“Don’t—” Peri began. At the same time, Thalion stepped up to the bookshelves and reached out, running his fingers along the spines. A bright flash of light filled the room, momentarily blinding them. When it faded, nothing seemed out of place, but when Fane tried to move, he found his feet seemed to be fused to the floor.

  “—touch anything.” Peri glared at the elf prince.

  Thalion grimaced. “That would be my fault.”

  Peri rolled her eyes. “Thank you for that illuminating confession.” She looked at each of them until her eyes landed back on Fane. “I can’t move my legs, and my magic is bound. Even though my arms and hands are free, I’m useless.”

  Fane nodded. “Same. I can’t even get my wolf to phase. He’s pissed.” Fane looked over at the djinn. “What about you?”

  Synica’s face pinched up as her shoulders lifted. She grunted and then shook her head. “I can’t move either. Just my upper half, and my power is out of my reach.”

  Peri huffed. “A nulling spell.”

  “If he’s setting traps even in his own quarters,” Lucian said, “then Alston apparently doesn’t trust anyone.”

  “He knew he had traitors in the last Order compound, so he’s probably a bit more cautious,” Peri pointed out.

  “What now?” Thalion asked.

  “I’ll see if I can reach out through the pack bonds.” Fane closed his eyes and searched for the cords that connected him to Decebel and Costin. He could see them and feel their connection. Fane tried to send them a message, but it bounced back. It felt to Fane like his thoughts were hitting a wall, and he couldn’t push past it. He growled in frustration. “I can’t get through. How the hell has he disrupted my pack bond?”

  Peri blew out a breath. “Can you talk to Jacque?”

  Fane’s stomach clenched. He quickly tried to speak to his mate through their bond, but the same thing happened. The words just came flying back at him. “Dammit!” He snarled.

  “Looks like we’re going to have to wait and see if someone in our group finds us.” Lucian glanced at the tunnel entrance they’d come through moments ago.

  “Fane,” Peri said, her voice full of urgency, “you told the djinn to bring the mountain down. When you gave that order, did you really think this”—she motioned to their group—“was a possibility?”

  He felt the weight of her words press heavily on his shoulders. “Perhaps that was foolish of me…” Fane could never have expected something like this would happen. Perhaps he should have been more realistic, considering the things they’d already had to sacrifice. But he honestly believed he could take out Alston and bring all of his people home safely. Hope could be a foolish guide. Fane didn’t drop his gaze, though he wanted to as he faced the high fae’s scrutiny and judgment.

  “Hope is never foolish.” Lucian spoke up. “Hope helps us run into danger instead of away from it. How many times did your father tell you that those of us who can face the evil in the world must do it? We must be the ones to face what others cannot. Sometimes that means running headlong into a mountain with the possibility of never leaving.”

  “Okay, that’s not the advice I would have given.” Peri glanced at her mate. “Because there is a very real possibility that we won’t make it out of here.”

  “What are our lives compared to that of thousands upon thousands of humans and other supernaturals unable to fight back?” Lucian challenged. “I’m not saying I like it or that I’m okay with it. I’m saying that we knew what we signed up for when we decided this was our path.”

  “For some of us”—Synica looked at Fane, her eyes soft—“the possibility of death is easier to accept because we have lived very long lives. But this should not be your fate, Fane. Your life, your rule, is only just beginning. This cannot be your end. I won’t allow it.”

  “That”—Peri pointed at the djinn—“is the attitude we need to have, mate. Not this martyr crap. We will not go out quietly under thousands of pounds of rubble. I’ve already been there and done that. It sucks.”

  Fane looked at Synica. “What do you suggest?”

  “I’m still working on that.” She tapped her chin.

  Fane tried to reach out to his mate again, but he still couldn’t get past whatever it was Alston had done in order to bind his power. Fane could communicate with his wolf, but he couldn’t draw on his beast’s power.

  “Have I mentioned lately how much I utterly loathe Alston?” Peri folded her arms in front of her.

