Silence drapes down over us, suffocating. I lean against the wall, my heart sinking in my chest. As fast as hope came up, it sizzles to nothing inside me. My sister puts her arms around me, hugging me to her.
“We can’t let him do that,” she says in a small voice.
“No, we can’t,” Apollo agrees, burying his face in his hands. “It’s too dangerous. It’s not what she would have wanted.”
“Next time they take me,” Tristan says in a voice that betrays his barely contained anger, “I’m going to kill Kayn.”
Apollo forces a small smile onto his face. “I wish it was that simple.”
My wolf cries inside me. I close my eyes and let sadness roll over me once, then shove it back and force myself to think. “What do we do?” I ask.
Mei slips her arms from around me, her brow furrowing. “Maybe we could create some distraction and steal her body? Bury it somewhere Kayn would never find.”
Apollo nods. “Yes. That won’t be simple and,” he shoots a look at me, “it might get us killed. So maybe you run away with your sister, and Tristan and I will steal her body.”
“What about Donnie?”
Apollo’s jaw clenches. “He’s hurt. Kayn is taking personal pains in making him suffer for what he’s done.”
I close my hands intofists, holding tight. We can’t leave Donatello behind. Cass wouldn’t want that, either. He’s family. He’s one of us. And I’m not leaving the others to die. Raising my eyes to my sister, I lock our gazes.
She nods, tilting the side of her lip. “I know what you want to say. And I will stay, too.”
What? No. She can’t stay. She’s already been through too much. Too much pain, too much trauma. I whirl around to face her. “Mei. You won’t. You have to go.”
“Go where? To do what?” She scoffs. “You’re my only family.”
“That’s why he’s going with you,” Apollo points out.
I shake my head. “Cass is my mate. You are my family. I’m not leaving.”
“Me neither,” she says and crosses her arms. “And you’re not forcing me. Cassandra came to rescue me, too. I won’t let Kayn do that to her body. Not when I can offer some help.”
We stay in that predicament for a moment longer, then I let my shoulders sag. She’s always been headstrong. I won’t win now. With a sigh, I roll my eyes. “Alright,” I tell her. “Alright. But you have to do what I tell you..”
Mei gives me one sharp nod. “Aye aye, captain.”
This gets a smile out of me. I turn to look back at Apollo, whose mournful face hasn’t changed. “We need a plan,” I tell him.
He lifts a finger. “Distraction,” a second finger, “steal the body. Run. Bury it somewhere Kayn will never find it.”
“We can do that,” Tristan says. “Next time the vampires come to get me, I’ll punch them and then steal the keys.”
“Almost a good idea,” says Apollo, “but have you seen how many come for you and how many come for me? I’ll do it. They’re only two when they come for me.”
“I don’t like this,” I tell him, a weird knot of fear tightening in my stomach.
Apollo shrugs. “If you have a better idea, I’m all ears. At least we have some time. Kayn will need at least a few days to find this necromancer.”
“If we do it soon, we’ll have the time to give her a proper burial,” I add. Apollo nods. Tristan makes an acquiescing sound. Silence blankets us again, and I’m almost confident in our plan when a weird smell hits my nostrils. I turn around to ask Mei if she sensesit, then see the way she’s curling her nose. What is this smell?
Tristan screams. “Oreo!”
Oreo? My heart skips a beat, surprise making my jaw drop. Wow, I noticed he had gone away, but I didn’t even think about it! I press myself to the bars, Apollo doing the same. I can see nothing from here, though.
“He’s there?” Apollo asks. “How? I thought he had run.”
“He just showed up,” Tristan says with a chuckle. “So good to have you back!”