I hold out my hand.
I keep my voice soft. “Close to what?”
Fells’ brows dip. “The start of their ruin.”
Cadoc steps closer, careful not to touch Fell. “Who are they?”
“The other children.” Fell turns his gaze to me. “They’ve been looking for you for a long time, and now they know exactly where you are.”
“How?” My lips quiver. Fear seeps into my pores.
Fell tilts his head. “The l—.” His mouth drops open and a horrible strangled sound escapes.
“Fell.” He pitches forward, and Bo steps forward, catching him.
Shocked, I grip Bo’s arm, silently thanking him.
“I don’t like this.” My voice wobbles like a loose tire.
“Join the club, Princess.”
Kirk shudders. “Someone or something was talking through him.”
“No, he’s always been like this. It’s a deeper knowing.” I frown. “It’s hard to explain.”
“You trust it?” Cadoc nods at the man slumped in Bo’s arm. “Trust him?”
“I want to.” I run the backs of my knuckles across Fell’s cheek.
“That’s not a yes,” Kirk’s warm breath caresses the nape of my neck.
“There’s more going on with him.” I lower my head, feeling like I’ve thrown him under the bus.
“And we need to get to the bottom of it. Because he’s looking a lot like a leak,” Cadoc places a hand on my shoulder.
I jerk my head up. “You don’t know that.”
“And you can’t prove otherwise,” Bo adds.
Kirk holds up his hands. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
“Our number one priority is keeping you safe. Even if it’s from one of us,” Cadoc squeezes my shoulder and removes it.
I hate the sympathy in his eyes. I look away. “We’ll figure it out.”
“We’re running out of time—”
“What would you suggest then, Bo? Because leaving him behind isn’t an option. If we want to survive this we need to think about the group, not us as individuals.”
His nostrils flare. I hold his heated gaze.
“You can feel the truth in what I’m saying.”
Bo’s jaw ticks. “Ego won’t serve us here,” I say.
“Neither will idiocy,” Bo counters.
“Did you just call me stupid?” I growl in the back of my throat, and the asshole laughs.
“If the title fits. You’re adorable when you’re angry, Princess.”
I dig my sharp nails into his arms and he hisses.
“I like it rough. This is like foreplay.”
Releasing him I turn away My heart knocks against my ribs. He wakes something dark and feral inside me.
“It’s time to go before they come back. Take care of the sundial, Bo. It called to you for a reason.” Cadoc taps Fell’s cheek and the other man’s eyes open.
“What happened?”
“You blacked out for a minute there,” Kirk holds up a finger. “Follow this for me.”
As Doc gives him a quick examination his earlier words replay in my mind. Someone’s been looking for me. Why now? I’ve gone from being invisible to being the main attraction.
What will this mysterious person do now that I’ve been found?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
