Josh had only just realized that Sky was gone when I changed into human form.

“Where did they go?” I demanded.

He spun about, confused.

“Josh! He transported her. Where?”

“Not far,” he said. “He’s weakened. He’ll take her somewhere close, where he can rest and get his power back.”

Sebastian and Winter were at my side, leaving the last of the fight under Steven’s direction.

“I should’ve never trusted him,” I growled.

Even if they were close, the chances of finding them were slim. Our only hope was that Sky used the Aufero to escape. If she managed to free herself, she’d go somewhere public. If he took her out of the city, she’d look for a major road and follow it until she picked up a ride or found a phone to borrow. The best we could do was split up and hope to get lucky.

“I’ll take west,” Sebastian said. “Josh, go east. Winter, south. Ethan, north. Go twenty miles out, main roads only, then circle back.”

On the way to our cars, I told Josh on a hunch, “I’ll take east.”

The little hope I held of finding Sky faded with each mile. As I drove out of the suburbs to an increasingly barren landscape, I felt a sense of dread. On the few occasions in my life where I’d felt hopeless, I’d always been able to substitute anger; I’d always been able to defy the odds through sheer will. There was nothing I could do now. Sky’s safety was entirely out of my hands, and I felt empty. Powerless.

I let Samuel get closer to her.

If she were harmed, I doubted I’d ever recover from the guilt.

As I drove, my eyes shifted from the road to my phone beside me to the odometer. I was nearly at the twenty-mile mark when I caught a flash of someone on the other side of the road. I slowed, crossed the median.

Sky raised her arm to shield her eyes from the glare of the headlights. Relief rushed through me as I flicked off the high beams and brought the car to a stop next to her. Looking in her frazzled eyes, I nearly couldn’t breathe.

The odds were almost impossible.

Looking inside to be certain it was me, she sighed and opened the door. She practically collapsed into the seat, exhausted, but she appeared unharmed.

I turned the BMW back toward the city and called Sebastian. The relief in his voice was palpable and nearly matched his surprise.

We were quiet for a few miles. I couldn’t stop glancing at her, wondering how she’d found me. What was it that made me change directions with Josh?

“Why did you head east?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“That’s twice.”

“What?”

I smiled, watching her expression as she recalled stumbling upon me in New York. She nodded, not sure what to say. She glanced at her bag and a look of concern came over her.

“Something is wrong with the Aufero. Using it to draw out the dark elf magic seems to have corrupted it, made it darker.”

I’d seen the change, but there was another possibility: Maya. Logan had warned us that eventually Maya might try to wield more of her power through Sky. “Are you sure it is the magic pulled from me?” Her lips pursed as she considered the possibility, but neither of us had an answer. “For now, don’t use it until we can figure it out.”

We were quiet, lost in our own thoughts, until I turned into her neighborhood.

“When did Marcia align with Liam?” Sky asked.

“I am trying to figure it out. There’s something at hand and I think it is directed toward us.” Whatever they were up to didn’t bode well for the pack.

As I turned the BMW into her driveway, the headlights swept over a tall figure waiting on her porch. He stood straight, still, his lavender eyes narrowed as he fixated his attention on Sky. Unaware of his presence, she started out of the car.

“Sky,” I said.

She paused, gasped when she saw Logan staring at her.

In removing Sky’s curse, we’d removed his as well. Already, the consequences of our choices had come to haunt me.