CARLYLE

About halfway through the drive, we stopped for a quick early dinner. I’d had no success at all meditating to find Jack, and I was growing more frustrated with myself by the minute.

“Get some rest, then,” Jai said, rolling his eyes when I changed positions for the millionth time.

“Sorry I’m bothering you.” I huffed, but he only stared at me mildly. “Fine. I’ll sleep.” Of course, it figured that I’d barely drifted off when I started to see the double-vision weirdness of my visions of Jack’s trailer, overlaid on the interior of the van.

His trailer was empty and silent, but I immediately noticed a smudged paper pinned to the wall above his mattress. I floated forward and tried to grasp at it, but I wasn’t solid enough. My fingers went right through, so I leaned in closer, settling for committing it to memory.

It was a map. Excitement shot through my muscles as I realized it matched some of the maps I’d seen Jai studying on his computer. We were definitely heading in the right direction. I waited around in the trailer as long as I could, but eventually something pulled me out of the vision, and my world faded back to the inside of the van.

Jai was sort of gently massaging my shoulder to wake me, and as I blinked up at him, he smiled.

“Well done. I could actually see what you saw this time. I suppose it’s a good thing you don’t have much of a mental wall yet.”

I felt my skin flush as I realized how open I really was around him. Jai might know me better than any of the guys by this point.

“Is this what you saw?” he asked, handing me the laptop. I checked out the map he’d pulled up.

“Exactly,” I answered. I watched as he zoomed in on the sparsely populated area.

“There has definitely been a campground here in the past. This satellite image is perhaps a month old, but if Jack left this for you, I’m confident we are heading to the right place.” He began calling new directions to Killian, and I started to stretch my muscles out a little. We were a lot closer than I’d realized.

The sun was setting when we pulled into an abandoned-looking motel parking lot that backed up to the campground’s borders. It was mostly open field, with rolling hills and clusters of shadowy trees.

“There is definitely some action back there,” Sol said, taking advantage of his lion eyes and peering into the distant, darkening field. “What’s the plan, boss?”

Everyone looked to Jai. “This time, we stay together. I’ll stay closest to Carlyle so if she finds any further connection to Jack, I will sense it as well. Killian, full glamor for all of us. Dair, on watch for the unexpected. Sol, shoot to kill.”

Sol grinned and flexed his hands, shifting out a full set of claws. I shivered, hoping I didn’t have to see him use those tonight.

“Does anyone sense or smell Jack?” I asked, wishing I knew how to keep my connection with him open. They all shook their heads, and I saw a worried look pass over Dair’s face before he hid it. My heart tightened with anxiety. If that fucking Ringmaster had done anything with Jack, I’d figure out my shift real quick and stab him straight through the heart with my horn.

Then again, I’d know if something really bad had happened to my mate, right?

I glanced to Jai, but his face was expressionless. If he was privy to my swirling fears, he wasn’t voicing anything.

Killian layered some heavy glamor over each of us, spending the most time on me. “I have ta hide both your forms,” he explained.

“I saw my Qilin,” I whispered to him, not ready to share what we’d done with the rest of the group. I didn’t want to risk any of them teasing him. “She’s beautiful.”

“She’s you,” he returned gruffly, and turned away, leaving me wondering if I’d just gotten a compliment or a reprimand.

We filed out of the van and around the edge of the motel. Sol was in front with his claws flashing, and Jai and I were in the very back. As we got closer, I could see the field wasn’t nearly as empty as the one we’d been in before. We were making our way down a steep slope, and I could already see a tall wooden fence at the bottom, with rows of trailers beyond it.

I was relieved not to see any cages, and only small tents. “No Big Top?” I whispered, surprised. I’d been under the impression this was a performance camp, but it looked more like training or even just living quarters.

Jai put his finger to his lips, and I rolled my eyes. Really, it wasn’t like I was that loud.

