Cadence realized she’d stopped breathing and began gasping for air. “What... what does it say?”
Ashley had tears in her eyes. “Hi, baby. Not sure if this will work, probably not, but worth a shot. I think we’re trapped in some sort of a portal. Working to get out, working to get back to you. We are all fine. I love you, and I will see you soon.”
No words would come to her as Cadence went over the message again in her mind. How it was possible, she didn’t know, but to hear they were all okay, to see that they could actually communicate, even if it was on a huge delay, it was more than she would’ve ever hoped for.
Cassidy stared at her phone for a few moments, and Cadence knew what she was thinking. Cadence hadn’t even bothered to pull hers out of her pocket because it hadn’t vibrated, and she knew Aaron wouldn’t have thought to try to text her. While it was more surprising that Brandon hadn’t
The Vampire girl, Heather, had led them to some sort of a large opening, and from his vantage point, Aaron couldn’t quite see what she meant when she said they weren’t alone. But he could hear. Around them, the growls and hisses grew substantially louder until it was obvious attack was inevitable.“What is this place that they don’t seem to want us here?” Elliott asked, his voice low.“It’s not the place itself, I don’t think,” she replied in a harsh whisper. “I think it’s just that this place is more open than the rest, that they can see me—us—better, that’s all.”“And this thing you want to show us is here?” Brandon clarified.“Yep. So get ready. Be careful with your damn bullets, though. I ain’t traversed this place this long to get killed now.”Heather took a few more steps into the opening and the rest of them followed. As so
“You need to show us whatever you wanted us to see before round two get here,” Aaron said to Heather who still didn’t quite seem to understand what it was that enabled him to shoot through the fog that way. Down here, the white patches against endless black, along with the thick cave walls, made X-ray vision almost useless. But from up there, looking down, he could see well enough there was no chance he would’ve hit one of his teammates.She huffed, knowing he was right. The ground around them was still littered with bodies, but they seemed to be dissipating somehow, not turning to ash but crumbling, merging into the ground. They stepped over them toward the center of the open area as Heather explained, “They don’t die exactly, least I don’t think they do. I swear I’ve killt the same damn hellcat at least ten times. They just have to go back to their starting point and try again or something.”“How many of the
“A what?” Heather asked, and the others exchanged confused expressions for different reasons altogether. He’d had his hand on that phone the whole time they’d been in there, so if he’d had a text before, he would’ve seen it. This had to be new.“What does it say?” Brandon asked, looking over Dax’s shoulder.Tears were streaming down the kid’s face again. “Hey, babe! I’m so glad you thought to text me. I’m not sure if or when you’ll get this, but you all should know we’re doing everything we can to get you out of there. So just be strong and be careful. I love you so much, and I can’t wait to see you again. I know it’ll be soon. You’ve got some savage protection in there with you. You’re going to be just fine. Don’t worry about me. I love you!”Dax read it again; Aaron could see his eyes wandering back over it. The second he was done, the
Staring at maps, charts, and communication logs all day was making Cadence’s eyes cross, and it seemed like time was crawling by as they all waited for 7:00 to arrive so they could see if they received any more texts from inside the portal. She hoped her text to Aaron was worded in such a way that he’d know she missed him but wouldn’t freak him out any more than necessary either. She’d also sent a text to Elliott and one to Jamie.By 5:00 her eyes were starting to burn and no amount of caffeine was going to keep her awake. Pushing back in her chair, she stared across the table at Cassidy, who looked wide eyed and ready to take on the world. “I think it’s time we headed back to the B and B.” Her sister’s eyebrows raised. “We need to get a few hours of sleep and then see if Holland sends her minions after us.” They’d already decided Cadence, Cassidy, and Ashley, who was sound asleep on the floor at the other end
When she finally opened her eyes again, it was dark outside. She snatched her phone up off of the nightstand and quickly scanned the empty room. Cass wasn’t here. The clock said it was past 11:00. “Holy hell,” she muttered, shocked she’d slept that long.She had a text from Aaron, and the one she’d sent had gone through. “Hey, Mrs. McReynolds. I hope you’re holding up okay. Sorry I didn’t text you sooner. Who knew, right? Anyway, we’re all fine. Heather is here, if you haven’t heard by now. I’m not sure what these kids are sending out. She’s been here a long time and seems to know the place. With her help, I’m sure we’ll find our way out of here in no time. She claims there’s some sort of a key that’s supposed to open a door, but then it also opens by itself every once in a while. We’ve also found a spike in the ground in an open area with a bunch of tunnels heading off in lo
