Chapter 85

[ 1,014 words ]

Aria

The iron stink of blood, stale water, and rust clings to the underground corridors of the Citadel prison.

The steps go down, further down than I thought was possible.

It feels like we’re sinking into the waiting mouth of an ancient beast, and when the stone steps finally end, we’re met with a long dark corridor.

My shifter eye sight turned what should have been a pitch-black hallway into a dim, quiet passage.

“I think they’re taking the whole dungeon thing too seriously,” Felix whispers.

“Think Aldren’s got a hard on for being the villain?” Liam banters

“Personally, I think he’s compensating for something,” Felix quips.

“Definitely, micro penis energy,” I say.

We pass by the first few cells, all empty and stained with what could be mud or dried blood.

It’s too old to tell, and I’m not trying to stop and find out.

Hazel is here.

Somewhere.

I vow not to leave without her.

Felix moves beside me in complete silence, his shoulders loose, expression passive and almost pleasant beneath the dim orange torchlight.

Liam takes the lead, scenting the air the deeper we get.

He moves like he is familiar with these tunnels.

Like he has the route memorized and could traverse here blind.

My mind goes back to when Roana told me about the Assembly wanting Liam.

I assumed they were just assholes, but did they do something to him?

Did they target him as they targeted me?

Liam said there were monsters.

Was this what he spoke about?

“Get ready, they’ve spotted us,” Liam murmurs.

The sound of soft scuffling footsteps gets into range.

That’s it.

Try to corner us.

Instead of the zip of fear I expected to feel, I’m instead greeted by the thrill of anticipation.

The heat and hunger of revenge and retribution for crossing the line.

I keep moving anyway, not willing to be the weak link in our role play.

They need to think we’re too busy breaking in to realize they are on us.

Liam insisted they wouldn’t expose their real operation unless they believed they had complete control.

Felix was the first to agree with him.

It makes sense.

We need as much information as we can get to use against them when Ronan challenges Aldren.

The scuffling of footsteps becomes closer.

“It should be up ahead. There aren’t that many cells down here,” Felix says, not bothering to quiet his voice.

The more confident we appear, the easier it will be to play the awe-shucks-you-got-me card.

My wolf paces violently inside me.

She wanted to grab Hazel and rip out the throat of those who thought it was a good idea to threaten those under our protection.

Liam raises a fist suddenly, pointing his hand to where the corridors split.

My heart thunders in my chest.

This wasn’t part of the plan, and from the look on Liam’s face, this must be new.

We stop.

A loud bang coming from the center tunnel makes me jolt.

“Help me,” A man’s horse voice called out.

“Get me out!”

Gravel crunches behind us.

The echo of almost imperceptible footsteps moves towards us swiftly.

“They’re here,” the voice says on a hiss.

Gunfire erupts.

“Hunters,” Liam yells.

I throw up a wall of flame instinctively, fire exploding from my palms as silver bullets hit the blaze and melt midair.

“Fuck, I could kiss you,” I yell at Felix.

My power hums in my vein, strong, controlled, part of me.

I’m not arrogant enough to think I could have come this far on my own.

“I’ll take a rain check,” Felix shoots back.

Felix and Liam crash through the wall of fire and start to attack the Hunters.

The display of fire gave us an advantage, a small moment of shock, which they had to collect themselves from.

I join the fight, focusing on pulling from all my lessons.

The hunters are dressed in midnight-blue tactical gear, marked with silver symbols in what appear to be random places.

I attack, not waiting for someone to make the first move.

The hunter is human, but they don’t move like them.

They’re faster and stronger than I expected.

A hunter flips me in a maneuver that has my back slamming against the cold, hard floor and gasping for breath.

I roll as his boot comes down, swing out my leg to take his knees from under him.

We’re outnumbered three to one, but I keep fighting.

“Those pricks are working with Hunters, ” Felix growls, dodging a flurry of kicks.

Liam is fighting on the other side, but he has not shifted into his hybrid form yet.

The hunters have slaughtered wolves for centuries.

The Assembly considered them beneath contempt.

Raged against them, against all humans.

Now they’re partnered against us.

They’re fighting side by side.

My blood turns cold.

I partially shift, claws tearing from my fingertips as I slash across a hunter’s throat.

Felix shifts fully beside me, massive black wolf form crashing into enemies with terrifying force.

But something feels wrong.

The hunters aren’t trying to kill us.

Even as they kick and stab and slash, they are moving in tandem with each other, circling us.

Herding us.

I realize it a second too late.

A net crackling with purple magic drops from the ceiling.

I hit the floor, my bones rattling from the weight of it.

Felix’s wolf begins to tear at the fibers, and a jolt of electricity shocks him until he drops.

“Felix,” I cry.

His wolf snorts as he starts to come back to awareness.

Hunters rush forward while Assembly warriors finally emerge from hidden doors behind them.

The sneaky bastards.

The smug grins on their faces tell me they think they’ve won.

Though I want to shove their egotistical vision of victory in their faces, I bite my tongue.

Liam’s voice is taunting, cold as his eyes narrow on an Assembly warrior.

“Slumming it, now are you.”

The guard smirks at him.

“Temporary alliance.”

Before we can do anything more, Hunters and Warriors pile on us, holding us down as silver chains are clamped around our wrists.

Agony tears through me.

It feels like a wall is being split through me, and when it finally fades, I can’t feel my wolf or my power as clearly as before.

The net comes off, and I’m dragged up and away from Liam and Felix.

I struggle, but the vise grip of each of the warriors holding me makes me no stronger than a toddler throwing a tantrum.

One of the dark tunnels appears before me, and the last thing I hear before darkness swallows me is Liam screaming my name.

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