Chapter 90

Evelyn

I was running on fumes, instinct, and a childhood recollection of the palace.

The halls of the old estate blurred around me, its stone walls a twisting maze of dark corners and shuttered windows. Every creak of the floor and echo of footsteps made my heart leap, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Not until I found Emma.

To find her, I was looking for clues, retracing her steps throughout the palace. I was learning her routines and frequent haunts and working backward from that. I had heard from a guard I questioned earlier that she was spending a lot of time in the library recently. It was a good enough place to start.

Emma had vanished after the chaos with Jesse, slipping through our fingers like smoke. We had sent dozens of scouts out to search for her, and none of them had returned successfully. I was acutely aware that every second she was out there, free, felt like a threat clawing at my throat.

I tore through the west wing, then doubled back through the servants’ corridor on the way to the library to make sure I was covering all the ground that I could. All the while, my wolf was restless inside me, ears perked, hackles raised.

She’s hiding, my wolf whispered. The coward.

The thought made my skin crawl. I pressed a hand to my scratched cheek. I had put the right salves on it, but still, the wound was tender.

I hurried into the library and started with the perimeter, searching for any notes she might have left and spending ample time by the far desk that she was said to have frequently occupied.

But then I heard it. A faint sound. A muffled cry. I stopped cold, tilting my head in the sound’s direction.

It was coming from behind one of the shelves to my right. The shelf was covered in books, so seemingly unassuming. But then the noise came again, followed by a groan. The sound was distinctly, unmistakably from a person.

I hurried to tear the books from their shelves with an abandon I would not normally have asserted over these precious texts. But when they were discarded in heaps on the ground, I realized that behind the shelf was a towering door.

My hands were clammy as I reached forward and shoved it open. I could smell them the moment the door parted, even a crack. The scent was human, like unwashed bodies mixed with something rotten.

The assistants.

I opened the door wider and found them there. Both of them were crumpled like discarded parchment on the ground, bound and exhausted, but alive. Their eyes widened as they saw me.

“Evelyn,” Tomas whispered. “You found us.”

Leira burst into tears. “We thought no one would come.”

I dropped to my knees beside them, tugging at their ropes, my hands trembling. “You’re safe now,” I said, my voice catching. “I swear. I’m going to get you out of here. I know who did this to you. She won’t hurt you again.”

It took time to calm them. Tomas watched me work, and I noticed that he had a small gash cutting through his eyebrow that would scar.

He asked, “What about Emma? She hasn’t been by to feed us in days.

My jaw clenched. “She’s on the run. But Logan and I are going to find her.”

Silence hung in the room like a held breath.

Then Leira held out her bound hands, her previous fear being replaced by determination. “Let us help you.”

I blinked. “What?”

“She locked us down here for weeks,” she said. “She starved us, drugged us, and used us like bait. I don’t know about him, but I want to see her answer for it.”

Tomas nodded his agreement. I could see it in both of their eyes. Revenge had rooted itself in their hearts just like it had in mine.

knew they felt the same swelling frustration and indignation that I did. I felt bad that they were experiencing the same overwhelming feeling that had essentially taken over me.

“Fine. I understand how that feels. We move together then,” I said, straightening. “But first, I need to know where she’s gone. And I know someone I plan to ask. Get some food and water for now. We will talk later.”

I left them to start their recovery and found Scott next in the medical wing, lying on a cot with his ribs wrapped and his usual smirk nowhere to be seen. He didn’t fight me when I walked in. He just looked up at me like he’d been expecting this moment for a while.

Perhaps the time he had spent shoved in a closet by Jesse had humbled him. He certainly looked defeated. And, just at a glance, it was clear that Jesse had done a number on him.

“I know what you’re going to ask,” he rasped.

“Then answer it.”

He sighed, turning his face away. “If I had to guess, she’s headed to the old estate on the far perimeter of the territory. It’s where she used to go when she needed to vanish when she was a rogue, apparently. I guess she’s one again now, so it would make sense.”

“You’re sure?”

“Almost.” He paused, then met my eyes. “It’s just what she once told me back when we were on speaking terms, you know. You’re not going to bring her back alive, are you?”

I didn’t answer.

Scott nodded. “Didn’t think so.”

“She’ll come back by whatever means necessary,” I said. “Thank you for this information.”

I turned on my heel before I could start to feel pity for the bedridden businessman. Eventually, I returned to the main hall and dispatched the full-bellied assistants by giving them their marching orders. They moved quickly, grim-faced, eager, and focused as they hurried out the door to seek their revenge on their captor. I knew the feeling well.

And just as I turned down the corridor toward the war room to continue my planning, a familiar feeling washed over me like a wave. My wolf stirred excitedly.

Logan.

I felt him before I saw him. And when I rounded the corner, there he was. His shoulders were tense, and his jaw was locked. But when he saw me, that tension faltered and his features visibly relaxed.

“Logan—”

He grabbed my arm before I could finish speaking and tugged me into the nearest alcove. And suddenly, his body was pressed against mine, all of the hard planes of him meeting and melting the curves of me. His lips crashed into mine, and I gasped against his mouth, caught in the tidal wave of him.

His kiss was fire. It was urgent and deep, like he was trying to claim me. And I let him, giving in to him willingly.

When he finally pulled away, his voice was low and rough. “I needed that.”

My heart was still racing. “I think I did too.” I placed a steadying hand on his chest. “What was that for, though?”

“Because I’m going to interrogate and execute my brother, and I don’t know what I’ll feel after. But right now, I needed to remind myself what I do feel and want. I needed to remind myself that I have something that’s worth fighting for.”

I blinked at him, dazed. “And what’s that?” But I knew. I just wanted to hear him say it.

“You.” His forehead dropped to mine. “I can’t wait to mate with you. To make it real. I’ve waited long enough. We’ll have a new start, you and me.”

My breath caught, and every part of me softened. “Me too.”

He kissed me again—softer this time, slower—before pulling away. The taste of him lingered, and I wished we had more time together to indulge.

But instead, he said, “I have to go.”

I nodded. “So do I.”

He nodded once and visibly steeled himself before disappearing down the corridor, his scent and taste lingering behind him like a promise.

And I stood there for a long moment, even after he had disappeared from view, and smiled to myself.

Everything felt like it was finally on the right track.