  We have to figure a way out of this. Fane’s wolf rumbled in his mind. The beast sounded frantic, but it was holding itself together. We will, Fane told him. He wouldn’t let himself think of any other option. Like Synica said, he couldn’t let this be his end. That would mean the end for Jacquelyn as well. And their son would grow up without his parents. NO! His wolf snarled. Fane fought the despair that tried to drag him down. He couldn’t give up hope, no matter how foolish it might be. He had to hold on to the possibility that they wouldn’t die in this mountain.

  Decebel moved cautiously through the tunnel. His wolf didn’t enjoy being underground. It was meant for running full speed under a full moon. His beast wanted to turn back and run straight back into the night and figure out a way to draw their enemy out.

  Elle scanned their surroundings. “Does it feel like these tunnels aren’t leading anywhere?”

  They’d been walking for some time and had turned down several different passageways that only connected to other tunnels. They’d yet to encounter any enemies. The only sound was their feet crunching against the dirt on the ground as they marched.

  “What is the point?” Sorin questioned. “Why would Alston build all these winding tunnels?”

  “Maybe the stronghold is not simply Alston’s headquarters.” Clarion offered. “Perhaps the entire mountain itself is a trap.”

  Decebel froze and turned to face the djinn elder. “Did you just consider that, or was it something that you could have mentioned before we decided to rush headlong into the mountain of no return?”

  “It never crossed my mind until now,” Clarion said quickly. “But if that is what Alston has done… Well, it’s brilliant.”

  The beta turned back the way they’d come and picked up the pace. “We need to get out of here.” Decebel tried to reach out to Fane through the alpha bond, but something blocked him. “Sorin,” he yelled back, “can you reach Fane’s mind?”

  The other wolf didn’t respond for several seconds before saying, “No. Something is in the way.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means something is seriously wrong, Disir.” Decebel growled. He turned down another corridor.

  “This isn’t the way we came,” Sorin called out.

  “We’re going to look for Fane and his group before we find our way out. If we don’t find them in an hour, then we’ll leave. It could be they’ve made it outside and somehow the mountain is keeping us from communicating.”

  “That would also be clever of Alston,” Disir said. “To set a supernatural booby trap that nullifies the supernatural powers of others.”

  Elle tossed out a ball of light. It crashed into the wall, causing debris to fall to the ground. “But my power still works.”

  Clarion looked thoughtful. “It could be directed toward only certain types of power.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Let’s just find Fane and get out of here.” Decebel kept running. There was no point in discussing what had happened right now.

  Just as they rounded another corner, Decebel heard a whistling sound. “Duck!” He hit the ground with a thud. He heard the others behind him do the same.

  Another round of arrows came, but they bounced off an unseen barrier. “Thank you, Elle and Disir,” Decebel yelled.

  Elle smirked. “I’m more than just a pretty face.”

  Decebel crawled forward, keeping his body as close to the ground as possible. The fae might have put a protection spell over them, but he had no desire to test its competency. “Can we fight back while you guys are protecting us?”

  Disir nodded. “Absolutely.”

  Decebel felt a hand on his ankle and looked down to see Elle signaling for his attention.

  “Don’t freak out, but I’m not crawling like a damn bug to these traitors. I’m flashing us, so be ready to attack.”

  A second later, they reappeared, and Decebel’s eyes landed on an elf that stood just inside another tunnel. The male’s eyes widened, and Decebel grinned. The beta pulled a knife from his hip and threw it with such speed that the elf didn’t have time to do more than take one step back. The blade embedded itself in the elf’s neck. He dropped the bow he’d been holding and grabbed at his throat, gurgling as he tried to stop the blood spouting from the wound. Then a ball of light hit the male, and he fell to the ground in a heap. Disir was on his feet, his hands raised toward the elf.

  “We won’t let them suffer,” the high fae said.

  Decebel nodded. “That wasn’t my intention. Unfortunately, death by throwing a knife isn’t always quick.”