The guys all helped each other over the fence, pulling me along with them. I couldn’t help but notice how little magic Dair was using, but when I sent him a questioning look, he only shook his head.

We were barely inside the fence when Sol held up his hand to show he’d spotted people - fingers up straight to indicate they were unarmed. I relaxed just a little, but I still wished we’d gotten more intel.

“Omnes revelare,” a deep male voice boomed from the shadows, and Killian cursed as our complex glamor fell away like someone whisking back a curtain. I saw Dair’s jaw clench, but before any of us could figure out our next move, a girl’s voice floated from behind one of the trailers.

“So, this is the famous fire-breathing Qilin?”

I narrowed my eyes as a girl about my age sauntered toward us. She was exotically beautiful, with dark, almond-shaped eyes and a great mass of deep brown hair. As she walked, her face sharpened and her nose hooked down over her upper lip, then wide brown wings sprung open from her back.

“Harpy,” Killian hissed, and she snapped her glare to him.

“An air fae? Please.” Her laugh was cruel, and she snapped her fingers. One by one, figures began to step from the shadows around us, meeting each of my guys head on.

“Fuckin’ ambush, boss,” Killian called, not sounding the least bit worried. I, on the other hand, was getting really fucking nervous. How was that goddamn Ringmaster always ahead of us? I didn’t even know what these creatures were called, much less what their magic might be.

Gaping, I watched as her feet shifted into thick, yellow claws, filed into needle-sharp points that dug into the grass as she stepped toward me again. I was severely under matched if bird-girl took a liking to me.

“Boss?” Sol called, sounding impatient.

“Give them the pack treatment,” Jai said, fury coating his velvety voice. With a roar, Sol took a running leap and shifted mid-air, clashing instantly with another shifter.

“Is that a fucking bear?” I asked, edging closer to Jai. Across from Killian, a woman with greenish-brown hair and mossy-looking skin raised a wide strip of earth and launched it straight for the redhead.

“Yes. That’s an earth fae,” he said, nodding to her. “More are coming. Do not separate from me.”

I nodded - I hadn’t planned on it. To my other side, Dair was slinging spells with both hands as twin mages attacked him - one male and one female. They both looked crazy powerful, but he seemed to be handling them. Jai loosed a growl and darted in front of me just as I caught a glimpse of a white-haired man running at him, fangs out as his jaw distended like a horror-movie creature.

I stumbled back. The fuck? Could Jai do that with his mouth, too?

There was no more time for shock, though, as the harpy girl got in my face and shoved my shoulders like a petty little bitch. Rage flickered in my chest as I shoved her right back.

“I’ve been curious to see what kind of whore Jack found this time. I have to say, I’m not impressed - with you or him,” she taunted. “His wings are more impressive than his...you know.”

While she was yapping, I palmed a knife from the sheath at my thigh and delivered a solid kick to her gut. She made a nice little oof sound, and I grinned.

“If you can’t even say the word cock, you must not have seen it,” I said, rolling my shoulders back as I lined up another kick. She was ready with a block, but she wasn’t expecting me to flick a knife at her right after. She ducked at the last minute and the knife tangled in her feathers.

“Fucking cunt,” she cried, flapping her wings and rising twenty feet above my head.

“I prefer the term pussy,” I called. “Girls should stick together, you know? Aren’t there enough men calling the shots already?” I mean, who worked for an a-hole like the Ringmaster, anyway?

She spiraled in lazy circles above me, and I darted to retrieve my knife. A quick glance around showed my guys were fighting hard, but holding their own. Then the girl began to plummet toward me. I braced myself and threw up my arms, absorbing her impact with a knife in each fist. Damn, was I liking my increased strength, thanks to Sol’s magic.

She screamed as my blades pierced the sinews of her wings, but her boots collided with my chest, knocking me onto the ground. The breath whooshed from my lungs, and my chest seized up for several seconds. Tearing the knives free, she hurled them at me, but I rolled out of the way.

