We advanced through the narrow streets of Draconis in invisible form with our red lenses on, keeping an eye out for daemon guards. There were plenty of them out and about on patrol, but, from the conversation snippets I’d caught along the way, there were still massive search parties scouring the outskirts of Kerentrith and the desert areas farther south, looking for us.

Caspian, Pheng-Pheng, and I were at the front, leading the way as we sneaked between meranium boxes. Hansa and Jax were about fifty yards or so behind us, while Caia and Blaze were farther back. As far as advancing through enemy territory went, splitting our group in three was an excellent idea, especially since it made it more difficult for the daemons to detect us, whether they had red lenses on or not.

Idris and Rayna, Vesta’s parents, were the first on our rescue list. We stopped behind the cell right next to theirs and quietly slipped around the corner. I leaned forward so I could examine the front of the meranium box. Two considerably large daemon guards were posted by the door, their heavy rapiers sheathed and their expressions telling me they weren’t too comfortable with their position.

“I’m telling you, Saul, we should’ve been out there with our platoon, searching for those outsiders,” said one of the daemons, gritting his fangs. “Instead we’re babysitting fae that we’re not even allowed to feed on. It’s cruelty against daemons, I tell ya.”

I stifled a chuckle. That was rich, coming from a creature who thrived on the pain it caused to those who were defenseless before him. I moved back, then turned to face Caspian and Pheng-Pheng, who were waiting for me to confirm the number of hostiles. I lifted two fingers in the air.

“And they’re begging for my blades,” I whispered, visibly disgusted. “However, we need to find out where the new High Warden is first,” I added. “With Velnias gone, they’re bound to have put someone else in charge, and we don’t want him popping in mid-extraction.”

Pheng-Pheng nodded in agreement, then put on a confident grin. “I’ll handle it,” she said. “Just be ready to ask the question. The clock will be ticking.”

“What is she—” Caspian asked, frowning, but didn’t get to finish his sentence, as Pheng-Pheng rushed to the front of the meranium box.

We quickly followed, getting there just as she used her scorpion tail to sting both guards in the neck. They both grunted and collapsed, their red eyes wide and filled with panic and dread. The venom kicked in fast, and I watched them realize they’d lost all ability to move. Paralysis was quick to set in.

“Where’s the High Warden?” I asked both daemons.

They looked around, trying to figure out where the voices came from. The one named Saul caught the air ripples caused by my movement and sneered. “Not telling you filthy outsiders anything! I’d rather die before—”

Caspian’s blade went right through his throat. His eyes turned glassy, and blood gurgled from his gaping mouth. The other daemon heard him die but couldn’t even turn his head to look at him. He shuddered, panting. I moved closer to him and pressed my blade against his throat. He couldn’t see the blade, but he could feel the cold metal on his skin. He gasped, while his veins turned black from the Manticore venom.

“If you tell me where the High Warden is, I’ll give you the antidote,” I muttered in the daemon’s ear. He struggled to breathe.

“Cell 9. He was over by Cell 9 the last time I saw him, inspecting one of the delegation prisoners,” he managed. “Just around the corner, west of here.”

“Good daemon,” I replied, then stood up and looked around. “Provided we keep the noise to a minimum, we might just make it out of here with everyone we need.”

“We’re doing Cell 9 first, then?” Caspian asked.

“Yes, after we get Vesta’s parents. I’m curious, since our friend here mentioned a delegation member present in Cell 9,” I replied. “Best to check.”

The daemon wheezed, no longer able to breathe properly, as his lungs were collapsing from the Manticore venom. A couple more minutes and he would be dead. Pheng-Pheng looked at me, curious as to whether I was going to keep my word or not.

“Help… Please,” the daemon croaked.

I took one of my swords out and rammed it straight into his throat, watching as the last flicker of life left him. Taking a deep breath, I withdrew my sword and wiped the blood off the blade with the corner of his leather tunic.

Pheng-Pheng and Caspian dragged their bodies behind the meranium box, then came back to the front. “For a second there, I actually thought you were going to spare him,” Caspian murmured.

“Spare the daemon who thought it cruel not to be able to feed on two defenseless fae? No, thanks. He was dead the moment he opened his mouth to moan about his job,” I replied with a smirk.