  Disir held his hand out, and Decebel grabbed it, letting the male help him to his feet. Balls of light flew past him as Elle rained down her power on the attacking Order members. A couple minutes later, Decebel and his team were the only ones left standing.

  “You guys are going to have to step up your game.” Elle pretended to dust her hands off. “I’d hate to tell the pack all about how I protected your supernatural asses.”

  Clarion raised his hand. “If I step up my game, there will be no telling anyone anything because we will have our final resting place under the crumbled mountain.”

  She sighed. “Are all djinn such major downers?”

  Decebel rolled his eyes. “Let’s keep moving. Elle, you’re a kick-ass warrior. Thank you for having our backs.”

  “Yes, yes I am.” She smirked.

  Decebel decided that his mate had way too much of an influence on the females of their pack, and he might need to recommend supervised visits with her instead of just allowing the others free access. He chuckled to himself at the thought of her reaction if he told her his idea. The consequences might be worth it just to get her riled up. His mate had a penchant for angry sex. Did that mean he purposely prodded her? Absolutely.

  Pushing away the amusing thoughts, he focused on the mission at hand. As they continued forward, he attempted over and over to reach out to Fane, but Decebel still could not connect with his alpha. He led the group through many twists and turns and occasionally saw the shimmer of the protection spell the fae kept around them. Elle and Disir’s balls of light lit their way, moving ahead of the group, taking the quick turns as if they knew the direction before Decebel even moved.

  Suddenly, he heard voices and came to an abrupt halt. His wolf perked, and Decebel stretched his beast’s hearing to determine the direction of the sound. He strained to see if he recognized the voices.

  “I swear, when I find Alston, I’m going to cook his organs from the inside out.”

  “That’s Peri.” Elle took off, her feet moving much faster than before. Decebel and the others ran after her.

  Soon, Decebel saw an opening at the end of the tunnel. They all ran toward it. As soon as Elle entered the chamber, he heard Peri’s voice again. “STOP!”

  The beta tried to slam on the brakes, but it was too late. He’d been moving too fast. But as he barreled forward, Decebel managed to twist and shove at whoever was behind him. That happened to be Clarion. Decebel’s hands pushed off the djinn’s chest, and they fell in opposite directions. Clarion hit the ground with a loud, “Umph,” but he landed outside the room.

  “Do not come in here,” Decebel told him.

  When Decebel attempted to move forward, he found he couldn’t lift his legs. His head snapped around the room, and he saw Fane’s group. “I’m assuming none of you can move either?”

  Peri shook her head. “Nah, we’re just playing a game. It’s called ‘let’s see who can stand still the longest although we need to murder a psychotic high fae because we’re stupid like that.’” She shrugged. “The name needs work, but it’s still a new game, so you can’t really expect us to have perfected it yet.”

  “How long have you been stuck here?” Elle ignored Peri.

  Fane glanced at his watch. “Half hour.”

  “Feels like it’s been longer than that,” Thalion said.

  Disir looked around and then at Peri. “It’s a nulling spell.”

  Peri nodded. “I hate the fact that Alston has a modicum of intelligence.”

  “We thought he might have used one because Decebel and Sorin said they couldn’t reach their alpha through the pack bonds,” Disir explained.

  “It’s only in this room,” Peri’s face was a mask of frustration. “And it was triggered by something being touched.”

  Elle rolled her eyes. “Who did that?”

  Thalion sighed. “I did.”

  Elle grinned. “Cyn will never let you live that down.”

  Decebel noted no one bothered to mention that Cyn could only hold it over Thalion’s head if they got out of there.

  A throat cleared, and everyone’s head turned to look at Clarion. He stood just on the other side of the tunnel opening. “This is one of those moments when I truly wished our kind had the ability to flash.”

  “Yep,” Peri chirped. “Sucks to be a djinn.”

  “Mate.” Lucian growled.