Asteria was on the wrong continent. She should’ve known better than to let Hines plan all of this on his own. While it made sense to her that she should know as little as possible for fear that the stupid girl would somehow discover what they were up to, if they could shield their location, she could shield her thoughts. Now, out of precaution, she’d miss out on Cadence Findley’s capture. The thought sickened her.“Listen, it’s not all that bad,” Hines assured her. “We’ll simply have them bring her to us.”“Do you not recall what happened the last time she was taken prisoner?” Asteria hadn’t been around for that, but she’d heard the stories. Instead of destroying her when he had the chance, Giovani had been foolish enough to try to move her. Of course, she’d escaped, and he’d ended up dead. “No, I am not going to order them to take her hostage when they can end her. I’
The right shoulder of Aaron’s favorite black leather jacket was shredded, claw marks ripping all the way through his shirt beneath, blood stains darkening the white material. But at least his arm was put back together, thanks to Jamie. In the last attack, none of them had gotten by unscathed. Even Heather, who had told them she hardly ever got injured by the bastards anymore, had been bitten pretty badly. Luckily, Jamie’s healing powers worked on Hybrid’s, too. She’d been astounded at how quickly and completely he could mend her shattered hand without even touching her.“They’re getting stronger, more intense,” Elliott noted as they all took refuge in one of the tunnel openings. It was the safest place to be. They could still see the center area where they’d found the spike, and they should be able to make it back out there when they heard the whooshing sound of the portal opening so that they could note which of the tunnels was
It was around 2:00 AM when Cadence felt a stirring in her gut that let her know Holland’s army was on the way. By then, she’d gotten a few texts from her friends on the other side and sent one back—to Brandon’s phone, which didn’t seem right, but she understood Aaron’s reasoning when he said to keep everything going only to one place for now. She hadn’t mentioned the impending attack, only that they would be headed back to KC in the morning to look at the book with Ward and see what they could come up with. What she assumed would be the last text directly from Aaron had said they were working hard to get out of there, and she believed him. Elliott’s had been full of jokes, which was a good thing because there wasn’t much to laugh about, especially not now, as the fluttering in her stomach started to feel less like a summer’s breeze and more like a hurricane. Jamie promised he was keeping them all safe.Cassidy had co
Hannah took Jo to give her a bath, and Ona helped Cadence get Cadon latched while Jamie left to go check on his own one-month-old baby. Cadence’s son was a pro almost immediately, latching on the first try to resting peacefully while he nursed. Cadence couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have even one sweet baby, let alone the blessings of two. He wore a tiny little cap to keep him warm, and she couldn’t help but stroke his head while he made soft baby noises in her arms.Hannah brought Jo back before Cadon was finished. It took her daughter much longer to latch. She kept turning her feisty little face away, growling her discontentment as Cadence tried to get her on and not disturb Cadon at the same time. With Aaron’s help, their daughter finally latched, but he had to have his hand on her back or else she’d pull off again. “She is definitely a Daddy’s girl,” Cadence declared, shaking her head at her strong-spirited daughter.
“For the record, there really is no comparison between us naming our son after a famous jazz pianist and you naming your daughter after a murderous dictator,” the Healer pointed out before getting back to the task at hand. “I think in two or three more pushes, we’ll have a baby.” He was looking at Cadence now, smiling at her above the draped sheet that made her feel a little more secure even if it didn’t really hide anything at all from the doctor.“Okay,” she said again, ready to get it over with. Jamie told her to push, and she did, as hard as she could, hoping for two and not three as the lucky number.“Keep pushing,” Jamie said, even though Aaron had reached ten. “She’s almost there.”Cadence strained even harder, giving it every bit of energy she had left, and a few seconds later, she felt her daughter slip into the world. Listening to her cries made Cadence’s heart melt all
“One more push, Cadence,” Jamie insisted, his normally friendly-tone replaced by his not-quite-as-friendly medical professional tone. “One more time, and we’ll have a baby.”Cadence could feel the sweat dripping off of her forehead and wondered how normal human women did this, especially the ones who refused any sort of pain medication. Even with her superhuman strength and resilience, she was tired. Jamie had gloves on so he wasn’t using any of his healing powers to help her, but she had opted for the epidural, which minimized her pain but did nothing for the exhaustion.“You ready?” Aaron asked, standing next to her, holding one leg while Ona, a Healer who was acting as Jamie’s nurse, held the other.“I’m ready,” she nodded. Her husband’s smile hadn’t dimmed since her water broke three hours earlier. It might not have diminished since they’d left Prague eight months ago,
