Page 73 of Spellbound
CHAPTER NINETEEN
By the time we arrivedback, it was early morning. Indigo had turned blue, lightening the sky enough to see the silhouettes of the buildings in Deadwood. The largest, the temple, where spikes pointed up against the fading stars, loomed over the smaller buildings. I moved my long waves over my shoulders, brushing flyaway hairs from my forehead and eyes as the wind picked up. I couldn’t believe I’d ever worshipped Freya as a teenager, or Estia or Lucius. Now that I knew the truth, the memory of it made me wince.
“We can go from here.” Raiden walked me away from his siblings, who talked near the edge of the woods. I stood on the edge of some rocks overlooking our town from the east of the forest, which was known for having grizzly bears and wolves. “I can take you somewhere else. Anywhere. Until this is done.”
“No.” I looked at him incredulously. “I’m going with you.”
His forehead creased. “You’ll get yourself killed.”
Aziel called from the tree line. “Or slow us down.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “Super hearing?”
“We all do to an extent, but Leda’s was the best. Well, now it’s Freya’s.”
My stomach knotted. “She’ll be dead by morning.”
“Yes, she will.” We looked at each other for far too long before he finally looked away. “Still, Aziel is faster than the rest of us, so he will chase Freya should she run.”
I heard a low chuckle from where Aziel stood. “Finally, he admits it.”
“I’m still stronger than you.” Raiden glared, but the slight curve to his lips gave him away.
“Naomi. Edmund. Dora.” I snapped my fingers. “We need to go. Now.”
“Thalia needs to perform her rituals first, to break the cloaking spell. She’s the only one with magic powerful enough to do it,” he explained. “If Freya runs, even with Aziel, she might have a chance at somehow getting away. I can’t take that risk, Elle. Not this time.”
I understood, but I couldn’t let the people I loved get hurt because of it. “How long will it take?”
His lips parted, and a sigh escaped. “Five, maybe six hours.”
“Six hours?” My eyebrows shot up. “I’m not waiting that long. No way. I’m going now.”
“You don’t have the keys. She’ll kill you all once she realizes you don’t have them.”
I kicked a small stone lying at my feet. The damn things had dissolved once they’d been used. Stupid spelled keys. “I have to do something.”
“You can wait. She won’t kill them. They’re her bargaining chips.”
“They’re my family.” I swallowed thickly.
