Cassia nods. “I know. It’s a simple enough plan, Gray. Paxton’s been over the map of the inside of the castle enough times that I should be able to figure my way around. All I have to do is just…” Her eyes widen as she takes in the scope of the palace in all its stately glory. “…just break into the palace, slip past the royal guards and find Sloan. Then get Sloan out in whatever state I find him.”
We all swallow the lumps that rise when we picture what we’re trying not to visualize. Sloan has been an integral part of this whole rebellion. The things Father will do to him…
I can’t bear to think of it.
I’m too sensitive for torture—a fact I was criticized for growing up. Too soft to rule. Too afraid of the darker side of the throne.
“This is all easy,” Cassia blusters, though I can tell she’s saying it to psych herself up. “I was born for it. This is all easy. Shadowmelding is totally no big deal.”
Then Cassia reaches over and squeezes my hand, which is out of character for her. She’s a bit more prickly than most, and doesn’t invite physical contact on a whim.
She’s scared, which shoots a lightning bolt of panic through me. “You got this?” I ask her, more than a little worried.
In lieu of an answer, Cassia pops open her car door and vanishes on the spot, slamming it a few seconds later.
And just like that, the plan is out of my hands.
11
Bloody Invisible
Paxton
Gray cracks his knuckles not a minute into our waiting time. “We don’t need to be worried, right? We didn’t just send Cass straight toward the man responsible for locking her up without full certainty she’ll come back to us, right? We didn’t just send her to a dangerous place to collect a dead body, did we? I mean, there’s a good chance Sloan is still alive.”
My tongue slips over my top row of teeth. “Twenty-nine minutes until we find out. If Sloan’s in there, I’m nearly positive I’ve sent her to the correct wing.”
Another minute passes, and while I’m content to wait out the suspense in silence, Gray is too on-edge for that. “Does it freak you out that Cass can walk through walls now?”
I lean back, unbuckling so I can take up more space. “I came into this with her already able to turn invisible and make parts of her body turn immaterial. My shock happened back then. Everything else is just Cassia, who no doubt came out of the womb drumming to her own tune.”
Gray purses his lips. “I think I was okay with it all until she walked through the bathroom door instead of opening it this morning. I mean, it’s good that the ancient magic is waking back up, right?”
It’s a question I’ve wrestled with on and off, too. “I think time will give us that answer. We couldn’t handle the responsibility before, so nature took it away from us. Hopefully we’ve learned from history.” I run my palms over the tops of my thighs. “And it’s not awaking in everyone, mind you. It’s only the handful of us.”
Gray tilts his head back, exhaling loudly at the ceiling of the car. “That’s nothing close to anything that might put my mind at ease. Everyone at the commune is getting along brilliantly now, but things can turn at any time. People always look for the stupidest thing to cling to a division.”
I lean against the window. “I’ve had the same concerns. They’re all respectful and helpful now because they need Arlanna’s property, her money and her family’s help. What’s going to happen when everyone finally gets on their feet? Will they be kind when they don’t have to in order to survive?”
Gray scoffs. “You saw how hard a time they gave her at Prigham’s. I’m telling you right now, I don’t have the stomach to watch them turn on her all over again. She’s put too much care and hard work into keeping them afloat. I was patient at Prigham’s because I had no choice. I had to keep my temper cool at all times and do damage control or run interference.” He thumbs the steering wheel. “She’s gone out on too many limbs for me—for all of us—for me to tolerate any of that, now that we’re on the outside.”
I keep waiting for a twinge of possessiveness to hit me when Gray talks like that, but I only feel warm inside. I’m not the only one who feels strongly about Arlanna being treated with the respect she deserves. “I agree. There’s two of us, plus Cassia and Charlotte. Between all of us, we’ll be able to smell when the wind shifts in a foul direction.”
“Here’s hoping.” Gray’s gaze has been on the front door of the palace, as if he expects Cassia to burst out any second.
When his eyes keep darting into the rearview mirror to fix on my face, I tilt my head to the side. “What’s on your mind?”
“Just wondering how things are going to look for you. You’ve been granted your freedom like the rest of us, but one day, you’re going to rule. Like, you’re going to go back to living there.” He jabs his finger toward the topiaries that line the left side of the palace.
“When that happens, I’ll do a smashing job of mourning for the cameras about my father’s passing, and then I’ll move you, Arlanna, Cassia and Charlotte into the palace. Plus, I assume Sloan will come, too, if he’s still alive. There’s no separating him from Arlanna.”
At this, Gray turns more fully in his seat to look at me directly. “No one’s going to allow a shifter to live in the palace.”
“No one now, sure, but when I’m king, I’ll have my fair share of say in things. It will be my house, and I can welcome whomever I wish in it. That doesn’t need approval from the cabinet.”
Emotion passes in Gray’s gaze. He reaches his fist back for me to bump, and I take him up on the offer. “Cheers, brother.”
“I will not leave you behind.” It’s a promise I have no problem keeping. The five of us have been through an ordeal that’s solidified us as a unit. “Though Cassia and Charlotte might want their own home when they get married someday, I do hope the five of us stay together.”
“Five plus Sloan.” Gray turns back around to watch the palace from our distance. “Come on, Sloan. Don’t be dead,” he chants under his breath. Then he leans forward. “Wait, what are they doing?”
I touch the window, my brows bunching when I see the grounds guards jog toward the palace and file inside. “Shite. Something’s up.” Though, what the something is, I can only hope isn’t the thing I dread. “Did they find Cassia?”
Gray’s hand moves to the door. “I’m going in.”
I lunge forward and grip his shoulder. “If you go in, you’re staying in until they ship you out in a body bag. I’m serious, Gray. You’re the driver. That’s your role. I’ll go inside and see what’s what. Maybe I can distract Father long enough for Cassia to locate Sloan and escape.”
Gray turns and jabs his finger onto the console. “If you think I’m going to let you go into that psycho’s lair unguarded, you’re mad. Besides, what’s a bigger distraction than a shifter in the bloody palace?”