“Freeze!” Warden Nichols shouted.
Aiden scrambled backward, hitting the wall. Nowhere to go.
Morgan stepped out of the elevator, and Warden Nichols fired. Could bullets kill a dark fae? Morgan flinched with impact and then waved a hand. His magic was cold, like being lost in the woods in deep winter.
The warden got off a second shot just before ice covered her gun and started crawling up her hand. Warden Nichols cried out and dropped her weapon.
Morgan stepped forward with an annoyed expression, a palm pressed to his chest. Other people got off the elevator behind him. Some had skin in similar shades of purplish blue while others were bluish white, like they’d been frozen. Were they all dark fae?
“Get down!” the guard shouted. She probably wouldn’t risk shooting with the recruits in the way.
Aiden heard shuffling and assumed they were obeying. He didn’t dare take his eyes off Morgan. This is it. He’s going to kill us all. And then break out whoever he’d come for. Was there a dark fae locked up down here?
One of the white-skinned people flung a spell, and the guard shouted. Aiden hoped she’d only been disarmed.
“So annoying, these new human weapons,” Morgan said, taking his hand away from the hole in his chest.
I can’t just stand here. Think, think! But panic made it hard to focus. Aiden tried to send his magic into the building, but it was built of concrete and steel, and he wasn’t able to bend it to his will.
Dylan stepped in front of Aiden. “You’re not getting in here.” Fire surrounded his fists as he glared at Morgan. If Aiden didn’t know him so well, he might not have been able to see the signs of nervousness on Dylan’s face.
Morgan held an arm out, signaling his companions to stay back. “Dragonkin, so good to see you again.” His gaze shifted, smile widening. “Aiden. What a treat to have you both here.”
It was a nightmare come to life, and just like in a nightmare, Aiden couldn’t move. “Please don’t kill us.”
The sensation of dark fae magic increased. Aiden tensed for a blow, throwing a shield around him and Dylan. Then he realized the dark fae were pressing their hands against the walls and floors, dispelling the wards.
“Stop!” Nichols ran forward, growling. Aiden hadn’t known what kind of supernatural she was, but apparently she was some kind of werecreature.
Morgan watched her with a mildly amused expression. When she slashed at him with her claws, Morgan caught her hand and lifted her like she weighed nothing. Dylan stepped outside the shield to throw a spell at him, but the dark fae blocked it, the orange light fizzling into nothing a few inches away. Morgan flung Nichols across the room, the other recruits crying out as she sailed past them. Aiden tried to catch her with a spell, but he wasn’t fast enough. With a loud thud, she slammed against the door leading to the cells and bounced off.
With a shout of anger, Dylan sent fire streaking toward Morgan and the others. Morgan blocked, but one of the other fae cried out in pain. Morgan counterattacked, and Dylan raised a shield just before the spell hit. Magic exploded in a shower of sparks, and Aiden darted to the side as Dylan came flying at him. Dylan slammed into the wall with a grunt.
Aiden recast the shield spell to cover both of them. When Dylan moved toward Morgan, Aiden grabbed Dylan’s arm, yanking him back. “No.” Aiden was afraid Morgan would kill him.
“You think this will stop me?” Morgan stepped up so close Aiden could see the dark glimmer in his eyes. He put a hand on Aiden’s barrier and pushed.
The force of his magic was overwhelming. Terrifying. Aiden tried to fight back, but it only lasted a few seconds. His shield popped. If he hadn’t already had his back against the wall, he would have fallen.
Dylan lifted his hands. Morgan grinned.
A spell crashed into Morgan and sent him stumbling. With a growl, he whipped around to find the source of the attack. Dylan took the opportunity to throw fire at him. Without even looking, Morgan flicked his fingers, and the flames spilled harmlessly against a barrier.
Morgan moved down the hall, and another dark fae stepped up to face Dylan.
Spells flew everywhere. The recruits tried to hold off the dark fae, but they kept advancing. Several recruits fell, and Aiden prayed they weren’t dead. Dylan hurled fire and other spells, hurting a few of the dark fae. But they kept coming.
