“Lucky me. Where are we going?” I tried to study things as we walked, but it was impossible. Everything was so fancy, even the molding near the floor had intricate carvings. Paintings and statues decorated the long hallway just like every other hallway I’d seen.

  “We’re going to my aunt and uncle’s wing. That way we’ll be close when Ziamara’s ready to see you.”

  “Hopefully, her husband will be here by then. I’m sure she wants to see Jet far more than me.”

  “Another werewolf is coming? This is going to be a much livelier visit than I’d anticipated.”

  “You don’t live here?”

  She shook her head. “You know Eylin, right?”

  I nodded. “The king and queen’s daughter. She helped us fight a terrible pack.”

  Hale shuddered. “She told me about that. I’m glad you’re okay. Anyway, my family lives with hers on a tropical island.” She spoke about their young kids, and I tried to pay attention, but found myself intrigued by everything I saw.

  “How old is the castle?” I stopped and stared at a statue of a man wearing battle armor. It looked familiar. I tried to figure out why I would’ve seen it.

  “Over three thousand years old. The original vampires had it built—each one has their own wing. They all—”

  “Do they steal famous artwork? This statue—I learned about it in school. It was said to have been lost forever.”

  She cleared her throat. “Our kind preserves art. This was nearly destroyed in an earthquake.” She gestured to a painting. “And this one was saved from a fire.”

  My mouth gaped. I’d seen that one in history books, too. “People would go crazy if they knew about this place.”

  “They never will. Not inside an enchanted forest.”

  I stared at her. “No one has tried to get in?”

  “They can’t even see it.”

  “The woods?”

  “Humans have no idea it’s here. They see some kind of illusion. Come on.”

  My feet didn’t move. I tried to imagine what people would see. The woods had been as clear as anything else when Ziamara and I had walked over to them after leaving the fancy parking garage. The only thing more magnificent than the creatures in the woods—unicorns and faeries, to name a couple—had been the enormous, looming castle.

  She looped her arm through mine. “There’s much more interesting stuff to look at in Uncle Alre’s wing.”

  “How old are the original vampires?”

  “Not much older than the castle. They were pretty young when they had it built. Uncle Alre…” Her voice trailed off.

  A group of people were gathered together, speaking in hushed tones.

  I turned to Hale. “What’s going on?”

  “Stay here. I’ll find out.” She hurried over to the group and spoke with a gorgeous blonde vampire wearing an elegant light blue and brown gown.

  There were too many people talking, I couldn’t hear Hale’s conversation. I turned to the wall and studied another painting. No, this one was a map—an old one from the looks of it. The edges were frayed and yellowing. It was of Iceland, but the terrain was far different than any other map I’d ever seen. It was labeled with things like enchanted forests, lakes full of dangerous nokken, and the locations of various other supernatural creatures.

  My breath hitched when I found werewolves written near some caves by a cliff with mermaids below. Could that be where we had originated? And even more importantly, could the wolf essence stone by near those caves? If they were still there, three thousand years later.

  I wanted to snap a picture, but had a feeling that wasn’t allowed—especially not by a werewolf. I stared at the map until the image was burned into my memory. All I needed was to figure out a way to get to Iceland. Rune travel would be the quickest but would require a witch who knew how to use them. From what Gessilyn’s coven had said, it was pretty rare these days, and unfortunately, her family was so busy lately. I’d also heard about underground tunnels that led to every major city in the world—and there was supposed to be an entrance near this very castle.

  “You really like that map.” Hale put her hand on my shoulder.

  I jumped. “Does this show where all the species came from?”

  “Not all, but most.”

  “But it’s where the listed ones originated.”

  She leaned closer. “Right.”

  My pulse raced, making me dizzy. I had to get there. A rib popped.

  “Are you okay?” Hale’s dark green eyes widened.

  I would be once I found a way to Iceland.

  Chapter 112

  Toby

  My phone rang. It was Roska. Maybe she had already discovered a rune near the spring.

  I accepted the call. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Toby. You’re in luck. My father knew of a rune in that area. Turns out he needed it once before. He can take you in about an hour.”

  “That’s the best news all day. Thank you so much for checking into that for me.”

  “Glad to help. Good luck!” The call ended.

  I sent Victoria a quick text.

  Will you be okay if I go to Egypt to find Soleil? Johan has a rune in the area.

  Perfect! Yeah, I’m fine. Waiting to hear about Zia.

  Let me know.

  I will. Love you.

  You too.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. Both Ziamara and Victoria were in good hands with Marguerite nearby. Soon, I’d find Soleil, and our entire pack would be accounted for—possibly with a new member if Ziamara had the baby.

  It was time to prepare for a trip to Egypt. I hurried into the kitchen and drank a few glasses of water. I’d need to be hydrated, especially if Johan’s rune was a distance from the spring. Trekking through the desert was new territory for me.

  I glanced down at my thick jeans and sweater. Those had to go. I hurried upstairs and dug through my closet and drawers until I found shorts and a light shirt buried behind all my warm stuff.

  When I got downstairs, Bobby, one of our younger members, gave me a double take. “Doin’ some sort of challenge?”

