Page 75 of Wicked Fate

And just like that—he vanished.

For a moment, Ryker and I just stood there, staring at the empty space where he’d been. The air still buzzed faintly with leftover magic, but it was fading, along with his scent.

“Fate,” I breathed. “That was a lot.”

Ryker ran a hand down his face. “Yeah. I need a fucking drink, but after what he told us, I’m not risking it.”

“Ember? Ryker?” Cassi’s voice rang out, edged with urgency. “Adara is awake.”

Ryker and I looked at each other, and I jumped to my feet.

Once again, there was no time to breathe or rest to fully process everything we’d learned.

Ryker linked the others,In case you didn’t hear, the witch is awake.

We reached the living room just as Kendric and Xander came bounding down the hall, Gage right behind them. Briar followed a second later, arms crossed, her face still pale but composed.

Adara—the witch—was sitting on the couch. The blanket was pooled in her lap, and she blinked slowly like the light hurt. Cassi hovered nearby, brows drawn in concern.

Something wasn’t right.

This woman wasn’t the one we’d brought here.

The woman we’d carried out of that prison looked nothing like the one sitting in front of us now.

She’d been middle-aged at most—maybe in her forties. A strong build, the shadows of youth still clinging to the angles of her face.

Now?

She looked eighty.

Her skin had sunken in. Wrinkles carved deeply into her face. Her eyes looked glassy, hollowed by exhaustion and something else. Time—or something like it—had stolen years from her while she slept.

“What the fuck?” Gage scoffed. “Who is that?”

Briar’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not the same woman.”

I stepped forward slowly, feeling every stare land on me. “Adara?”

The woman blinked at me, her lips moving like she wasn’t sure if she remembered how to speak. “That… is my name.”

My breath caught.

Cassi shifted uncomfortably. “She’s still weak, but her vitals stabilized after her last episode. I didn’t notice anything wrong with her appearance until just now.”

“That’s convenient,” Kendric said under his breath.

“We should’ve never trusted you,” Briar spat.

But then something strange happened. Ryker stood between me and the woman like he was protecting her.

My wolf snarled as rage boiled in my body. He wasn’t supposed to ever protect someone else over me. I leapt forward.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

Rage surged like lightning through my veins. I didn’t care how old the woman looked now. I didn’t care if she was so brittle she’d snap in the wind.

She was the one who’d spelled Ryker and played games with us.

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