Jamie gently wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He kissed her cheek. “Love you, Cadence.”“I love you, too,” she said, returning the kiss. He took a step back and smiled at her before heading off toward the mountain.Cassidy hugged her sister a little more tightly than the doctor had. “Don’t you ever die on me again.”“I won’t. You neither. I love you, little sister.”“I know.” Cassidy giggled at her own smart remark. “I love you, too.” Cadence kissed the top of her sister’s head, and Cassidy let her go, stepping back to wait for Brandon.“Good job getting the monster.” Brandon’s hug was more like a pat on the back, and Cadence almost laughed, wondering if he just didn’t want to break her or was embarrassed.“Thanks, Brandon. Take care of my sis.”“I will try,
“The baby, Cadence,” Aaron said in her head. “You’re carrying our baby.”Cadence sucked in air all over again, like she had when she’d first fought to open her eyes. The baby! Jamie had told her she was pregnant before the hunt. How it had slipped her mind was beyond her, but yes, she was going to have a baby.Or was she? Her eyes flew to Jamie’s face, all of her questions bottled up in her eyes as she raised both brows, hoping he could alleviate her worry.Jamie smiled and gave a small nod only she could see. All of the air rushed out of Cadence’s lungs again as her hand flew to her abdomen, sighing in relief.“What is it?” Cassidy asked. “What was the other thing you couldn’t remember before?”Part of her wanted to keep their little secret just that, and she was disappointed that she hadn’t been the one to tell Aaron. She looked to him to see if
Cassidy smiled, but didn’t say anything, and Cadence could tell by her expression, she didn’t know what to make of Cadence’s revelation. It was no matter—she moved on.“Jack was pitching, Elliott. And the batter was a guy who looked so much like you. I couldn’t remember you at the time—sorry—but I asked, and my grandparents said the batter’s name was Jimmy.”“Jimmy?” Elliott echoed. “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that name to you.”“I don’t think you have either, but that’s your brother’s name, isn’t it.”Elliott’s head rocked back and forth slowly. “Wow. If that don’t beat all.... It’s like the freakin’ Wizard of Oz. ‘And you were there, and you were there....’ Hmmm.”“Well, it gets Wizardier because your mom was there, too. Arlene. And she wa
A growl from Elliott let her know he disagreed, but he didn’t say anything more, and Christian only nodded before he faded out of view. It was just as well. Cadence was exhausted. She didn’t really want to talk to anyone else, just let her husband pick her up in his strong arms and carry her back to the SUV so she could take a shower and fall asleep for a few years.“I hate to interrupt,” Scarlet said, taking a step closer to where they were sitting. “Cadence, it is wonderful you’re okay. But Jamie, what about that serum you made? Do you think we should try it? If we can get the Hybrids back up there, we might be able to save some of those people who are still trapped in the holes.”“Oh, right.” Jamie scratched his head, like he’d forgotten about the serum. “Yeah, why don’t you and Cale start working on that. The serum is in my backpack, which is in the trees near where we first encountered the bla
Lungs burning, body aching with the pain of soldering itself back together, eyes blinded by brilliant white, Cadence opened her mouth and sucked in air for the first time in as long as she could remember. Her legs still felt like they were on fire, like she’d been running for hours, but as she tipped her head back and began to cough the memories of what had happened to her, how she’d killed Daunator and then found herself in the air with no ground beneath her boots, flooded her mind, and every trace of memory about why she felt like she’d been running fled her mind.“Cadence? Cadence!”Aaron was there. She could feel his hands on her, even though she couldn’t open her eyes to look at him yet. Her throat burned as she continued to sputter, coughing and choking on the air she so desperately wanted in her lungs. How long had she gone without taking a breath? Why did her heart feel like a jackhammer, her chest muscles sore from the exert
Jamie was at twenty-two, and Aaron was trying to focus, but the voices to his left were prominent in his mind. He could still hear Elliott’s murmurs, Cass’s sobs, sighs and gasps from others. Christian was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, behind almost everyone. Aurora, free of her handcuffs now that she was no longer a threat, was doubled over on the ground, her hands linked around her knees, her wails having lost their voice minutes ago so that she was no longer making a noise as her body shook and spasmed. Eliza had her arm around the much taller Hunter, trying to be comforting, but Aaron was aware that, of everyone here, Eliza Wrath was the only one who really didn’t care if Cadence ever opened her eyes again. He could feel it rolling off of her in waves of ugliness like the sea during the type of storm that leaves debris littered all over the beach, breaks boats in its wake, and sends sailors to the bottom of the ocean.There were