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Horror permeated every cell of my being. At first, I didn’t believe it. This had to be some sort of misunderstanding. I thought at any moment I’d hear the cry of my baby from across the house, but no matter how many people surrounded me, the house felt entirely empty.
I wanted to believe someone had gotten past our ward borders and taken them, but I knew our wards were strong. We’d brought Autumn past our borders, but she hadn’t left Lucas’s sight since she got here. My intuition told me Autumn had nothing to do with this—that her presence had merely distracted us, giving someone else the perfect opportunity to strike.
Mandy had betrayed us again.
I thought about the Executors that had come the night the twins were born. The priestesses had been planning this all along. Mandy must’ve been working with them and told them I was in labor, then took our son to break us.
“Where have they gone!?” I cried, as if someone might have the answer. “Where has she taken him!?”
Talia pushed past Lucas and grabbed my shoulders. “We’re going to find him. I promise. Let me see what I can learn.”
She withdrew the Seer Wand and clutched it tightly as she slowly walked around the room, touching various objects to trigger visions. She closed her eyes and tilted her head. “My visions are blurry. I don’t know what I’m looking at. It’s like something’s blocking me.”
“How’s that possible?” Onyx asked. “You have the Seer Wand. It should be stronger than any ward or protection spell.”
“I’m not sure,” Talia said. “Give me more time.”
My sadness quickly turned to anger, and I slammed Marcus’s blanket onto the mattress beside me. “I can’t believe this! We took Mandy in. We gave her a second chance. I believed that she never meant to hurt us, but she’s been working with the priestesses the whole time! How could my intuition be so wrong?”
“We don’t know that she meant to do this,” Grant tried to assure me. “If the priestesses are manipulating her?—”
“I don’t give a shit what the priestesses have over her. I would never give up an infant for anything!” I yelled.
Miles looked confused. “I don’t get how Talia didn’t see this, or that the Wands couldn’t read her mind and see her intentions.”
“We didn’t have a reason to suspect her, so we didn’t know to look into it,” Chloe said. “The priestesses tortured her. We never imagined she’d still be on their side.”
I pressed my face into my hands as tears streamed down my cheeks. “I hate myself for putting my trust in her again.”
“Nad,” Lucas said gently. “This isn’t your fault. She took advantage of your good intentions. We’re not going to let anyone hurt Marcus. We’ll find out where she’s taken him, and then we’re going after him.”
I wiped my nose with the back of my hand. “Good intentions be damned. Our choices led to this, despite having the best intentions, and the outcome was still terrible. Good intentions aren't enough. Is it worth making choices at all and continuing to fight?”
“You’re right,” Lucas agreed. “It’s not enough to be good people. All we can do is the best we can, and right now, our best means going after our son.”
“You do realize it’s a trap,” Verla pointed out.
Autumn scoffed. “Of course it’s a trap. The priestesses took your son to lure you in.”
“We still have to go after him,” Lucas insisted. “What are the priestesses going to do to us? We have four Oaken Wands. We’re more powerful than they’ll ever be.”
“I’m certain that’s precisely what they’re after,” Verla said. “They’re going to want a trade.”
“What point are you trying to make?” Lucas growled. “I don’t give a damn about these Oaken Wands if my son’s life is at stake! I’ve already lost one son. I’m not losing another.”
“I’m merely stating the truth, so that you know what you’re getting yourself into,” Verla said calmly.
Lucas’s hands curled into fists. “I’ve already walked through hell and back for these Wands. You think I wouldn’t do the same for my son? I don’t give a flying fuck what the priestesses want. We’re getting him back, even if we have to exchange the Wands for him.”
“How’s it coming, Talia?” Professor Warren asked.
Talia furrowed her brow in concentration. “I can’t seem to get a clear vision on Mandy, but maybe if I focus on Marcus, I’ll get something.”
Several moments passed, and then she gasped. “I see it! Marcus is being taken to the priestesses at Octavia Hall.”
Lucas went over to the dresser and pulled out his reaper robe. It was made of black fabric with images of a skull embroidered along the hem—the mark of the Mortana Cast. When he put the robe on, it was scary how deadly he looked, and yet every part of me wanted to march into Octavia Falls at his side. The hood loosely framed his face, and the ends of the sleeves were tattered so that they swayed like a warning of death when he walked.
“If you don’t want to fight, you can stay behind, but I’m going after my son,” Lucas told the others. So much for not going in guns-blazing. The priestesses hadn’t given us a choice.