The sound of footsteps made us turn our heads. Two daemon guards came around the corner, six meranium boxes south of us, armed to the teeth. We stilled. They couldn’t see us, but they were bound to notice the absence of guards. I cursed under my breath, watching them as they walked toward us with increasingly heavy frowns.

They never made it past Cell 4, though. Jax and Hansa snuck up on them and slit their throats with one swift move. Blood sprayed out as they fell flat on their faces. Hansa and Jax then dragged their bodies away, hiding them behind the meranium box. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Definitely a good idea to split us up,” Pheng-Pheng muttered appreciatively.

I took out one of Laughlan’s three skeleton keys and pushed it into the charmed lock. I turned it and smiled at the sound of a click, then pushed the door open. Caspian, Pheng-Pheng, and I went inside, closing the door behind us.

Idris and Rayna were sitting on the floor, holding each other. They looked so pale and weak, it damn near broke my heart. Their heads turned fast at the sound of the door opening, but they couldn’t see us.

“Idris, Rayna, it’s me, Harper. Vesta’s friend,” I said slowly.

A glimmer of recognition lit their faces, and they both sprang to their feet. Hopeful smiles replaced their wary expressions as they tried to pinpoint our location in the room. I took out my spare red lenses and placed them in Rayna’s hand.

She felt my touch and gasped at the sight of the red lenses. That was how the invisibility spell worked: as soon as an object left my hand, it became visible. “You’re back,” she breathed. “Where’s our daughter?”

“She’s safe and away from here,” I replied. “Now, put the lens on.”

She obeyed, then smiled when she could finally see me through the slim red garnet disc. I handed over one of my invisibility spell satchels. Rayna took it, then gave Idris the second lens, so he could see us, too.

“How many of you are there down here?” Idris asked, giving Pheng-Pheng and Caspian a brief nod of acknowledgment.

“There are four more outside, in strategic points along the alley,” I replied. “We’re doing a proper extraction today, and you two are the first lucky pair to get out of these wretched boxes. Now, swallow the paste inside that satchel. It’s an invisibility spell. Don’t lose the red lens, either, and keep an eye out for daemons who might be wearing one. It’ll help you see us and anyone under the influence of the invisibility spell.”

Idris nodded. Then he and Rayna shared the shimmering paste. In less than a minute, they had both vanished, though we could still see them through our lenses. Caspian motioned for them to follow him outside, while I briefly scanned the room. There was nothing of use in here.

I went back outside with Pheng-Pheng, watching as Idris and Rayna ran down the road. They were greeted by Hansa and Jax, hidden behind one of the meranium boxes, who then sent them farther back to Caia and Blaze. So far, so good.

Caspian, Pheng-Pheng, and I handled the infiltration and extraction part. Hansa and Jax covered our six. Caia and Blaze kept the prisoners safe and looked out for unexpected hostiles. Caspian and I dragged the dead daemons back to the front, then dumped them inside the meranium box, which I locked back up with the skeleton key.

“I’ll bet you the next warden to check on the prisoners will have a stroke,” I chuckled, stuffing the key inside my back pocket.

“If the rest of this endeavor goes just as smoothly, we might even make it out of here alive,” Caspian replied with a playful smirk.

“I’ve got enough venom in me to kill a small army,” Pheng-Pheng chimed in. “If the worst-case scenario happens, I promise you we’ll take plenty of these horned bastards down with us.”

“Ah, nothing like a good dose of optimism to get me going,” I replied sarcastically.

Both Caspian and Pheng-Pheng grinned in response. We continued our incursion into the prison city. With Rayna and Idris on our side, we were one step closer to the end of our mission. My nerves were stretched, and my stomach was balled up into a tiny, painful marble, but there was enough fire flowing through my veins to keep me animated and ready to kill whoever stood in our way.

Blaze had given me a little bit of his energy before we left, replenishing my sentry strength. I needed every drop of it in case we had to force our way out of Draconis.

“Next up, cell number 9,” I muttered as I led the group between the meranium boxes. “We’ve got to see who’s in there, besides the High Warden.”

We steered clear of another pair of daemon guards, watching them disappear behind another corner before we crossed the alley and snuck behind Cell 9. I glanced over my shoulder, pleased to see Hansa and Jax keeping their distance while observing our surroundings.

