking a fated mate out of here?
I had no idea.
But with the large crowd distracted by the ongoing events in the main hall and the multitude of other Shadow continuously arriving with their own fated mates, I figured this was our best—and perhaps only—chance of escape without getting shot or causing too much ruckus.
The large entrance archway loomed ahead and might have been the archway leading to heaven beyond.
Isabella didn’t need me to lead her toward it.
She was speeding up by herself.
My heart was in my throat as we stepped free of the Citadel.
But it wasn’t freedom.
Not yet.
“Come on,” I said. “This way.”
“Where are we going? The launch pads are over there.”
“But they’re heavily guarded. There’s a garage where they maintain the ships. It’ll be a lot easier to hijack one from there than the launch pads.”
I eased her through the streets.
It began as a thick throng of locals who hastened into the Citadel.
We turned a corner and entered a narrow alleyway.
I eased my grip on Isabella’s neck and took a moment to wipe the cold sweat from my brow.
“We need to hurry,” I said. “I don’t know if it’s common for a Shadow to take his mate from the Citadel. If someone gets suspicious about what we’re up to, they could call the army down on us at a moment’s notice.”
Isabella nodded but appeared distracted.
“What?” I said. “What is it?”
“It’s Sar, the creature that took me. He’s inside the Citadel. He must have felt me leave my cell. He probably thought I was heading toward the main hall for the ceremony. Now that we left the building, he’s running through the hallways. He’s heading in this direction.”
Crap!
I’d been so focused on reaching Isabella and getting her out of the Citadel and away from the ceremony that I hadn’t even considered the bond she still shared with that asshole.
I took her by the arm.
“Come on,” I said. “We’d better get moving.”
Horror stories of what the Shadow did to captured M’rora circulated every training camp back home.
I never thought the tales of torture could have been true but judging by how they treated their fated mates—the ones they were meant to love and protect above all others—how would they treat their enemies?
At least my fate would end in blissful death… eventually.
As for Isabella, she would be subjected to a far worse fate.
I had to get her off the planet and fast.
Isabella
Once again, I had taken my eye off the ball.
Or rather, the bond.
It was always there, in the back of my mind now, like a splinter I couldn’t reach.
I focused entirely on the goal of getting out of the Citadel so much that I forgot to consider the Shadow was still connected to me.
My fate couldn’t get any worse but it could get a whole lot worse for Ras.
I was pleased he came to rescue me, but at the same time, I was afraid.
He wasn’t a Shadow, and I assumed the others would recognize him for sure… but it didn’t turn out that way.
I didn’t take my eyes off the floor and focused on marching forward.
I pretended I wasn’t there.
Maybe if I could make myself believe none of this was happening, I could disappear.
We walked through the streets as fast as we could manage without running.
We didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention on ourselves.
Ras’s hand was fastened to my neck but was light in his touch.
With the strained greys and blacks, I felt like I was in a Salvador Dali painting, or that I was making my way across the set of a Tim Burton movie.
Ever since I arrived in the Shadow Realm, I felt the happiness drain out of me.
I assumed it was to do with the situation I found myself in than the world itself.
But how could anyone feel happy in a place like this?
We turned down one narrow alleyway after another but that huge monolithic building Ras described as the “garage” never seeming to get any closer.
I wondered if we were lost.
But Ras continued doggedly
