Chapter 30

MISTY

Once back in the barn, I saw all the missed calls from my mom and hesitated. If I called her now, she would read me the riot act, and I wasn’t in the mood.

I turned up the kerosene lamp and paged through the grimoire while Adam paced beside me irritatingly.

“What?” I asked, putting the book down and crossing my arms, annoyance evident in my tone.

“I can’t let you go,” Adam said, shaking his head and sighing deeply, his eyes filled with worry. “I’m responsible for you.”

I snorted, the sound filled with disbelief and frustration. “Really, Adam? I think I can take care of myself,” I replied, my voice rising with determination. “I’m going, with or without you.”

“You could die,” he insisted.

“So could you, so could we all,” I shot back. “Sometimes you have to take a risk. If you’re not going to drive me, I’ll run there,” I threatened, my jaw set and eyes locked on his.

Adam’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine, but we had better go early and find a place close enough to the palace gates. I don’t want a repeat of the last time. And you better do that protection spell for both of us. Tanner is going to have my hide,” he said apprehensively. “And we stay in the car…,” he added.

Not wanting to rub my victory in, I nodded in agreement. Exchanging the black candle for a white one, I lit it and cast the protection spell, including Adam.

~“Misty? Adam has a point. We would be safe in the car,” ~Cammy piped up.

~“If the palace warriors outnumber my dad, Lloyd, and the others, I won’t sit by and watch.”~

~“Yes, you’re right. We have to help our mate. I’m dying to meet Vetus in the flesh.”~

I had an insatiable urge to mark him, the bond spurring me along. It was a new experience for me, but it made sense that mates intensely desired to mark and claim each other.

If I could get Lloyd out of linking range quickly enough, we’d be home-free. He’d been insistent that he would be the one to look for the item that bound him, but once away from the palace, I wouldn’t let him go back.

By eleven thirty, I had packed my backpack, adding the grimoire and my phone.

I never wanted to feel so helpless as I did in the chamber before Lloyd woke. He said the curse woke him, and I wondered who caused that, briefly wondering if it was me.

Adam grudgingly went along with my decision but made no attempt to mask his disapproval. He didn’t answer his phone, even when it rang persistently, the shrill tone echoing in the barn. He turned the ringer off and stuck it in his pocket.

I opened the barn door and waited for him to reverse, looking down at my clothes ruefully. I really needed a change—I only had a spare pair of jeans and a top in my backpack, and I’d worn those for two days running.

Adam drove sedately, avoiding potholes, and I heaved a sigh of relief when we hit a main road, hoping he would speed up, but he didn’t.

“Now you’re driving like a road hog…,” I mumbled.

He glanced at me and pursed his lips. “I don’t want to get there too early and cause suspicion. What if the same guards are patrolling, and they see the car?”

“Good point.”

I hauled the grimoire out of my backpack and flipped through the pages. After translating the headings, I was more familiar with its contents.

The spell I’d used on the barn had worked flawlessly, even though I had improvised by swapping out a few words.

That success gave me confidence that the next task—making Adam’s car invisible—could be just as effective.

But then, the idea of simply leaving it invisible started to nag at me. That was dangerous and could lead to complications. Maybe a disguise would be better?

I flipped through the grimoire more rapidly now, wishing I had some sticky notes to mark the pages.

“Ah, got it,” I muttered with a smirk as my eyes landed on the right spell. “I’m going to disguise the car.”

Excitement bubbled up inside me, and I barely skimmed over the requirements. Honestly, I couldn’t understand why they were noted with such painstaking detail when the spells worked just fine without them.

Who had time for all those candles, mirrors, and other props? They seemed more like ritualistic decorations than necessities. I shook my head at the thought.

Goddess, I loved being a witch. The power and heat coursing through me with every spell I cast was exhilarating, and I could feel it growing each time I bent reality to my will.

If only I had discovered this sooner. There was no need for all the traditional trappings—I was learning that my will alone was enough.

~“Don’t get cocky, Misty. Power comes with responsibility,” ~Cammy advised. ~“Besides, not every spell was successful.”~

~“I haven’t hurt anyone…,”~ I defended, but she was right…I shouldn’t abuse it.

“Okay,” Adam said hesitantly.

I pictured Adam’s white car and visualized it in yellow with red flames on the side while I chanted softly. “By flame and shadow, I call disguise. Cloak the car and shroud it in guise. As I will, so let it be. Transform its color for all to see.”

~“He won’t like that, but I like the flames on the side,”~ Cammy giggled.

Adam bent forward to see the color of the hood and gasped. “Yellow? Ugh, I hate yellow.”

“It’s got cool flames on the sides.” I laughed when I saw his nose wrinkle in disgust. “No one will think it’s yours now…”

Adam slowed down even more as we approached the palace. We circled, trying to find the perfect spot close enough to have a clear view of the gates.

He eventually parked diagonally across, half on the pavement, and killed the engine. The gates were open, lanterns illuminating the area on either side, but I couldn’t see any guards.

