Page 51 of Freed Wolfsbane

Malachi tilts his head back and stares sightlessly at the ceiling for a long moment. He eventually looks back at me, his navy eyes swirling with frustration and fear. “I don’t know. Both letters want us to go to Dido’s tomb. But I would rather let the Knights eradicate all supernaturals than have you sacrifice yourself yet again.”

Stepping up to my other side, Malachi props his hip on the table and wraps one of his large hands around my thigh. He squeezes, whether to comfort me, reassure himself I’m still here, or both, I don’t know.

Saint nods in agreement. “I’m a fan of just fucking off, hiding out somewhere, and letting someone else deal with the Knights.”

I sigh because that’s tempting. Really tempting. Unfortunately, it won’t work. “As great as passing off this problem to someone else sounds, there’s a reason Ava and I are the only ones left. The Knights find my family wherever we hide. The only way to truly be safe is to destroy the curse and take out as many Knights as we can. So we need to go to Rome.”

According to the prophecy, I’m supposed to be the downfall of the Knights. If I can get rid of the whole organization then Ava, my mates, and I will all be safe. Finally.

How I’ll accomplish that? Hopefully someone knows because I sure don’t.

Saint scrubs his hands over his face and shakes his head. “You’re right, but I don’t like it.”

Squeezing his eyes shut in resignation briefly, Malachi surprises me by stepping between my legs and shoving his hands under my thighs. He lifts me up, and I wrap my arms and legs around him. I hug him tightly, trying to give my bossy wolf mate some reassurance.

“I need you to be okay, baby girl,” Malachi rasps into my shoulder. “I can’t do this life without you. I’ll follow you to the ends of the Earth, but I need you to promise me that you’ll make it out of this alive. Please.” His voice breaks on the last word, and it shatters my heart.

I’ve seen Malachi be many things—frustrated, amused, wanting to spank my ass for not listening, understanding, thoughtful, and more—but the one thing I’ve never seen from him is this defeat and heartbreak and hopelessness.

“I promise,” I whisper into his neck. I don’t know how I’ll manage it, but I’ll do everything in my power to keep it.

CHAPTER25

BRIAR

Iput a hand up to shade my eyes from the late-afternoon sun after I step through the portal. The stone pine trees that line the riverbanks still have their needles, even in the middle of January. They provide convenient cover for portaling so none of the humans see anything they shouldn’t. The last thing I need right now is to accidentally reveal that magic exists, freak out the humans, and have them start hunting us too.

Once Saint walks through and closes it behind him, I ask, “So where to now?”

Malachi rubs his chin, and I can’t help but notice it’s now covered with dark stubble that sharpens his already angular jawline. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” Pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper, he glances down at a map of what scholars think ancient Rome looked like at the time of the Temple of Janus. “A good start is crossing the river.”

Malachi takes off through the trees, and I make a move to follow him. Before I can get very far, Bastian snags one of my hands and intertwines our fingers. Looking up at him in surprise, I see him smiling down at me. “It’s a lovely day for a stroll, isn’t it, pretty girl?”

I snort because nothing about this day is lovely other than the surprisingly nice weather. Whereas Wolves Hollow is rainy and cold, Rome is sunny and ten or so degrees warmer. It’d be a nice place to vacation in the winter, if the threat of the Knights killing us all weren’t hanging over our heads.

“It’d be a hell of a lot nicer if we were here for a different reason.” Xander’s gruff words echo my thoughts.

Bastian flashes his twin a grin. “Don’t be such a Debbie Downer, twinnie. We can enjoy the weather while we find what we need to kick some Knights of Aeneas ass.” While his words are upbeat, his emerald eyes shine with worry that he tries to hide.

Huffing a laugh, Xander just shakes his head at Bastian and reaches down to grab my other hand. With the twins on either side of me, Malachi in front, and Saint behind, I’m boxed in by my protective mates.

After we walk through the trees for a while, we come to a bridge supported by columns of cream-colored stone. It’s topped with iron lattice work and scrolled railings. Cars drive by in the middle as pedestrians meander across to the side.

Xander drops my hand as we walk two by two, with Malachi alone in front. We silently cross over the rushing water that has a yellowish cast that reflects green where the sun hits it. Once we’re across, Malachi hooks a left.

I try not to gawk at the beautiful city as we wander through. The mashup of ancient Roman, Romanesque, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical architecture is breathtaking. My head is on a constant swivel as I take in all the towering columns, shining domes, tiled roofs, and more.

After about a fifteen-minute walk, we arrive at a collection of ruins. The crumbling stone, half-destroyed columns, and plants growing where they shouldn’t give the whole place an eerie vibe. Combined with only a few people milling about since it’s not tourist season, the area feels like a ghost town.

Malachi twists back to look at me. “This is the Roman Forum, or what’s left of it at least.” As we walk through, he points out ruins like the Temple of Saturn and the Basilica Julia. We come to a stop in front of a crumbling brown stone wall with an arch that looks out onto a few broken columns. “This is the Basilica Aemilia. The Temple of Janus should be around here somewhere.”

I fish the key we found in the crypt out of my pocket and nervously rub the engraved surface of the brass between my fingers. We don’t even know if the map is still here, and I don’t know what to do if we can’t find it. “Should we split up to look for where it could be?”

Chuckling, Malachi steps up to me, forcing me to tilt my head back to meet his gaze. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting you wander around here on your own, baby girl.”

Rolling my eyes at his overbearingness, I sigh. “Fine. You and I can search together. Should the others split up to cover more ground?” The sun is already dipping low in the sky. Once night falls, it’s going to be even harder to find a temple that doesn’t exist anymore.

“I’m good with that, pretty girl. I’ll go check out the other fancy building across the way. Holler if you find anything.” Bastian spins me around and presses his lips to mine for a short, sweet kiss before bounding away.

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