“It’s all right,” my father repeated. “I don’t mean you any harm.”

I was about to begin climbing the wall myself to see what was going on when my father reappeared. He was holding the arm of a small boy who looked no older than six. The boy struggled against my father’s grip, but my father held on tight. The boy stopped suddenly when he saw me standing in the center of the chamber. His eyes widened. “You don’t smell like witches. What are you?”

“We are Novaks,” my father replied.

The boy wrinkled his nose. “Novaks?”

“We are here to help you,” I called up. “We promise. What’s your name?”

“Kyan.”

“Can you tell us what happened here, Kyan?” my father asked.

“A w-warlock came.” Kyan’s voice trembled as he spoke. “He took my mother and my brother, and he cast a spell on our whole pack.”

“A warlock?” my father asked, shocked.

“Yes. He’s locked himself in the chieftain’s quarters.”

“Can you take us there?” my father asked.

Kyan bit his lower lip. “I am afraid to go near.”

“Then tell us how to get there,” my father said. “We might be able to help your parents if you help us.”

“All right,” the boy said after a pause.

My father helped him onto his back before climbing back down to the floor to meet me. Kyan pointed to a tunnel to our right. “Go down that passageway,” he said. “It will lead you to another chamber surrounded by doors. The largest one is the entrance to the chieftain’s private quarters… I-I don’t know what the warlock wants with him.”

“Thank you.” My father looked at me grimly, then we left the boy and followed his directions.

Indeed, we did arrive in a chamber filled with rounded oak doors and we stopped outside the tallest one.

“Warlock,” I breathed. “Who could that be?”

My father pressed an ear against the door and raised a finger to his lips. I pressed my head against the wood too and joined him in listening.

My heart skipped a beat as I picked up on a familiar voice, deep and masculine.

Rhys.

Chapter 13: Sofia

I was both relieved and surprised when my daughter and husband came climbing down the mountain so soon after they had left. I’d expected them to be much longer.

“What happened?” I asked, running forward as they approached, still invisible.

“We’ve got a problem,” Derek said.

“What?” Kiev asked.

We all gathered around them.

“Rhys Volkin,” my daughter replied. “He’s within the mountain. He has taken the chieftain hostage.”

Mona gasped.

“Are you sure?” Micah asked.

“Yes,” Derek replied. “He has cast a spell on the entire pack, except, it seems, for the chieftain. The chambers are filled with sleeping werewolves.”

“What would Rhys be doing here?” Ashley asked.

I didn’t know if Ashley’s question was meant to be rhetorical or not, but we all concluded the same thing at once.

“He must be after Magnus too,” Mona said, her voice unsteady. “He must want him for the ritual.”

Her words were both panicking and comforting. If Rhys really had come here for Magnus in order to complete the ritual, then it meant they hadn’t carried it out yet. It had been so long since we’d left The Shade now, the thought of the black witches having already completed the ritual had been nagging at the back of my mind. If Rhys too was on the hunt for Magnus, then it meant that we might have time. But it also meant that we couldn’t afford to let him find Magnus first.

“We have to knock the bastard out of the race,” Kiev said.

“You forget that he is far more powerful now,” Mona replied. “I have no idea how we would be able to pose a threat to him. We don’t even have dragons.”

“He has no idea we are here,” Micah said. “Rose, Derek—is that right? He didn’t see you?”

“No,” Derek said. “We just listened in at the door. As far as I know, he is not aware of our presence here.”

“Well,” Micah said, “if he doesn’t know that we are here, at least we have some advantage.”

“Hardly,” Mona said.

“Let’s just get up to the mountain,” Rose urged. “We have no idea how long he’s going to spend with the chieftain. We can’t let him get away. If he finds Magnus…”

We all knew the consequences.

Ibrahim, Mona and Corrine wasted no more time and transported us halfway up the mountain. The sheer height at which we were standing took my breath away. Rose and Derek pointed toward a tunnel and we began racing into it after them. We traveled through several tunnels and chambers, passing sleeping werewolves along the way, until we finally arrived in a room surrounded by wooden doors.

“That one,” Derek whispered, pointing to the largest door a few feet away.

Derek and Rose vanished from sight—I was grateful that one of our witches had taken the initiative to do it.

“Let me to the front,” Mona said. “I need to listen… It sounds like they are still talking,” she whispered after a pause.

I didn’t need to press my ear against the door to hear what was going on. Yes, they were talking, but it didn’t sound like the conversation was going to last much longer.