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27
RAIKA
I felt like a rebellious teen who had done something bad, got grounded, and had to stay in her bedroom the rest of the day. Alone in the infirmary, I pouted and stomped side to side—when I could stand. The dizziness and weakness came and went, but sometimes it took me under. I had napped twice this afternoon already, and even though it was still early in the evening, I was considering napping again or going to sleep and hopefully waking up at a decent time tomorrow.
I stayed in bed, with my phone in my hands, waiting for news.
But time crawled and nothing happened.
Suddenly, my phone rang. I jumped but frowned when I saw the name on the screen.
“Hi, Rue, everything okay?” I asked.
“No,” she said, her voice trembling. “Minsi is having a panic attack. The bunny isn’t working, and I don’t know what else to do. She’s losing it.”
My heart clenched. “All right. I’ll be there soon.” Panic attacks didn’t last long, so hopefully, by the time I got there, Minsi would already be all right.
I reached to the bedside table where the elixir and the tablet were—I took one of each, hoping they would stave off the dragon’s magic and give me a little boost so I didn’t faint before I reached the door. I decided to take two more with me, just in case I stayed there. and slipped the vial and the pill into my shorts’ pocket.
Slowly, I got out of bed and I didn’t feel dizzy, though my legs wobbled. I held on to the headboard and took a deep breath, steading myself. I could do this! I walked to the door, and with each step, I felt a little stronger, a little steadier.
The castle’s hallways were empty. Almost everyone had left to help defend the underworld gate. I passed one guard stationed at the castle’s underground garage and he asked me where I was going.
“Minsi is having a panic attack,” I told him. Everyone knew about Minsi by now. He nodded, understanding. I frowned. “Any news?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think we’ll hear anything for a while.”
I nodded, thanked him, grabbed the keys to a car, and moved on. I hopped inside a Jeep and drove to the village. I didn’t think I was in any condition to drive or walk there, but driving would be a lot faster and easier.
Like the castle, the village was eerily quiet and empty. Shane must have taken all of the strongest wolves to the battle with him.
It hurt to stay behind.
I parked the car in front of our house and walked to the door. Hoping the door was unlocked because I had no idea where my keys were, I turned the knob and pushed it open.
Everything was dark and quiet. “Rue?” I called as I stepped in. “Minsi?” I turned into the bedrooms’ hallway. “Tyren?” The doors were open but no one was here.
I picked up my phone from my back pocket and called Rue back. I heard a faint ring, but … it wasn’t coming from inside. Following the low ringing, I dragged my tired feet to the kitchen. It was louder here, but not loud enough. I opened the backdoor and stepped out into the porch.
My heart stopped.
“No,” I whispered.
“Hello, dear daughter.” Paimon smiled at me from the middle of the backyard—with Minsi, Tyren, and Rue kneeling in front of him, facing me, their hands tied behind their backs and a darkfire gag over their mouths. He placed a hand on Tyren’s shoulder and the boy flinched.
Rage coursed through me. “Let them go! Your fight is with me!”
“I fight dirty,” Paimon said, proud of himself.
I clenched my hands. “So this was your plan? To distract the others at the gate while you came here? Why? I thought what you wanted the most was to get the underworld back.”
“Oh, it is, but after what happened with the dragon’s magic, I realized I need all of it.” He flexed his hands and a swirl of dragon magic enveloped his arms. ”When I have it all, I’ll be the most powerful supernatural in the world, and taking the underworld back will be easy.” He shrugged. “So I added a pitstop to my original plan.”
My gut twisted. I was weak, I had taken the two medicines that numbed the dragon’s magic, and I was alone. Face-to-face against Paimon like this meant certain death.
But I was dying anyway. If I could take him with me, great. If I couldn’t, then maybe I could at least wound him, or weaken him to the point where the others could finish him when they arrived here. Because they would, right? At some point they would realize the battle they were fighting was a distraction and Paimon was really here.
I just hoped they weren’t too late.
