We managed to bring back a few maps and a geography book from the city library, after Heron “convinced” the Imen looking after the library to ignore us walking out with the items that Patrik had requested.

Scarlett and Patrik were waiting for us, along with Jax and Harper. We left the library materials on the table, and I had a hard time wiping the grin off my face. I felt like a mischievous little girl, and Heron was to blame for how we’d casually strolled out with maps that otherwise were not meant to leave the library.

“I take it you found some useful stuff?” Patrik smirked, eyeing the maps. He stood before a large chalk circle drawn on the floor. He’d placed bowls filled with herbs and crystal powders around it, and had scribbled some symbols inside with the same red paint mixture he’d given Harper earlier.

“Yeah, we did,” I replied, then gave Heron a sideways glance. “Thankful I had a capable Mara with me to mind-bend the Imen librarians into letting us walk out with the stuff!”

Heron crossed his arms over his chest, his lips stretched into a satisfied smirk, pride beaming out of his jade eyes. The door opened, and Caia and Blaze walked in.

“Done?” Patrik asked.

“Yup, all good.” Blaze nodded, then handed me a linen bag filled with flowers and scented herbs. Jax then gave me his, and I handed them to Heron, who was kind enough to hold both, along with the one we’d filled on our way back.

“Looks like I’ve got a lot of sniffing to do.” I huffed, staring at the bags.

“There were Correction Officers following us.” Caia frowned.

“Us too,” I replied. “We actually had some trouble with two of them…”

“I know, Patrik and Scarlett briefed us,” Jax said, occasionally glancing at Minah’s lifeless body encased in its preserving spell. “We’ll have to talk to Lord Kifo about it.”

“That’s funny, because I ran into him, and he said the Correction Officers were only assigned to protect us.” Harper scoffed.

“Right, they told us they weren’t allowed to interfere or engage, just follow us around,” Heron muttered, looking over his shoulder. Maras were still stationed outside—the same ones we’d seen during the day.

“Hansa and Fiona should be back by now,” Jax said, staring out one of the windows.

“They had the east wall. It’s probably a difficult trip all the way down to the base,” Patrik replied with a shrug.

“I don’t—” Jax was interrupted by the door bursting open.

Hansa nearly crashed through it, and Jax immediately reached her side and held her up. She was pale and sweaty, silver blood trickling down her neck.

“Fiona’s missing,” she managed, breathing heavily from all the running she’d done.

We all froze. Jax quickly lifted her black hair, careful not to come in direct contact with her silver blood, and checked the back of her head. His gaze darkened, and he bit into his wrist, drawing blood.

“Drink,” he commanded, pressing his fresh wound against her lips.

Hansa looked like she wanted to object, but Jax didn’t give her a chance, pushing his forearm against her until she drank some of the blood coming out of his wrist. He then licked his wound, helping it close almost instantaneously. Hansa seemed to recover.

Jax checked the back of her head again, without removing his arm from around her waist. She didn’t object to that, either. She then told us what had happened—or at least what she could remember—from the moment they got down to the small beach to the moment she realized she couldn’t go in after Fiona without putting herself at risk.

“I wanted to go after her,” she said, her voice trembling and her eyes tearing up, “but I knew it would only put the team at greater risk.”

Several seconds passed as we processed the new development. I felt my heart shrinking with dread of what might have happened to Fiona. She was one of my best friends, and it tore me apart to think of her somewhere inside that wretched mountain, all on her own. Sure, she was the strongest of us all, physically speaking—except Blaze in dragon form, maybe—but she was still alone and probably stuck in that tunnel.

“You were right to come back here.” Jax tried to reassure her, his gaze softening. “Otherwise we would’ve had to split our resources into looking for the both of you.”

“We need to go get her.” I took a step forward, shaking like a leaf. “She’s… She’s out there!”

“What if there are daemons involved?” Heron asked.

I backhanded his shoulder—an instant reaction to the prospect of Fiona surrounded by those invisible beasts.

“Don’t even go there!” I hissed at him, and, seeing the hurt look on his face, instantly regretted it. “I… I’m sorry. It’s just… This is Fiona. My Fiona!”

“Our Fiona,” Jax replied. “And we have to take all options into account before we go after her. Even daemons.”

“I should’ve kept my eyes on her at all times.” Hansa was distraught, staring at the floor. I then remembered all the sisters she’d lost three months earlier, during the Red Tribe massacre, and understood her torment.

“You were there, Hansa,” I said, “and you were ambushed. There’s nothing more you could have done. Don’t blame yourself, please!”

“She was my responsibility!” Hansa barked, her emerald-gold eyes flaring with anger, mostly aimed at herself.

“We’ll get her back.” Jax’s firm voice seemed to anchor her more than my feeble reassurances. “It doesn’t matter who split you two up. She could very well be on her own down there. We don’t know the attackers’ exact motives at this point. And even if she is surrounded by hostiles, nothing can beat the power of raw, untamed fire.”

He then glanced at Blaze and Caia.

“You two go after her. Bring down fire and fury on anyone or anything standing in your way,” Jax commanded. “Demolish the entire east side of the mountain, if you have to. You have my approval to do whatever you need. Get Fiona back, by any means necessary.”

Blaze and Caia both nodded. Hansa tried to move from Jax’s hold.

“I’m coming with you,” she said.

“No, you’re not.” Jax cut her off, his grip firm, though she gave him a shocked look that quickly turned into a frown, then a spine-chilling scowl. “Hate me all you want—we’ll be stretched too thin without you. If the daemons come into the city tonight, and chances are very much in favor of that happening, I’ll need you up here with me.”