  “What?” She huffed. “I just mean it sucks in this moment, not in general. Although I could go into a list of reasons why, in general, it sucks to be any other supernatural but a fae.”

  “Too bad the nulling spell didn’t include taking away the ability to speak,” Elle muttered.

  Peri opened her mouth, but Fane spoke before she could. “What options do we have? With Clarion out there”—he pointed at the elder—“we’re no longer sitting ducks.”

  “I could find my way back out and get help,” Clarion offered.

  “It’s a bloody labyrinth,” Sorin snorted. “By the time you make your way out, Alston could show up and take us out like a bunch of trapped rats.”

  “That begs a question,” Synica said. “Where is Alston?”

  Peri scanned the room. “Probably watching us from some hidden camera and laughing.”

  “What happened to thinking positively?” Lucian raised his eyebrows at his mate.

  Decebel blew out a breath and focused back on Clarion. “I don’t think finding your way out is an option. Like Sorin said, it could take too long.”

  Clarion opened his mouth to speak but snapped it shut when the mountain suddenly gave a tremendous shudder. Small rocks fell from the walls, and the ground beneath them trembled.

  “What the hell is that?” Elle whipped her head around as if she could see what caused the trembling.

  Decebel watched as Fane closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The alpha opened his eyes and looked at Decebel. “How many of Alston’s people did you encounter while coming through the tunnels?”

  “Only a handful,” Decebel answered.

  “There should have been more,” Fane said.

  Peri’s eyes lit with realization. “We followed way more people into the mountain.”

  “You think they left the mountain once we were deep inside?” Lucian looked at Fane.

  Fane nodded. “And if they did, that means they’re outside. I ordered some of our people to stay behind.” Fane tapped his forehead, indicating he’d given that command through the alpha bond.

  “Who?” Decebel asked.

  “Costin and Drake,” he answered. “And I told them to keep a djinn there as well.” He held Decebel with his stare.

  “I wouldn’t have stayed if you’d ordered me to.” Decebel knew what Fane was thinking. Costin had a pregnant mate, and Drake had a young infant. Fane would no doubt try to protect those in their pack with vulnerable mates.

  “Exactly why I didn’t try to.” Frustration laced Fane’s words.

  Lucian cursed under his breath, and Sorin growled. “The only chance they’d have against that many foes would be if the djinn used his power.”

  “Costin won’t allow the djinn to bring the mountain down, no matter what Fane ordered,” Peri said.

  “And if Costin is dead?” Synica challenged. “Would my comrade do the unthinkable?”

  Peri’s eyes narrowed on the elder. “Costin is not dead. We worked too hard to keep him alive in the past. If dimple boy dies, I will lose the precarious hold I have on my sanity.”

  “Pretty sure it’s no longer precarious.” Elle smirked. “You lost it a long time ago.”

  The mountain shuddered again, even harder this time. More rocks fell around them.

  Fane looked back at Clarion. “I’m going to need your power, djinn. We’ve talked about bringing the mountain down. But what about holding it up? Can you push the mountain outward instead of imploding it?”

  The djinn’s jaw clenched. “I can’t guarantee any of you will live through that, even if the mountain doesn’t come down on you. My power, well, think of it like cold fire, only worse.”

  Curses filled the room. Decebel’s stomach twisted with fear and anger. He looked at Fane and could see the determination in his alpha’s eyes. The beta gave him a sharp nod, agreeing with the resignation that they had to try.

  “Do it,” Fane ordered. He looked around the room. “Doing nothing is unacceptable.”

  “Alpha—” Clarion began, but Fane slashed his hand through the air.

  “Do it.”

  Chapter 12

  “Every scientist hopes to make a unique discovery at some point in their lifetime. They want to stand out among their peers and be acknowledged for their achievements. But most accept that it likely won’t happen. I am not most scientists. Call me eccentric, arrogant, or foolish, but I can feel there is something different about me. I will discover something new, something remarkable, and it will change the world. Of this, I have no doubt.” ~Alice Douglas