[Aera’s POV]"Well?"Barren’s face is calm as he stares me down. It’s clear that he is already convinced that I will agree to his terms since he is the only one who can find Ayla since she has gone missing."Listen here," Silas snaps, shooting a glare toward Barren. "I don’t think you’re truly in any position to be bribing. I could just torture you until you’re willing to help us find my niece. We are simply giving you the courtesy of helping us freely.I bite back the laugh that wants to escape me as Barren’s smug expression falls.Ha, it served him right for trying to act so fucking cocky. He didn’t know who the fuck he was messing with."Do you think I’m afraid?" Barren suddenly asks. "Do you know who my father is?"Actually, everyone knew that Frank Holding was a dangerous leader and would do whatever was needed to have his way, but to think he would use those tactics on his own children was a bit..."Whatever you can do, I’ve probably already been through," Barren continues. "Whi
[Ayla's POV]I spin around in Barren's computer chair, trying to entertain myself until Barren returns from wherever it was that he went. I wasn't quite sure why he left so urgently after helping Alphonze, but before I could ask any questions, he disappeared."I wonder if anyone I know is sleeping," I murmur, unable to just sit around and do nothing. "Maybe he... No," I hiss, remembering the videos I saw before I became trapped here. "He probably doesn't want to see me anyway."I was sure that Aera believed I was responsible for killing his father, especially given his past prejudices, and even though somewhere in the back of my mind I wished he would believe in me, I couldn't stop the fear that he didn't."Stop doing this to yourself, Ayla," I mutter, leaning forward and placing my hands on the keyboard. "Let's search for someone to keep me entertained."After entering the code that Barren had taught me, I take in the screen and the small dots that indicate who is asleep.Once I have
[Aera’s POV]"This is just fucking great," I growl, staring down at the chains that clamp tightly around my wrists. "When I get my hands on that bastard, I’m going to kill him."After being tricked and left wrapped in vines, it was easy enough for my father’s men to arrest Silas and me. Now, we were stuck in the same fucking cell that we helped Barren escape from with the same ability suppressing cuffs, so I was damn near human."If you had better judgment from the start, we wouldn’t be here," Silas points out, remaining too fucking calm for my liking. "Tell me again why you trusted him to begin with.""Because Ayla trusted him," I respond immediately. "And since I swore I’d trust Ayla and her judgments, I let my guard down."Growing quiet, I wait as Silas processes what I’ve said."And how does Ayla know him?"For a moment, I’m not sure if he’s asking to see if I actually knew about their past, but when I don’t find any hints of ulterior motives, I realize that maybe Ayla never told
[Aera’s POV]Silas and I stand to the side while Marah sits in the middle of what I now see is a pentagon with a map in front of her while chanting something in a foreign language. Soft light radiates around her, swirling like it’s on a wheel while growing brighter and brighter.When it begins to grow brighter, a segment of it breaks off and explodes into the air, then shoots down like an arrow, landing on the map, where I can only assume Ayla is located."Here," Marah announces, placing a blood-red nail on the spot that is now burned. "Is where our girl is."I remain in place as she slowly gets to her feet and begins to bow to each candle before blowing them out. Only once she is finished, she steps out and comes to join us."Do you recognize this area?" She asks, holding the map up so we can see the burn mark that her magic created. "It isn’t either of your territories, correct?""That’s right," I confirm, feeling my anger grow even more. "That’s elementalis territory."That bastard
[Alphonze’s POV]Benny rolls me up to the front door and then lifts a finger to ring the bell. At first, it doesn’t seem like anyone is going to come, but then Corinna appears, looking confused by my sudden appearance."Alphonze?" She says, raising her brows. "What brings you here?""I came to see your brother," I explain. "Is he home?""Of course, please come in."Nodding, I motion for Benny to grab my chair and roll it in while Corinna disappears to find Barren."I don’t know how you roped me into doing this," he mutters once he’s sure we are alone. "Aera is going to kill me.""I’ll handle him," I counter. "Anyway, I don’t even know where that boy has gotten off to.""He’s probably busy trying to find the one responsible for your father’s death."Nodding, I try to ignore the sudden pang of pain I feel. Due to the corruption that was taking place around me, I didn’t have the time to try to mourn the loss of my father. Even if he wasn’t much of a parental figure, he was still the man
[Aera’s POV]"Could you please drive faster? I know you’re old, but do you seriously have to drive like a grandpa?""I’m going as fast as the car will take us," Silas snaps, shooting me a glare in the rearview mirror. "If you’d like, you can fucking run there if I’m not going at the speed you want.""Man, I feel bad for Ayla," Marah sighs from the front passenger seat. "She is going to have to put up with both of you for the rest of her life."At her words, I shoot a glare but don’t bother responding.I turn my focus out of the window beside me and take in the scenery as it flies by. How long have we been driving now? An hour? Maybe two?‘More like thirty minutes,’ Rayze counters. ‘Your sense of time is horrible.’‘Shut up.’Each minute felt like a fucking eternity when I knew that Barren could be doing anything to Ayla. I needed to get to her and see with my own eyes that she was fine."This is as far as we go," Silas announces, pulling the car to the side of the road and cutting it
[Ayla's POV] I stare at Celia as she buries her face in her hands, trying to stop the tears that are flowing effortlessly now. Did she just say that Barren was the one behind everything she had done? But why and how did they even know each other? "Celia," I murmur, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her wrists so I could remove her hands from her eyes. "Could you tell me what happened?" I wait as Celia examines me, like she has forgotten that I am even there. "He," she begins, but stops as she thinks better of it. "No, I can't." "You can," I counter, unwilling to let this go. "Please, if he hurt you or forced you, you need to let me know so that I can right what is wrong." "Ayla, is it really you?" Celia whispers, fixing her golden gaze on mine. "This isn't an actual dream formed by my guilt, right?" "That's right," I confirm, giving her a gentle smile. "It's really me. I'm here." "I'm so sorry!" She wails, wrapping her arms around me. "I know it's all my fault that you're
[Ayla's POV]"What did you just say?"Fear grips at my heart while I stare into Barren's eyes.No, there was no way that I was stupid enough to fall right into his fucking trap, and I even brought others in with me."Release them," I hiss through gritted teeth. "They're not involved in this.""But they are," Barren counters, turning his gaze toward the screens. "As long as they exist, they'll try to come between us, and I can't let that happen."Shit, he was crazy, but I couldn't let him achieve his goal. I had to do something to stop him before it was too late.Deciding that killing him was the best option I begin to move, extending my claws and baring my teeth."Stop."The word is like a fucking rope wrapping around my entire body, so I'm unable to move. Eyes widening, I look at Barren, who has a smug look on his face, while I struggle to break free of whatever the hell is holding me."I told you," he beams, moving forward and touching my face. "You won't be able to disobey me."No,