“But Fiona—”

“Blaze and Caia will handle it,” Jax interrupted. “A damn dragon and a fire fae! They’ll get her back! And I’m not letting you out of my sight again!”

No one spoke for several moments, as Hansa and Jax stared at each other.

“We’re going,” Blaze finally said, breaking the awkward silence. He thrust his foot out the door. “We’ll see you all back here later.”

“Wait!” Patrik called out. “Hold on, I’ll give you something to help you track her down.”

He rummaged through his supply bag and pulled out a small amulet carved from a piece of obsidian, with traces of pink crystal scratching the surface. It was shaped like a thin disk, and it came on a thin, metallic chain. He handed it to Caia, who put it around her neck.

“It’s a swamp witch tracking spell,” Patrik briefly explained, then handed her a small scroll, which she quickly read, then stuffed in her back pocket. “I made a bunch of these and packed them for the road. You read that incantation, and it’ll activate and take you to Fiona. You need an object of hers, though.”

“I got that,” I said.

Using my hyper speed, I rushed out of the infirmary, ran up to the Inn, went through Fiona’s room and picked up a handful of string bracelets she’d left on the nightstand. I then rushed back and gave one to Caia. She nodded and gave me a reassuring smile.

“We’ll get her back. I promise. We will turn this whole city upside down till we find her,” she said, then left with Blaze.

Harper closed the door behind them, then moved to the table. She was livid, but doing her best to keep it together. Our “fun” was just beginning. Scarlett was strained as well, her lower lip trembling. Patrik gently squeezed her arm. She looked up at him, and he gave her a slight nod.

“Time to activate the spell,” Patrik said, and moved to the center of the chalk drawing.

He muttered the Druid chant, his hands out, palms facing downward. His skin shimmered golden all over, then small flames shot down from his fingers, lighting the contents of all four bowls on fire. The proprietary blend of herbs and powders burst into bright red flames, and the entire chalk circle glowed in a warm amber light.

“Give us the strength of life,” he chanted from the swamp witches’ repertoire. “Give us power, give us light, give us energy…”

He bent down and pressed his hands against the red symbols painted inside the circle. The entire building shuddered, the furniture rattling and the glass-doored cabinets clinking until it all came to a halt and a powerful golden light burst out of Patrik and the circle, and exploded outward, beyond the infirmary walls.

It washed over us, and I experienced a split second of sunlight on my skin. It didn’t burn. It felt nice and warm. The spell wave dissipated beyond the terrace edge. I could see it glimmering as it settled around the mountain.

Patrik took a deep breath, then nodded.

“I think it worked,” he said. “Now, let’s just hope it’s enough to keep the daemons out tonight.”

“It’ll be interesting to see what they do if we break their pattern,” Jax muttered, moving closer to the table and pulling Hansa with him. He was serious about not letting her out of his sight, for sure.

“What do you want us to do?” I asked, feeling restless with Caia and Blaze out. Heron’s hand gently brushed against mine, but I was too anxious, my nerves stretched too thin for me to enjoy the feel of his skin.

“You and Heron go into the city and follow the Correction Officers,” Jax said. “Find the prison. Based on what Arrah told us about it, chances are there are innocent people in there, including her brother. The Correction Officers are bound to report to a commander in the prison by ranking logic, or, if you get lucky, maybe even make an arrest tonight. You never know. Either way, if you do find it, see if Arrah’s brother is there. Maybe he can shed some light on why he’s been targeted. It might help us untangle the Sienna mystery, which is quite the sore spot right now.”

“Given the mountain layout,” Harper said, her eyes on one of the detailed maps we’d brought in, “the prison is most likely beneath the city.”

“Inside the mountain,” I muttered, then looked at Heron.

“Maybe the tunnels Hansa and Fiona found lead there, too.” He voiced the second part of my thought. “Maybe Fiona’s somewhere close to the prison.”

“Okay.” I nodded, suddenly energized by the prospect of potentially finding Fiona by beginning our search from the other side of the mountain.

“Good. Harper, Hansa, and I will patrol the second-level area,” Jax continued, pointing at the map. “This hotspot here… We’ll keep to it. If the daemons get past the spell, this is where they’re most likely to strike.”

Hansa and Harper gave each other a brief glance. They’d always had great synergy during sparring sessions, and I knew Harper enjoyed every chance she got to be around Hansa. Two peas in a pod, in more than one way. Though Hansa did have a great training relationship with Fiona most of the time, she often enjoyed bringing Harper into the mix, as the sentry was the cool breeze to the succubus’ fire during combat sessions.

“What about us?” Scarlett asked, a faint tremor still present in her voice as she stood by Patrik’s side. She was slowly leaning into him, but something told me she wasn’t aware she was doing it. He didn’t seem to mind, though.

“Watch over Minah,” Jax replied. “I don’t want anyone outside of GASP to come near her body. Someone might decide to make it disappear without a trace. We’ll need to give her a proper burial in the morning, and, most importantly, our Druid needs to keep an eye on the protection spell, and be kept out of the Exiled Maras’ reach.”

“He’s right,” Patrik said. “This magic circle cannot be tampered with, or the protection spell breaks…”

With our tasks set out, we agreed to meet back at the infirmary by three in the morning, and Heron and I parted with the team and went into the city, actively looking for Correction Officers. I was determined to find that prison and untangle this whole mess revolving around Sienna, once and for all. My stomach was tied up in knots, as I had trouble getting my mind off Fiona, but I had no choice but to stay on course and let Blaze and Caia do their thing.

No creature in its right mind would dare cross a fire dragon.