“Now we wait,” Adam whispered, his voice barely audible in the stillness of the night.

“Don’t they close the gates at night?” I asked, keeping my voice low as I scanned the darkened landscape ahead.

He shook his head. “Nope, I don’t think they’ve been closed in years,” he replied.

I frowned, trying to assess the risks. “How many guards are on night shift?”

“There’s only one stationed at the gate,” Adam explained. “Two teams patrol the perimeter walls, but they doubled when you escaped. They pass by the gate about every hour or so.”

I leaned in slightly, focusing on his words. “How many in a team?”

“Four,” he answered, the word hanging in the air like a cold fact.

I nodded, processing the information. “You were on day shift when Frieda collected me,” I stated, more to myself than to him, trying to piece together the sequence of events in my mind.

Adam shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his fingers fidgeting as he tapped his phone to check the time. He hesitated for a moment before finally responding. “Yes, and that’s why I had to take Tiemen out of commission; he had the night shift.”

I nodded, absorbing the information. Given the perimeter’s importance, I had expected more guards to be on duty, but that’s why we got away so easily.

Axel hadn’t added any extra security measures, which puzzled me. Was he that confident that the palace couldn’t be breached?

“Why didn’t Axel assign more guards?” I wondered aloud.

Adam sighed, rubbing his temples. “Don’t know, but it’s been like this forever. No one has ever attacked the palace.”

Lloyd mentioned hubris would be the king’s downfall, and I was starting to believe he was right. The minutes ticked by, and as I was yawning again and closing my eyes, Adam inhaled sharply.

“What?” I asked nervously before seeing the warriors lining the walls on either side of the gates. One strolled through the gate and was immediately stopped by the guard.

The guard’s stance shifted, and he forcefully pushed the warrior, pointing at the entrance and probably telling him to get lost. Four palace guards came running, and the warriors outside attacked.

I couldn’t tell how many there were, but they quickly overpowered the palace guards without even shifting.

My heart pounded as guards streamed out the door and came from every direction. Holy crap, how many warriors did the place have if he sent squads to look for me?

Squinting, I saw a commotion at the entrance. Frieda, Beta Anthony’s mate Emma, and many wolves I didn’t know dressed in fancy dresses and suits were running out. The captives…

My breath caught when I saw my dad, and I jumped out of the car without a second thought, barely registering Adam’s warning.

More palace guards flooded the quad, and the fighting became more desperate and vicious. Most shifted, and I had no idea who was who. In the chaos, I lost sight of my dad.

And then I saw Lloyd. His nostrils flared, and his eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made my breath catch.

~“Leave now,”~ he linked harshly, without so much as a hello.

Heat flared down my spine as I shook my head in defiance. Lloyd turned invisible, and I felt a pang of worry. I was still a good five yards from the fighting, but it was moving in my direction like a storm.

Engines and headlights were switched on, and I glanced toward the vehicles parked further down the road. Were those here to cart the prisoners away?

Scanning the crowd, I spotted my dad’s wolf, Silas, and threaded my way toward him, hoping the protective barrier would shield him and me.

With my heart pounding in my chest, I stepped into the fray. A wolf sprang toward me, only to bounce off the barrier. Relief coursed through me, but my respite was brief; I’d lost sight of my dad again.

Turning in a full circle, I froze as Axel’s shrill voice echoed through the quad, commanding and chilling.

His eyes locked onto mine, and I realized that my protective barrier, while keeping wolves away, also made me stand out like a beacon.

“How convenient and predictable. Patience always wins the day,” he chuckled, a sinister smile splitting his face. “Lloyd? New orders. Hunt and kill your witch mate. I want you to break every bone in her body, and when she can’t move, disembowel her and eat the entrails. And while you do that, taunt her mercilessly.”

The alpha command had cut through the noise, silencing everyone. The air grew thick with unease, and I knew I’d made a grave mistake. I never considered Axel would send Lloyd after me with a kill order!

Arms circled me from behind, and I jerked in fear before I realized it was Adam, pulling me backward through the wolves, who had all but stopped fighting and were looking at me in fear.

Lloyd appeared before me and shifted into his glorious human form. He exuded power and strength, with every muscle bulging and straining as though they revolted against the alpha command.

His green eyes were filled with horror and pain, and his movements were jerky rather than fluid as he raised a fist and punched the barrier forcefully.

I stumbled backward, colliding with Adam, my breath coming in quick, panicked gasps. The barrier was still solid, but the strain of holding it together caused a steady drain of my energy.

For the first time, it hit me just how much magic demanded, how every spell wasn’t just a chant but a draw on something vital within me.

With these powers, I felt invincible, and now I would pay the price for my overconfidence and stupidity. I expected Axel to stay safely in the palace, but here he was, surrounded by guards, with a victorious grin on his face.

This barrier wouldn’t last much longer; I could sense its impending collapse, like the final thread of a fraying rope about to snap. My muscles ached with the effort, and a dull, throbbing pain began to bloom behind my eyes.