Page 122 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

Luce arrived back a few minutes later, arms full of relics. I watched numbly as she concocted the elements to complete the spell. I turned away as she scraped some of the blood from the pool on the floor and placed it into the bowl.

“You ready?” Luce asked.

I moved to stand beside her. “What do I need to do?”

She instructed me on everything I needed to do to complete the spell.

My hand shook slightly as I took the bloodied stone in my hand, the stone bloody withLuka’sblood. I squeezed the stone in my hand, trying my best to ignore the feeling of Luka’s blood on my palm.

I focused my mind, searching for the connection between Luka and me. I could feel it—it was there. It was nothing more than a thin thread connecting us somehow. The threadstretched and pulled as I followed it through Alethens—towards Luka.

The thread led me toward an abandoned building on the far edge of the city. I followed the thread through the closed door—stunned the spell allowed me. It was like I was there—making my way through the building.

It was mostly empty—whoever had previously owned the building had cleared it out well. But on the far wall of the building, written on the bricks was a symbol only a few would recognize. If you didn’t know it, you’d assume it was a random emblem left behind by the previous owners, but to me, it told so much.

The sight of the three interlocking triangles with a larger triangle crossing through them was the sign of the Vanir.

They didn’t want Luka, they wantedme. This was all a trap—taking Luka to get me to come after them.

Hadn’t they learned yet not to fuck with me?

I followed the thread down a steep set of stairs leading to a dark room underneath the building. A knot formed in my stomach as I made my way down the stairs. I wanted to stop, but the thread pulled me forward.

A sob formed in my chest at the sight before me when I rounded the stairs.

Hanging by his wrist from shackles attached to the ceiling was Luka.

His face had been badly beaten, bruises covered his bloodied face. One of his eyes was swollen shut, but it looked to be healing already. Dried blood was caked on his face and chest.

His shirt was in shreds—like they hadn’t bothered to take off the entire thing—they let it hang in pieces as they used whatever tool that inflicted the nasty gashes across his chest.

If I had been fully corporal, I would have emptied my stomach at the sight of what had been done to him.

I’d get him out of here. I knew hislocation—we would get him out.

But still, I couldn’t get myself to turn around—to remove myself from this dreamlike state.

I approached Luka, my bare feet sticking to the blood that layered the floor.

Real, this all felt so real.

“Luka.” I brushed his matted hair out of his eyes. “We’re coming for you.” I brushed my thumb across the cut on his cheek.

“I’m coming for you.” I placed a kiss on his bloodied cheek. “And I’ll kill every last one of the bastards who dared lay a finger on you.”

I knew where he was now. We would get him out of there. He would be safe soon. The anger slowly igniting as I plotted my revenge.

A quick death would not be enough for them.

They would find out what happened when you fucked with Lennox Adair.

48

LUKA

I blinked my eyes open, wincing at the pain ripping across my face at the action.

I groaned as I tried to shift, balancing on my toes as much as I could to relieve some of the tension on my wrists where the shackles cut into my skin.

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