  “Going to the desert.” I headed back to the kitchen for more water.

  Bobby followed me. “Why?”

  “I think Soleil’s there.”

  He arched a brow. “If she wanted to come back home, don’t you think she would?”

  “Not if she doesn’t know what’s going on.” I downed a full glass of water.

  “Maybe it’s too much for her to see your wedding. I mean, she was engaged to Brick. She might just need to hide out until after that.”

  I poured more water. “There’s more going on than just that.”

  Footsteps sounded from the hall. “Toby?” Johan called.

  Relief washed through me. “We’re in the kitchen!”

  He came in, wearing all light-colored clothes and a safari hat. “Are you ready?”

  “Let me just have another glass of water.”

  “He’s gonna turn into a camel,” Bobby said.

  “That’s good,” Johan said. “Ever been in real heat?”

  Bobby shook his head.

  I drank another glass of water. “I need to grab a hat, too. Anything else you can think of?”

  “Bring something of Soleil’s if you have it. It’ll help to run a locator spell once we’re there.”

  “Okay. Give me a couple minutes.” I gestured to the fridge. “Help yourself.”

  Five minutes later, we were set.

  “Can you show me on a map where the locator spell showed her to be?” Johan asked.

  I pulled out my phone and brought up a map of Egypt. “It was right about here.” I pointed to the spot that had been revealed at Darrell’s.

  “Good. I have an old rune maybe five miles from there.”

  “We’re going to walk five miles in the desert?” I exclaimed. “I need to pack water.”

  “Nonsense. There will be plenty of modern conveniences. We’ll be fine.” Johan led me to the big mirror in the main living area. He put his hand on my shoulder and spoke in a foreign language. A diamond shape decorated with intricate designs lit up on the glass.

  “Close your eyes.”

  I did. A soft breeze blew around us, and I felt dizzy. The air around us became heavy and hot. It felt like it was fifty degrees warmer and humid—at least compared to what I was used to with the bite of winter’s snow.

  I opened my eyes. We stood in a building made of stone in front of a dirty, cracked mirror. “Where are we?”

  “This used to be the home of someone I knew many years ago. He’s long gone, now.”

  Footsteps sounded on the tile.

  I stared at Johan.

  “Follow me.” He darted down a narrow hallway. I hurried to catch up. We ran through the twists and turns of several halls. The footsteps behind us grew louder. Someone shouted something I couldn’t understand.

  We came to a door. Johan threw it open, and we ran outside. It had to be another twenty degrees hotter. Sweat broke out along my hairline. A man ran outside behind us, now shouting and shaking his fist at us.

  “This way,” Johan called. We ran to the right and came to a busy market. He disappeared into the crowd. I did the same and took a moment to find him. It was even warmer among all the people.

  I gasped for air and wiped my eyebrows. “Is rune travel always like that?”

  He glanced around. “I think we lost him. No, it’s not always that exciting, but when a rune hasn’t been used in a while, you don’t always know what you’ll find. I’ve ended up in completely different places than expected because someone moved a mirror. It keeps life interesting.”

  “I’d say so. Are we where we need to be?”

  Johan nodded. “We just need to find a quiet place to run the locator spell.”

  The market was anything but quiet. Loud conversation made it hard for me to hear Johan.

  He gestured for me to follow him. We zigged and zagged through the busy crowd until we finally broke free into the hot sun. It was hard to tell which was worse—being directly in the sun or under the tents with the throng of people. We walked for what felt like hours, but was probably only fifteen minutes.

  We came to an empty area with a few palm trees.

  Johan turned to me. “You brought something of Soleil’s?”

  I dug her jewelry out of my pocket and handed them to him.

  “Good, good.” He led me to the shade of a palm tree and sat, placing the items in front of him on the sand. Then he pulled out a satchel and sprinkled flower petals, something sparkly, and some kind of dust over the things. He gestured for me to sit across from him—half in the sun.

  Johan spoke in a foreign language and waved his hands over the items between us. I closed my eyes and waited, pretending I was back home in the snow. It didn’t work. Sweat made my clothes stick to me, and even more dripped from my head onto my lap.

  He raised his voice and a light breeze danced around us, but it didn’t help with the heat. More than anything, it merely teased me.

  Johan’s voice grew louder and louder. I worried that he would draw us unwanted attention. I wasn’t sure I was up to any more running. My mouth was growing dry despite all the water I’d drunk.

  All of a sudden, Johan went quiet and the breeze stopped. I opened my eyes. Everything he’d poured had disappeared. Soleil’s jewelry sat in a circle on the sand. Johan sat perfectly still, his eyes still closed.

  I wiped streams of sweat from my face as I waited.

  At last, he opened his eyes. He stared off into space for a minute before making eye contact.

  “Did it work?”

  He nodded. “I received a clear vision. You’re right about her being at a spring. But we’d better hurry.”

  I glanced around for trouble. “Why?”

  “She looks really distressed.”

  Chapter 113

  Victoria

  I wrapped my arms around Jet. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  He returned the embrace. “Thanks for staying with Zia. I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy.” He narrowed his eyes at some vampires glaring at us with reddening eyes.

