Page 34 of Rebel Fae
She frowned at me. “He’s their guard, works for them and all. They’ll want to fix him up.”
I chewed my lip as I considered this. “I… I wouldn’t be so sure.”
“Why?” Regina seemed more suspicious than ever.
“They already know Vaughn’s hurt, and yet they’re not here. They didn’t help us fight that monster either. These people are not on our side.”
“What are you saying exactly?” Her brown eyes narrowed.
“I’m saying that I don’t trust them. I’m saying that—”
Suddenly, a cloud of smoke rose behind Regina, and Dr. Watts appeared when it dissipated. His image wavered, letting us know he wasn’t truly here.
“Congratulations on finding the key!” he said in a joyful tone.
Those who hadn’t spotted the smoke, turned toward the doctor, their expressions angry and hostile.
Dr. Watts smiled at everyone in turn, but when he noticed Vaughn’s shape curled on the ground, his eyes widened. “Oh, dear, what happened to the guard? He needs medical attention.”
“Me, too!” Ronnie jumped to his feet, two streaks of tears staining his cheeks. “I need a healer.”
But Dr. Watts either ignored him or couldn’t hear him as he kept talking. “We need to take Mr. Collins for immediate care, and Tally, you’re coming, too. We’ll need a full report of what happened.”
The next thing I knew, that awful feeling came over me, and my body began breaking into tiny pieces and whirling downward as if into a drain. Dread took hold of me. Were they bringing us in to punish us for the mess we were in—Vaughn nearly dead and Ronnie injured? The boy’s parents had paid to send him here, after all. That meant they had at least some wealth and influence.
In the past, when they had teleported us to the dome, we had appeared inside a small room outside its perimeter. At the time, they had believed that teleporting in and out of the magical fortification was impossible, but Meadow Song had proved them wrong.
I had imagined the Habermanns would have the defect corrected, but when we re-materialized inside the warehouse right in the spot where I had last seen Linas, Miriyana, Bor, Hani, and Wren, I realized they hadn’t bothered to correct the problem—or at least it didn’t appear so. Maybe they had blocked it to others somehow. Instead, they had guards standing around the spot. They glared at us as we materialized.
Along with the guards, Adaline Habermann stood in front of me, accompanied by her brother, and Crescent. Adaline wore white trousers and a beige silk shirt with tiny, glittery buttons running down the front. She had on high heels, and her makeup and hair were immaculate. Her brother, on the other hand, wore a simple lab coat and appeared disheveled with his overlong hair and unshaven beard. Crescent wore her customary black blindfold and held her walking cane gingerly in front of her.
Alexander stared at Vaughn as he lay bleeding on the concrete floor. He walked closer, knelt next to him, and started assessing the wounds. Gloved hands trailed down Vaughn’s naked spine.
“Broken, I think.” Alexander glanced at Adaline. “He must be very strong to break a werewolf this way.”
He? Was he talking about the beast? Alexander prodded Vaughn some more.
Don’t just do that. Help him!That was what I wanted to yell at him, but I bit my tongue, afraid of the consequences of raising my voice, though not for me, for Arryn.
“Crescent,” Alexander stretched to his full height, “take him to one of the healing units. They’ll run all the necessary tests to assess the damage.”
A healing unit? Thank the gods. The relief that I felt was not unexpected, but its ferocity surprised me.
Crescent nodded and, tapping her cane, made it to Vaughn’s side. Leaning down, she placed a hand on his shoulder, and an instant later, they teleported out of the warehouse.
Alexander sighed with satisfaction, then walked away. “I’ll see you at dinner time, sis. I’ll be busy analyzing the data for a while.”
Adaline barely acknowledged his brother and instead gave me a stiff smile. “Walk with me, Tally.” She turned and strolled away without waiting for me.
I stood frozen for a moment, my mind reeling, anger simmering in the pit of my stomach. Vaughn’s curled-up shape seemed imprinted in the back of my mind. He had been so vulnerable, so pale with the loss of blood, and Alexander had treated him as if he were nothing but one of his possessions. But Vaughn was a person. They had no right.
My wings quivered behind me as I rose into the air. I stared at Adaline’s back, imagining my legs wrapping around her throat as I flew above her, then twisting downward to break her neck. My feet were two inches off the ground already. She glanced over her shoulder, and two female armed guards pulled into view at the warehouse door.
“What are you waiting for?” She frowned at my fluttering wings.
Doing my best to swallow my fury, I flew forward and alighted next to her, behaving like a good little lackey.
“It seems everything is going well with the new campers,” Adaline said as we walked out of the warehouse and into a long hall.
