“Then let me do it for both of us,” Aiden said. “You have carried the weight and grief for Keelan alone, I won’t let you do that this time.” He looked around the room. “Men! Gather round!”
With a sense of purpose, the men walked over, faces grim.
“Okay, baby, where do we start?” Aiden asked, turning to Meryn.
Meryn took a ragged breath and exhaled. Zoe realized that despite her flippant manner, Meryn was scared for her brother. “Did we check around the warehouse? Like in the woods and stuff?”
Aeson stepped forward, his eyes red-rimmed. “Yes, we scoured the surrounding area.”
Meryn glanced around the room, looking a bit desperate. “Here!” Neil said, running in with a small, wheeled office chair.
Sighing in relief, Meryn sat on her knees in the chair and began spinning. “So, if they are on foot, they are well enough to get outside the zone the warriors checked. That’s good. No one saw any blood, also good. I mean, there were people in the cage. There would have been some sort of splatter.” She stopped spinning. “Did you see the cage?”
Nerius shook his head. “It was just a hole in the floor, and one wall was gone.”
Meryn spun, then stopped again. “One wall? I thought you said it was in a corner.”
Kael stepped up next to his unit leader. “The back wall was blown out, but the external wall took little damage. We think that the blast hit down and back.”
Meryn spun, slowed, and kick spun again. “Or, something protected the wall.”
Aiden frowned. “You lost me, babe.”
Meryn stopped then looked up, turning to the queen, then Brennus. “What if Oron opened a portal? Would the blast have traveled through the portal before it closed?”
The queen gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Sobbing, she nodded. Brennus went to her side and wrapped his arm around her. He turned to Meryn. “Keep going, little love.”
“What if they opened a portal and tried to get the cage through? I’m not sure how successful they could have been, but if they were on the other side of the portal when the blast went off, they could have been hurt and unable to contact us.”
Zoe’s heart stuttered. “How do we find them? They could be anywhere.”
Darian slowly began to shake his head. “That’s not true. My ring, which signifies I am heir, can open portals anywhere. But Oron’s ring isn’t like that. He can open portals, but only to established locations.” He stood shaking. “Gods! Aiden, I think I know where they are!”
Aiden pulled out his cell. “Where?”
“The warehouse near Noctem Falls! Or Noctem Falls itself. Those two locations are the last portals he opened. In a blind panic, he might have linked up to one of them without thought,” Darian walked off to one side and, using his own ring, tried to open a portal. He stepped back, shaking his head. “I can’t open a second portal so close to an established one. We’ll have to go to the building on Market Street to go through and check.”
Aiden was already making calls. “Adriel, I need a sweep of Noctem Falls. We have men missing, and they might have used a portal to escape there.”
Zoe reached over and clutched the queen’s hands. Like Darian, she was afraid to hope.
“What!” Aiden looked up. “Adriel is reporting approximately twenty minutes ago, a loud boom was heard throughout the city. They are trying to pinpoint where.” He returned to his call. “Adriel, expect incoming. I am bringing warriors to help search.” He ended the call. “Darian, can you open a portal to Noctem Falls.”
“You bet your ass I can!” Darian exclaimed. Seconds later, a golden portal shimmered.
“Ari, Brie, and Kincaid. Omega Psi, Phi, and Upsilon head through. Chi, take point here in the city.”
Aeson looked like he was about to argue but ended up shaking his head. “We will.”
“Hahaue?”
Zoe turned and sprung to her feet. Tierla stood with Portia and the boys. “They wanted to come, and to be honest, so did I. He is my son and their father,” Tierla explained.
Zoe ran and knelt next to the boys, holding them close. “We have to look for him. He could be very hurt.”
They both nodded. “We’re going too.”
“Absolutely not!” Aiden argued.