  “They aren’t all unfriendly.” I nodded toward Hale.

  “Feel free to head back home,” Jet said. “I’ll let you know how Ziamara’s doing as soon as I find out. There’s no way they’re keeping her from me.”

  Hale put her hand on his shoulder. “My Aunt Svana assures me Ziamara is stabilized. Also, I’m sure the queen will welcome you with open arms. You’ll find that she and Toby are a lot alike in regard to being open to other species.”

  He nodded a thanks and headed toward the room Ziamara had been taken to.

  Hale turned to me. “Want me to take you to the parking garage? A pretty young wolf really shouldn’t wander through the forest alone—not when at any given time old-world vampires could be out there hunting.”

  “Maybe.” I wandered back to the old Icelandic map and studied the caves were the werewolves were supposed to have originated.

  She followed me. “What’s with you and this map?”

  Hale seemed genuinely curious, and more importantly, she seemed open to adventurous theories. “There are rumors of a wolf stone,” I said slowly, testing her.

  Her gorgeous eyes widened. “That sounds interesting. Tell me more.”

  “It might be able to help us shift anytime we want.”

  “And you think it’s there?” She flicked her head toward the map.

  “Possibly. But it’s dangerous.”

  Hale’s eyes lit up even more. “And you want to check it out?”

  I glanced around and nodded.

  She grabbed onto my hands. “It’s been so long since I’ve been on an adventure! I know the dragon tunnels like the back of my hand. You want to go now?”

  My heart raced. “Really? You’ll go with me?”

  “Yeah. Everything’s on hold now with Ziamara being in labor. Nobody’s going to notice my absence.”

  One of my ribs popped.

  She arched an eyebrow. “What is that? And why does it keep happening?”

  I took a deep breath and lowered my voice. “I don’t shift at the full moon. Only when my emotions are really high.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “How?”

  “It’s a long story. How soon can we get to Iceland?”

  Hale glanced up and looked deep in thought. “How fast can you run?”

  “A lot faster if I can shift.”

  “Promise not to bite me if you turn?” Her expression turned doubtful.

  “I’ll only bite you if you bite first.”

  She laughed. “We’ll get along just fine. Let me just call home and make sure my kids are okay.”

  I nodded. “Thanks.”

  “Just don’t turn into a wolf inside the castle. I doubt even the king or queen could protect you—people’s natures would take over and…” She shuddered.

  “I’ll wait until we’re in the tunnels. I swear.”

  She pulled out a phone and walked over to a large picture window. I turned back to the map and stared. An elbow popped and then a hip. I took a deep breath. “Just a little longer,” I whispered to my wolf.

  Hale came over. “Everything’s good. You ready?”

  “I was born for this.”

  “Follow me. I know a shortcut out of here.” She led me through a maze of hallways. All of them were just as breathtaking as the ones I’d seen. I couldn’t believe how much artwork the vampires had saved from destruction.

  “Are you guys hiding Noah’s ark somewhere?” I joked.

  She turned to me, her eyes wide. “You know about that?”

  “No, I just—”

  “Just focus on the stone you’re looking for.” We hurried through dozens more hallways. We must’ve gone through five or six wings of the massive castle. She stopped in the middle of a hallway.

  I glanced around. “Why—?”

  “Shh.” She bent down and pressed on the decorative molding. The wall opened.

  My mouth gaped.

  Hale gestured for me to go inside the dark room.

  “What—?”

  “Go.”

  I stepped inside and she followed, stooping to press the molding on the inside.

  “The dragons aren’t the only ones with tunnels,” she said. “But ours have managed to stay a secret.”

  I glanced around, my eyes quickly adjusting to the dark.

  “Come on. This’ll take us to where we need to go.” We took the tunnel as it twisted and turned. Finally, she stopped and pressed the molding again. This time, the wall opened to the outside. It took my eyes only a moment to adjust to the bright light.

  Excitement raced through me. A bone in my neck popped.

  Her expression held a warning. “Wait ‘til we’re in the tunnel system. We still have to go through a dragon city to get there.”

  “No problem. My inner wolf is just excited to get out.”

  “This way.”

  I followed her down a path in the woods and then another until we came to a trail I almost missed. “It isn’t used often?”

  “Not too much, no. Not since Eylin and Darius moved away from here.”

  “That sounds like an interesting story.”

  “It is, but like your shifting, it’s too long to tell now. Let’s hurry.” We darted down the narrow path, bushes sticking to our clothes as we went. The path led us to a dirt wall with a dilapidated board leaning against it.

  “Why are we at a dead end?”

  “We’re not.”

  “If you say so.”

  Hale pressed the board against the wall and pulled out a small vial of blood. She held it up to the board. The wood creaked and shook. Then before my eyes, it transformed into an ornate door. She opened the door and waved me over.

  We stepped inside a cold, dark tunnel. Water dripped down the walls.

  “Whose blood is that?”

  “Eylin’s. Another long story. Let’s go.”

  My neck popped. “Can I shift now?”

  “Soon. We still have to go through a dragon city, remember?”

  I rubbed my neck. “Okay. My wolf is getting impatient.”

  “Your wolf or you?” She arched a brow.