"Dray! What the hell is happening?!"
Draven snarls as I drop across from him on the other side of Rory's side. Her lips are moving but it's the wild lightning that's capturing my attention. It's striking close to the ground.
"Rory! Come back, sister!" I scream at her while Draven cups her face while rubbing soothing circles on her cheeks. His eyes are bright with his worry and fear.
I look around again, making sure Merelda isn't trying to portal here as well.
"Dray, we need to get away from the water, the lightning is going to strike it and we're too close! Hold onto my hand."
He grabs onto my right arm as I rub the moonstone once again, picturing Roxy.
When my eyes open we're on the ground at the base of an old willow tree.
Drac is holding a barely conscious Roxy in the middle of burnt grass. Drac sees us but he keeps his attention on Roxy, speaking into her ear while laying kisses to her temple.
"Ronny?" Rory's grumbling voice pulls me back.
"Thank fuck!" Draven breathes out as he lifts her up and cradles her to his chest. I guess they figured their shit out or maybe this shook the shithead out of him.
"Listen, the same thing happened to me this morning but while I was in the catatonic state Rory was just in," I take a deep breath and pull out the phone, "Merelda took Drug. Not only that but there's something you need to see."
I hit play on the video and hand it to Draven before checking on Roxy. She looks a lot better than she did moments ago. I pull her into a hug and look at Drac, "You need to see the video too."
Drac kisses Rox one last time before jogging over to his brother.
"I was worried about you, Ronny. I was trying to reach you just as Drac found the wooden bird. I grabbed it from him in my excitement and fell into whatever the hell I fell into. I saw present moments throughout the realms and I saw Drug bloodied and unconscious in a cell. I saw you screaming in a field and Draven howling over Rory. I was so scared."
I reach up and wipe Roxy's face as tears fall from her eyes. It's a very rare thing to see Roxy sad or frightened so my heart is breaking even more, adding salt to the wound Drug's abduction has caused.
"I was worried about you guys too. Drug... I'm so scared for him. What if he can be killed in that dungeon?" I stop and hold back the sob that wants to break free. I can't break down, I need to stay strong and find my mate.
"Shh, Ronny. Fuck that cunt, and not in the fun way either." I crack a watery smile at that, "We're going to find that old hag and cut her open."
Drac and Draven's howls of pain and rage cut through the air and Roxy bolts straight to Drac as Draven buries his face in Rory's neck, his body shaking with his emotions.
I stand there, watching these powerful men break with the overwhelming news of their baby sister being alive and I snap. This bitch can't live any longer. How can someone as worthless as that foul beast walk this earth and breathe the same air as my sisters and our men? Hell no.
I'm a Vocem Sanguinis and I vow Merelda's death will be as brutal as a hook on a whip.
"I promise you, brothers, we will get Drug and your sister. She saved me and tried to warn Drug, I owe her a debt I can never repay but I will die trying. Darren said that once we had the talisman we'd be able to join together, right?" Draven looks at me differently, as if he sees me in a new light. I want to tell him that in this family, one always stands in place when one of our own needs to sit. When you break, I'll stand and vice versa. But I don't, I just continue on.
"I know Darren didn't know what that meant but I can feel it's meaning in my veins. Let's join hands and focus on Drug's location. I know Elsie will be there and I have a feeling Elsie's power is a conduit for Merelda's."
Draven steps forward aggressively but it's not pointed at me.
"What do you mean by aconduit?"
In the video, Merelda showed her hand by telling Elsie to open the portal. She showed that she isn't the one with the powers.
"I believe your little sister is Merelda's power source or at the very least, she's using little Elsie as a channel to make her own power stronger. If we get Elsie out of that bitch's grip, we will leave Merelda weak enough to be killed. Right now, we need to find their location and somehow let Drug know we're coming for him."
My heart hurts just saying his name knowing he's being brutalized like an animal.
Being without Drug is painful, in my soul and in my bones. I feel his loss like a drought in the summertime. An endless day of sun and no clouds in sight to relieve the scorch on my skin. His empty space beside me is ruthless in its agonizing mockery.
I once said love is painful and I was right. It's motherfucking painful because yeah, I love Drug. Fuck this pain. I will get him back, kill the wicked old bag of bones and then kick his ass for getting caught.
I hold my hand out to Rory but she looks a little nervous. I can't say I blame her. The talisman have put us through the ringer but Draven whispers something in her ear that soothes her.