Once Ridley judged they’d put some distance between them and the reserve, she arced out of the water in a stream of droplets and became air instead. Her mind reached out for Nathan. Sensing the general direction he’d gone in, she followed.
Time lost meaning as she flew over hills, ravines, lakes, and then finally, the mountains she’d seen in the distance every time she and Saoirse went out to practice magic together. She dove downward, listening to the magic around her, reaching out toward Nathan.
And suddenly, there it was. An enormous structure of stone and glass jutting out from the side of the mountain. A great many conjurations must have assisted in the construction of this building, which was situated far above the ground and was at least ten stories tall. Simply getting all the materials up here must have involved a lot of magic. Ridley could see how it would be extremely difficult for anyone without magic to access this place. At the same time, it was probably a terrifying home for anyone who had a fear of heights.
Ridley spotted a wide opening on the lowest level. Heading closer, she could see a large, high-ceilinged space filled with people. She swooped inside a few moments later, reaching out with her mind toward Archer once more. As had been the case the whole way here, her question went unanswered.
She pulled her magic back inside herself and let go of Dad, feeling panic begin to tighten her chest and steal her breath. Archer couldn’t be … dead. There had to be another explanation. Maybe … maybe the arxium she’d breathed in earlier had muddled her senses. Maybe some of it was still in her system, so her magic wasn’t functioning properly. He had to be here somewhere.
She began pushing her way through the crowded space, her eyes scanning the area for anyone male and tall and dark-haired. It seemed almost everyone from the reserve was squished into this entrance room. Clearly no one knew where to go yet.
She passed Nathan and Cam, Saoirse’s husband. “… didn’t make it,” Cam was saying to Nathan.
“That makes three so far,” Nathan replied. “That we know of for sure. Dammit. We’ve been safe for so long. How did this happen?”
Ridley continued past them. Right now, it didn’t matter how this had happened. All that mattered was figuring out who was left. Her damp pajama bottoms flapped around her ankles as she went. Hopefully the supplies Nathan had referred to included clothing, since she’d brought nothing aside from her jacket and shoes with her. But she could worry about that once she’d found Archer.
She saw Saoirse next, sitting on the floor near the edge of the room with her daughter Bria. Bria spoke quietly to Saoirse as she wrapped an arm around her mother’s shoulders.
“Saoirse!” Ridley hurried over.
“Oh, what a relief,” Saoirse said on an exhale. “I was supposed to get you a mask, and I didn’t, and with all the arxium gas in the air, I was so worried maybe you’d—”
“Hey, I’m okay.” Ridley took Saoirse’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m glad you’re okay too.” She was about to move on when Bria glanced up with fear-filled eyes. Ridley paused. “Is she okay?” she asked Bria, nodding toward Saoirse.
“I think she’s having a panic attack,” Bria said, her voice high-pitched.
“No, no, no,” Saoirse said. “I’m—I’m fine. It’s just …” She took a deep breath. “It was like before. The smoke and the flames … I didn’t realize it would be the same.” She shook her head. “I mean I—I used to have nightmares. After the last time they found us. This was like the nightmare.”
Ridley almost said it was like her nightmare too, but that wouldn’t have helped. She crouched down in front of Saoirse. “But we got away. Magic warned us they were coming, and we got away. Well, most of us.”
“I know, but people died, Ridley.” Saoirse wiped moisture from beneath her eyes. “We should all have been able to get away in time, but we didn’t.”
Ridley nodded, tears pooling in her own eyes as she pictured Tanika. Then she pictured Archer in exactly the same position—and immediately wiped the image from her mind. Don’t think like that, she instructed herself. “It could have been worse,” she whispered. “It could have been so much worse. If magic hadn’t warned us.”
Saoirse took another deep breath and nodded, straightening a little. “I have to keep telling myself that.”
“Wait, magic warned you?” Bria asked as Ridley was about to stand.
“Um … yes,” Saoirse answered.
“Oh. I didn’t know … Why didn’t it do that before? The last time the Shadow Society found us.”
Saoirse shook her head as she stared at the ground, her brow furrowed and her gaze far away. “I don’t know. I didn’t realize until tonight that it could communicate so clearly with—with us. Maybe … we were too deeply asleep that night? The last time, I mean, when we had no warning. I don’t know. I …” She inhaled shakily, wringing her hands together.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ridley asked.
“Yes, yes, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” Ridley stood, glancing to the side and spotting Malachi a little further away. Relief eased a tiny fraction of her anxiety. “I really need to look for Archer.”
“Yes, of course. I think I saw him …” Saoirse looked around. “No, I’m sorry, I can’t remember.”
The flame of hope that had flickered briefly to life died a quick death. Ridley turned around just as someone almost barreled into her. “Callie?”
“Ridley, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Callie swiped her tangled hair out of her face. “I … I saw Archer.”
Ridley’s heart sped up. “Where?”
“I saw someone tackle him back at the reserve. They knocked him out. A man and woman were forcing him into one of those hazmat suit things, and I was going to try to be fire, to attack them and stop them, and then there was so much arxium in the air I almost passed out. I was on my knees, and I couldn’t see him anywhere, and then someone else grabbed my hand and suddenly we were air, and then we were—Ridley, wait!”
But Ridley had spun around and begun forcing her way back through the crowd toward—toward what? Who? Who would be able to help her if the Shadow Society already had Archer? Fear gripped her. The same fear that had stolen her breath when magic snatched Archer away in the wastelands outside Lumina City. Only now it was worse. This wasn’t a confused, undefined feeling of not wanting to lose him. Now she knew just how much she cared for him.
She had to go back. She had to find out if he was truly gone or if he’d managed to escape and was waiting for her—
“Ridley?” Someone caught her arm and pulled her to a stop. She tugged free—a little too forcefully—before realizing it was Dad.
“They took Archer,” she said in a single breath.
Dad frowned. “Are you sure he isn’t just—”
“He’s not here, Dad. Callie saw someone take him. I have to go back and—”
“No, no, no.” Dad took hold of both her arms.
“I have to!”
“Stop, Ridley. Just … just wait. You can’t go racing off without a plan. You have to think.”