Aiden slid along the wall, getting closer to the door. Nowhere to run. Nothing to hide behind except the desk, and that was all but useless.
“Enough playing.”
Aiden knew that voice.
“Time to get the rest of our people out.” It was Tiago’s dad. But that couldn’t be right.
A swirling white spell slammed into Dylan, and he flew back to crush Aiden against the wall. Just as Aiden sucked in a desperate breath, ice surrounded them both. The world beyond their cold cocoon was blurry and muffled. He could just make out Morgan opening the door. Did he have a key? How had he gotten a key?
“I’m getting us out.” The words echoed strangely, and he realized they were coming from Dylan, still squished up against him. Things started to get warm, and the sensation of dragon scales brushed against Aiden’s mind.
The other dark fae headed through the door. Then two people with skin in a normal human shade of brown paused and came close to Aiden. Due to the ice, he couldn’t make out their faces until they were very close. His fears were confirmed as Tiago’s parents glared at him, only inches away.
Aiden could fight them off, or Dylan. But not the way they were trapped and definitely not when it seemed Tiago’s parents were allied with the dark fae.
Did that mean the extremists had joined up with Morgan? Oh God. That’s why they were here—to break out everyone who had been captured.
“It’s the little faggot that corrupted our son.” The man’s eyes glowed gold, and he bared his sharp teeth.
The words hurt, but the fear was worse. Tiago’s parents hated him, and Aiden was trapped.
A deep growl filled the small space within the ice, and steam surrounded Aiden, uncomfortably hot.
“Dylan—”
“Almost out.” Dylan shifted, and a huge crack ran up the side of the cocoon.
Maybe he should tell him to stop. They might be safer in here.
Dylan shoved his hands forward. The cracks multiplied, then the ice around them shattered. Aiden ducked as much as he could, which amounted to cringing and lowering his head. Wet chunks of ice thudded against him.
A dozen different types of magic filled his mind, no longer muted by the ice. The floor was littered with bodies and smears of blood. The sharp, metallic scent made Aiden’s stomach turn. There were also a few large pieces of ice, and Aiden suspected people were trapped inside.
Dylan lifted his hands.
“Wait—” Aiden didn’t want him to hit the recruits.
Dylan unleashed the spell anyway. Tiago’s parents dodged, but the hallway was only about a dozen feet across, and there were bodies everywhere. Tiago’s mom slipped on one of the ice-covered people and just barely made it out of the way of the spell. The orange light hit Tiago’s dad, and he froze.
Another alarm blared. “Warning. Maximum security breach. Warning. Maximum security breach.”
Dylan threw a second paralyzing spell as Tiago’s mom lunged at him. The magic hit, immobilizing her.
“You can’t stop us!” she shouted.
Clarity settled over Aiden, and he gripped Dylan’s shoulder. “We have to stop them.”
If Morgan let out the most dangerous prisoners, this would only get worse. The extremists would come after the wardens again, but this time they’d have dark fae helping them. And then they’d come after everyone who opposed them. Aiden, Dylan… Tiago.
“Yeah, I know.” Dylan looked at him, then turned toward the door.
A few of the recruits were staggering to their feet. Thank God, not everyone was dead. One of them dropped near a chunk of ice, working a spell to free the person inside.
“Can any of you still use magic?” Aiden asked.
Someone on the ground shook her head, but four nodded, including the woman kneeling over the ice. “Okay. If we layer our shields, we might be able to hold them back. We just need to keep them in there until the other wardens arrive.” They were coming, weren’t they?
Aiden shook his fear away and tried not to think about how easily Morgan had destroyed his shield.
“The doors!” a man shouted. Both of the security doors were wide open.
Aiden looked and wished he hadn’t. The hall was full of dark fae and escaped prisoners, and several were running toward him.
The man rushed forward, probably to shut the far door. “No wait!” Aiden called.
The man almost made it. A spell sent him flying, and Aiden hesitated for just a second, but that was all it took. The man hit Aiden hard enough to knock the wind out of him, and they both went down. Pain spiked through Aiden’s head as he hit the floor, and then everything went dark.