"Where are the others?" My voice trembles as I make the question. Fear grips at my heart. They can't be dead, can they? I'm alive and they're all much stronger than I am. Oreo shakes his fur next to Apollo's feet. Though covered in white powder, he seems unharmed. What about Tristan and Ren?
Gods, what about the other people in the motel?
"There you are."
I snap my head to the sound of Prince's voice. He grins, but it's cruel and twisted. I try not to slip or trip when I climb on top of one of the bigger rocks, glaring at him.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
Prince's green hair is mussed, and not in a sexy way. A bruise on his jaw tells me he's been in a fight, and the tip of his left horn is broken. He's also not alone. The soldiers with him look like they've been through a lot before they managed to escape. The number is much smaller than the one that took me to the woods. I wonder how many perished to the Collector's forces.
"I came after you, pet. Or did you think I would let you leave without your part of our bargain?"
I pull my upper lip. "We struck no bargain."
He bares his teeth at me too, taking a step closer. His minions come with him, weapons trained on Apollo and me. "No? Because I thought you were very glad to escape the Collector, and you looked rather comfortable at my house, receiving my lessons and eating my food."
"A good slave-owner is still a slave-owner," Apollo says, rising next to me. "You didn't want to help. You merely wanted her powers."
"Of course I wanted her powers," Prince hisses. "Who doesn't? With a Shadow Mage on my bloodline, I'll be so powerful even my father will bow to me."
"You said you wanted to go home to see your family." Stepping closer, I call the shadows to me, from every corner they're hiding in. I don't have much on my sleeve just yet, but if I can hit him with a dark cloud like before, I can run and distract him while Apollo uses his strength to look for Tristan and Ren.
"I want to see my family," Prince drawls on, stepping closer too. He raises his hands, his claws glistening with what looks like blood. "I want them to see how I unmake their reign, and I want them to suffer every second after I sit on the throne."
Bile rises in my throat. "You're sick, Prince."
He grins. "You're sick, too. That's how Shadow Mages work. You say you do things accidentally, and you have excuses for the twisted things you enjoy." He shakes his head, like I'm a lost cause, the smile still on his lips. "But you're rotten on the inside, Cassandra, and a small voice inside your head has already told you that."
His words sink inside me like hot coals, burning on the way down. I swallow and tell myself that's foolish... But it's the truth. The words ring true. My stomach clenches with the realization.
Apollo steps in front of me. "You’ll only take her over my dead body."
Prince grins. "I've been hoping you would say that. Games are over. A small explosion like this was meant to hurt her enough she couldn’t escape. But you? You won’t get out of here alive." And he pounces.
I raise my arm, shooting the shadows I gathered toward him. It hits him in the face, but he was probably expecting my move. Prince's hand shoots through the darkness, seeking me, and Apollo pulls me out of the way just in time.
"Run!" he screams at me, and I dart back, over the rubble, seeking a way out. I still want to force Prince to come after me so Apollo can look for the others. Even if I'm caught, I’ll be fine if they live.
Something bursts through the rubble right next to my foot, and I jump out of the way as Tristan rises from the rocks like he's just woken up. Dust covers his hair and face, but he doesn't look wounded, not even bothered.
He turns to me and parts his lips, but something catches his attention over my shoulder. Tristan moves fast, shoving an arm up and pulling me against his body, moving to put his back to the others at the same time. Something hits him, but he just stumbles once before he recovers his balance. The man is a wall.
"Tristan!" I cry out, looking up until I meet his eyes. "Find Ren and run away. I'll keep them distracted."
The look on his face makes it sound like I proposed the most absurd thing in the world. "Of course not," he replies in an insulted tone. "I would never leave you behind."
A yelp makes me turn. Oreo roars, his feet glowing red as he snags on Prince's robes and pulls and attacks. Affection swells inside me. But then I take the rest of the scene in, and I can’t stop the scream climbing up my throat.
Prince’s claws sink into Apollo's stomach, blood gurgling out of the wound and into the fae's hand. Prince's other hand closes around Apollo's throat, and my heart drops.
"Apollo?" My voice comes out like a murmur, shocked and pained, and the heart inside my chest drops to my stomach. I can't pull enough air in. Time tilts and stops, but not for the others.
I can't move. My body doesn't react, but the rest of the world keeps on turning. Prince pulls his hands away from Apollo, blood gushing free as my dragon mate collapses to his knees, then to his side. Fear washes through me, quaking me to my core. Prince whirls around, hands drenched in red, and his eyes connect with Oreo. I try to reach out, but my body is frozen, and I can't do a thing as Prince kicks him, a yelp arching away with his body.
Tristan's arm folds around my waist, his breath on my ear. "Let's go," he says, voice trembling. He's seen a lot but he's never seen anything like this. Tristan lived his life in a cage — a big cage, where he had to work for his food, but I don't think he's ever seen this kind of violence. And it wouldn't faze me if it wasn't one of my mates on the receiving end.
We're fucked. And worse — I fucked up, and they're going to suffer for this.