I moved to the corner of Cell 9 and poked my head out to see what guards they had posted outside the Druid’s box. Since I couldn’t use my True Sight to see through meranium, I had to rely on good ol’ fashioned peeking to get the job done.

There were two guards stationed just outside Cell 9, and two more by the cells next door. I turned around and motioned their positions to Pheng-Pheng. “Four,” I whispered. “Two out here at 9, then one by 8 and one by 7.”

Pheng-Pheng nodded, then rushed to the front. I heard grunts, followed by the thuds of two guards dropping to the ground. Caspian and I darted out and grabbed the disabled daemons. We covered their mouths as they became completely paralyzed. They would be dead within minutes.

The young Manticore didn’t stop there, though. Before the other two guards could reach us, she got to them first, inflicting deadly amounts of venom into their throats and dragging their bodies out of sight. We stashed the first two between the walls of Cells 9 and 10, relieving them of their invisibility satchels and red lenses. Some of the guards carried them and some didn’t. Whenever they did, however, we were giddy and thrilled to replenish our own supplies.

I checked around the corner and confirmed Jax and Hansa’s position across the street we’d left behind. They were armed and ready to intervene, if needed. Light on my feet, I inched closer to the door to Cell 9, which was slightly ajar.

“Please… Stop…” A male voice emerged from inside, weak and trembling.

I slowly pushed the door open, to find the High Warden feeding on a prisoner’s soul. He was a tall and well-built daemon, with enough muscles on him to put a raging bull to shame. I could see luminescent threads of the prisoner’s soul seeping out of a small incision in the side of his neck, to then get sucked into the Warden’s open mouth. The prisoner kept whimpering and begging him to stop.

This was the perfect moment to attack, despite my sudden urge to retch. The daemon was vulnerable while feeding.

I dashed across the room, grabbing a chair on my way. With one swift but powerful move, I smashed it against the daemon’s head. He grunted and fell to his side, while the prisoner yelped, trying to figure out what was going on.

The High Warden was unconscious. I snatched the red lens hanging from a slim gold chain, linked to a chest pocket on his leather tunic, and placed it in the prisoner’s hand. “Don’t be alarmed,” I said slowly. “We’re here to help.”

The prisoner looked at the lens in his trembling hand, then put it on and held his breath for a few seconds. He could see us. Blood trickled from his neck wound. It took him an extra second to wrap his head around the sudden change of his circumstances, while Caspian and Pheng-Pheng got the Warden off the floor and tied his arms to the bedposts.

“Who are you people?” the prisoner asked.

Just as Hansa and Jax joined us and shut the door behind them, I let out an audible sigh.

“Several red lens daemons out there, we’re better off in here for now,” Hansa said.

I nodded, then looked at the Druid. “We’re the outsiders you’ve probably heard about.”

“Ah, yes.” He nodded slowly. “The High Warden took great pleasure in telling me about how they were going to catch you before you could get to me or the swamp witch.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Ryker,” he replied, grimacing from the pain. Jax kneeled by his side and applied a smidge of healing paste against his neck wound. “I was on the Druid delegation.”

My stomach dropped, as Hansa and I both realized something at the same time.

“They moved the prisoners,” we said simultaneously. I’d had a feeling about this already, but it still didn’t sit well with me.

“What?” Pheng-Pheng replied, even more confused, as she tightened the knots on the warden’s wrists.

“After yesterday. They got cautious and moved the delegation prisoners,” I explained, then cursed under my breath.

“But Idris and Rayna were in the same cell,” Caspian said.

“They just didn’t get around to moving them, too,” Ryker confirmed. “The daemons are spread thin after your stunt yesterday. They’ve sent for reinforcements from another city, but they had to prioritize in the meantime. They moved me and the Maras first,” he added, then exhaled sharply. “I was hoping Idris and Rayna might still be alive.”

“They are,” I replied with a nod. “We got them. They’re outside with the rest of our team.”

“Ah. Thank the Daughters,” Ryker murmured, then smiled as the healing paste closed the cut on his neck. “Now, I may be an old Druid, and a weak one right now, but I’m not blind. I can see a succubus, two Maras, a Manticore…” He looked at me and narrowed his green eyes. “And what are you, exactly?”

I smirked. “I’m a vampire. And we’re about to save your weak-but-precious Druid ass.”