“Aiden. Aiden!”
His head throbbed, and his thoughts were foggy. Aiden opened his eyes and blinked up at Dylan.
His friend let out a sigh. “You okay?”
He ached in several places, the worst being his head. The pain led him to what had caused it, and he sat up, wincing. “What happened? Where are they?”
Dylan frowned. “They’re gone.” He was sitting on the floor, cradling Aiden in his arms.
Looking around, Aiden realized they weren’t in the hallway anymore. Other people were lying and sitting around them, hurt and bleeding. A few people tended to them with first aid kits. The area looked vaguely familiar, and the barred windows with darkness beyond made Aiden think they were back on the main floor of the prison.
The back of Aiden’s head was wet and sticky. When he touched it gingerly, his fingers came away smeared with blood.
“The ambulances should be back any minute.” Dylan helped Aiden sit up all the way. “They took the worst injured first.” His expression darkened. “Some people are dead.”
Aiden’s first selfish thought was to be grateful that he and Dylan were alive. He scanned the group again, recognizing several warden trainees. “Nichols?” He couldn’t see the warden.
“They took her with the first group.”
A spike of pain went through Aiden’s head as he turned to Dylan. No, not her.
“She was pretty bad,” Dylan said. “And the guard that was at the desk down there… She didn’t make it.”
Aiden swallowed, panic clawing at his lungs. People were dead and hurt. Morgan was out there with other dark fae and the extremists. They could be anywhere, maybe rampaging through the town. “Oh God. My parents. Tiago.” The look of pure hate on Tiago’s dad’s face haunted him. “We have to warn them.” Aiden shifted to pull out his phone.
“Shit, you’re right. I was so worried about you…” Dylan grabbed his phone too.
Staring at his contacts, Aiden wondered who to call first. There was no reason to think his parents would be a target, except maybe as a way to get at him. Tiago, on the other hand, was definitely a target.
Hands shaking, he hit the Call button. Each ring took an eternity. What if they’d already gotten to Tiago? What if he was dead? Aiden’s breath rasped in his throat, his racing heart making his head pound even worse.
* * *
“No.” Tiago’s legs shook and he sat heavily on the bed.
His parents were in town. They might be coming after him right now. Rosalind had put wards around the house, but would they be enough to keep them out?
Aiden kept talking, and things got even worse. The dark fae Aiden and Dylan were so afraid of was with Tiago’s parents, and he’d brought friends. One dark fae had been able to murder three people and almost killed Aiden and Dylan. A whole group of them? Tiago didn’t want to think about what they’d be able to do, but apparently they could attack the warden prison.
Aiden’s words grew distant as fear coursed through Tiago. But Tiago’s attention snapped back to the conversation at the words “knocked out.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Aiden said.
“Is Dylan?”
“Yeah, he’s fine. But you have to get somewhere safe. Is Rosalind there?”
“She’s downstairs.” His own voice sounded far away. One dark fae hadn’t scared him. He’d been ready to take him on to keep Aiden and his friend’s parents safe. Even this Morgan guy didn’t truly scare him. But the idea of the dark fae teaming up with his parents terrified him.
“Go get her. Ask her if there’s somewhere— What?” The last word was directed at someone else, and there was a brief pause. “Dylan says go to his house. Bryn can protect you.” Dylan’s mom, who was half dragon.
Tiago stood, and as soon as he was on his feet, he was running. “Rosalind!” He hurtled down the stairs.
She was in the living room and looked up at him in surprise as he burst into the room.
“We have to go. My parents are back, and they have dark fae with them. We need to get to Dylan’s house so his mom can protect us.” Could even Bryn keep them safe?
He wished he was the kind of person that would stand and fight. Usually he would, but when it came to his parents, he was a coward. After what Aiden had done to them last time, would they be mad enough to kill Tiago? Or did they still want to drag him off so they could “fix” him?
Rosalind was on the move right away, grabbing a bag and filling it with necessities—her computer, phone, keys, and several things he recognized as spell components. He understood they were important, but every second felt like forever.
“We’ll meet you there,” Tiago told Aiden.
“I’m going to the hospital first.”
Another stab of fear went through him. “Why? Are you okay?” Aiden had said he was fine, but had he lied? Downplayed it?
“Probably a concussion and some bruises. Just getting checked as a precaution.”
“But will you be safe? What if they go after the hospital?” What if that was the plan—to hit major targets? The prison, then the hospital, maybe city hall again. It was Saturday, so no one would be at school at least.
“I-I’m sure they won’t.” Aiden didn’t sound sure.
“I should go there to protect you.” Parents or not, Tiago would find the courage to defend Aiden.
“No! Get to Dylan’s house. I need to know you’re safe.”
“And I need to know you’re safe.” Tiago squeezed the phone and told himself to ease up before he broke it.
“The paramedics are here. I have to go. Please go to Dylan’s house. Please.”
Tiago squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. “Call me as soon as you can.”
“I will.” Aiden hung up.
Rosalind squeezed his arm. “He’ll be okay.”
“You don’t know that.”
“The hospital is secure—”
“They attacked the prison!” From what Aiden had said, they’d broken into it like it was nothing and freed the prisoners from maximum security.
Her expression hardened, though her eyes were still gentle. “I know you’re worried, but the best thing we can do right now is go to Bryn’s house and figure out what’s going on. We have no idea what the extremists will do next. And if they do attack the hospital, Bryn can be there in minutes.”
Right. Aiden had told Tiago about Bryn rescuing him and Dylan from the corrupt warden. She could turn into a huge dragon and fly over to the hospital. If Dylan was a badass, Bryn was a super badass.
“Okay.” Tiago grabbed his coat and prayed his parents weren’t outside waiting for him.