Chapter 256

Agnes

After a relatively smooth and a very uneventful flight, the helicopter touched down on Richard’s estate a little past noon. The sun was shining high above, the birds were chirping, and there was a pleasant breeze rustling through the trees.

To anyone else, Thea included, it was just another lovely day in the vast, beautiful wilderness comprising Richard’s territory. To anyone except for Elijah, Richard, and I, it was the perfect Saturday afternoon.

Thea took off ahead of us as we approached the house, her backpack swinging wildly behind her. Despite everything, I couldn’t help but exchange a small smile with Elijah.

“Looks like she took to Richard more than we thought,” he said quietly, his shoulder bumping against mine.

“Looks like it.” At least not everything was doom and gloom. At least we had someone left to trust. Someone who didn’t only care about his own gain, at least.

“Uncle Richard!” Thea squealed the moment she spotted him waiting on the front steps. To my surprise, Richard’s stern face softened completely as he caught her in a hug. He lifted her up and spun her around once before setting her back down.

My eyes instinctively moved up toward the window on the second floor where I had once seen Elise looking down at us, as if she might be there now. Fuck, I wanted her to be there, even though I hardly knew her, if only because it meant that my stepmother hadn’t sunk her claws as deep as we thought.

Of course, the curtains remained unmoving. Elise was dead, whether we liked it or not. So was James.

We all might be dead or thralls within weeks, maybe even days, if we didn’t stop her.

“Hello, little one,” Richard said, ruffling Thea’s hair. “I’m glad you came to visit. Why don’t you go find the housekeeper in the kitchen? I believe she’s been baking all morning and might even have a slice of apple pie saved just for you.”

Thea’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

“Really. Just tell her Uncle Richard sent you.”

She hugged his legs one more time before disappearing into the house. When Richard turned to us, his expression was serious once more. “My study. Now.”

The three of us made our way through the house in silence. Richard’s study was exactly as I remembered it—dark wood paneling, leather-bound books lining the walls, and a massive desk in the center of the room. He closed the door behind us and gestured for us to sit.

“I found him,” Richard said without preamble. “The man who gave you the tracker.”

My eyes widened. “That fast?”

“It took some doing, but yes. My guards have been questioning every person who was at that conference, cross-referencing with hotel records, interviewing staff, going off of the description Elijah gave us. We finally tracked him down this morning.”

With that, Richard walked to the door and spoke quietly to someone outside. A moment later, two guards entered, flanking a man I didn’t recognize, but judging from the way Elijah’s back went ramrod straight, he did. The guards forced him into a chair across from us.

I studied his face, trying to place him. He looked ordinary. Forgettable. The exact kind of person who could blend into a crowd without anyone noticing.

“Tell them what you told me,” Richard commanded.

The man’s hands were shaking. “I… I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Start with the dinosaur,” Elijah rumbled. “You approached me at the hotel bar. You gave me a toy for my daughter. Explain.”

“I was just doing a job,” the man stammered. “I swear, I didn’t know what it was really for.”

“What kind of job?” I asked.

“I was hired to… to deliver something. They told me to approach Alpha Elijah. They gave me the toy and told me to make sure he took it home to her.”

“Who hired you?” Richard demanded.

“I don’t know their names. They paid me through intermediaries. Cash only. I swear, I know nothing else.”

The three of us exchanged looks. This man was clearly a pawn. He’d been kept in the dark about everything except this specific task.

“You’re sure they didn’t mention anything else?” I asked, my voice softening if only to urge him to share anything else he might know. “Did they say why the toy was so important, or what else they planned to do?”

“No. They just said to make sure she got it and kept it with her. That’s all.”

I felt sick. So Elemental Enterprises—everything pointed to the toy being planted by them—been tracking my daughter for months after all. Watching her movements, learning her routines. All so they could…

“Get him out of here,” Richard said to the guards. “Put him in one of the holding cells. We’ll decide what to do with him later. Let me know if he decides to share any other details.”

The guards hauled the man to his feet. “Please,” he begged. “I was just trying to help my wife. I didn’t know—”

“You knew enough,” Elijah said coldly.

The door closed behind them, leaving the three of us alone again. The silence lingered for several long moments.

“Why didn’t they take her?” I suddenly said, turning to Elijah. “If they were tracking Thea, if they wanted her, why didn’t Lena just take her when she took the stone? She had access to Thea every day. She had our trust. She could have taken her that night, and she didn’t.”

The two men seemed to have no response to that. I couldn’t help but wonder—had Lena really cared for Thea? Had there been any truth in the affection I’d seen between them?

Finally, Elijah and I recounted the entire conversation with my father last night. By the time we finished, Richard’s face had gone pale.

“So he wants you to destroy the entire facility,” Richard said slowly. “With everyone inside.”

“He says it’s the only way,” Elijah said. “That by tonight, Agnes’s stepmother will have turned most of the elementals into thralls. That she’ll use the stone to control them and methodically take over every pack territory.”

Richard was quiet for a long time, staring out the window. When he finally spoke, his voice was grim.

“I know of the geothermal plant he’s talking about.”

My heart stopped. “You do?”

“It was built decades ago to power an old salt mine about fifty miles from here. The mine was abandoned in the seventies, and the plant was shut down not long after. The mine entrances were filled with concrete, and the whole area was sealed off.” He turned back to us. “If the facility is anywhere, it would be there. They must have gotten the plant running again, maybe even found a way to reopen parts of the mine.”

“So it’s real,” I whispered. “The facility is real, and we might know where it is.”

“It would seem so.”

Elijah stood abruptly. “Then we need to go there.”

“And do what?” Richard asked, looking between the two of us. “Your father’s plan—are you seriously considering it?”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. Were we really talking about blowing up a geothermal plant? About killing hundreds of people, including children, because it might be the only way to stop something worse?

“I don’t know,” I admitted after a moment. “The thought makes me sick. But if my father’s right, if my stepmother really is planning to take over everything…”

“Neither of us want this. But if it’s really the only option…” Elijah’s face darkened.

Richard fell silent again and turned to face the window. For a long minute, maybe even more, he just stared out at the grounds below, his shoulders stiff and his hands clasped behind the back. Thinking.

When he finally turned back to look at us, his face was even more grave than before. His eyes flicked to my hands.

“Perhaps there is one thing we can try…”