Page 43 of Capture of Capricorn

His friend just about smacked himself. “Fuck. The phone. Right.” Aries whipped it out and dialed. It rang several times and went to voicemail.

Hi, this is Sage. Don’t bother leaving a message. I know what you want.

Capricorn didn’t say shit. The boss held on to his panicked sanity by a thread, and Capricorn wasn’t far behind. Had something happened? Were Sage and Zora in danger?

Aries hung up and dialed again. This time, the phone was answered.

“Aries, oh thank the stars,” Sage sobbed, which chilled Capricorn more than everything because the seer always controlled her emotions.

“I’m here, honey. What’s going on?”

“Tower is under attack. It’s sealed all the rooms.”

Which explained why they couldn’t beam into the portal chamber.

“Do you know who’s attempting to breach?” Aries kept his tone calm, but the stress showed in the white knuckles as he clutched the phone.

“A man with the relic,” her reply. “He’s here and done something to Tower. Everything’s dark, and Tower’s not responding. I think he might have killed it,” she whispered.

It led to Capricorn asking, “Is Zora with you?”

“No. I don’t know where she is. She was supposed to join me in the library, but she never showed, and now the door is sealed.”

“Are you safe?” Aries queried, his expression taut with worry.

“For now,” she whispered. “But the baby’s coming. Please, Aries, I need?—”

The call cut off, and no amount of redialing reconnected. The phone went flying, accompanied by a stream of curses, as Aries lost his fucking mind.

In direct contrast, Capricorn descended into a cold, calculated state as he barked, “Freak out later. We need to find a way to reach Tower.”

Before it was too late.

CHAPTER 14

Just before the phone call…

The first inkling of trouble came in the form of a tremble that caused the bathwater to slop over the side of the tub. Zora sat up, sending suds flying, and frowned. Earthquake? Not a big one, but she had to wonder if it were a precursor to a larger event. She held still, waiting to see if it would reoccur.

It didn’t. With her attempt to relax and take her mind off Capricorn failing, she rose from the tub and reached for a towel. She’d just wrapped it around her body when a loud knock at the apartment door startled.

“Coming!” Zora yelled, dashing out of the bathroom with slapping wet feet.

A panicked Sage barged in, shouting, “Zora, I need help. I think the baby’s coming.”

“What?” Zora barely held on to the towel as she ogled Sage, who clutched her rotund belly.

“I’m having contractions,” Sage stated, her expression pale.

“Oh shit. Is there, like, a doctor somewhere in the tower? Should I get you to a hospital? Have you called Aries?” Zora didn’t have the slightest clue what to do.

“I can’t call and distract him while he’s on a mission.”

“I’d say the fact his baby’s coming is a good reason.”

“Ungh.” Sage groaned and rocked on her heels before panting, “There’s no time. We have to hurry.”

“Pretty sure we’ve got a few hours before junior arrives.” While Zora might have limited knowledge when it came to giving birth, she remembered her mama talking about how she spent thirty-six hours in labor before Zora made an appearance.

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