She was strong, too, but she had no real technique. I was goddamn glad for all of the training Kana had managed to squeeze in during our short time at the beach house. If I could just keep this girl on the ground, I thought I could kick her ass.

Jai roared, and I heard a gurgling sound nearby. I stumbled as I took in what he’d done to the other vampire, knowing it would be a long while before I could erase that amount of gore from my memory. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve as two more creatures came at him from the shadows.

Each of my guys was now fighting more than one enemy, and I could barely make out their forms in the growing darkness. They moved like shadows and smoke, clashing in bright bursts of magic and sprays of blood that looked black in the moonlight.

I didn’t have time to watch or attempt to help any of them, because the harpy girl seemed intent on slowly drawing our fight beyond their reach. No matter what, I knew I couldn’t get separated from my guys.

She flapped her wings again, slamming her weight into me from the back, and I fell forward to my hands and knees. Scrambling back up, I whirled and threw another punch. She dodged and sneered.

“Why are you working for that man?” I ground out, clipping her shoulder with my knife. She growled and followed through with a clout of her wings against my temple. My eyes crossed, and I reeled backward.

“I’m not working for him, idiot. I’ve been his prisoner for years, just like everyone else here. I’m earning back my magic and my freedom with every drop of blood spilled here tonight.”

I shook my head. That was insane - there were so many more of them than I’d imagined. Surely, they could have rebelled and taken the Ringmaster down. “Where’s Jack?” She seemed to have loose lips, even though she made less sense than the Ringmaster himself.

“Don’t worry. He’s on his way. It’s a long flight, you know. All the way from Texas.”

This time, her punch connected with my jaw, and I spun in a clumsy half-circle. My brain was spinning even harder as I processed her words. Jack had been in Texas this whole time? Not Savannah? She grinned and swung at me again, and I barely managed to dodge.

No. She was obviously lying. I forced myself to focus and hurled a blade at her, hitting her deep in the stomach. She gasped and stumbled, and I pounced, knocking her flat on her back.

“Where’s Jack?” I said, shoving grasping the knife handle and twisting a little. Her eyes flared in pain, and I saw fear flash over her face.

“Flying here,” she panted. “I told you.”

“No - he was here. I saw-” I cut myself off before I spilled my secrets. If she made it through this, I didn’t want her telling the Ringmaster a fucking thing.

“He’s been the Ringmaster’s bitch longer than I’ve been in that stinking camp - he’s one of the top recruiters,” she said through gritted teeth. “Whatever you think you have with that two-faced, asshole dragon is just an illusion.”

“Liar,” I yelled in her face, shoving the knife deeper in my fear. Most of me knew she had to be lying - I knew Jack.

A tiny part of me wasn’t sure, though. I didn’t really know him - not like I knew the other guys. Seeing how messed up going rogue had made Toro made me wonder. The first night I met him, Jack had fought Sol and Killian like he would have killed, given the chance. I shivered in the cool night air.

“Go ahead, Qilin,” she slurred. “Do it. My life’s worth nothing without your help, anyway.”

Her words snapped me out of my blood-fueled rage, and I backed away, peeling my blood-stained fingers from the knife. What the fuck was I doing? I helped people, for sugar’s sake.

I saved people. Not killed them.

My hands began to shake, and I stared at her, suddenly in shock at how many injuries I’d given her. She tried to laugh, but blood only bubbled up from between her lips. Her expression grew sad, and she suddenly looked really young and scared.

My stomach reeled with nausea. What had I done?

“How can I help you?” I asked, kneeling over her. I glanced down at the knife - I didn’t think I should pull it out, but she was bleeding badly around it, the blood soaking the dirt below her.

“Haret,” she whispered, staring up at the moon. “I just want to go home. Everyone does.”

“Home,” I repeated. “Have you been there?”

“Some of us,” she managed, gritting her teeth through the pain. I didn’t know how to heal physical wounds - I didn’t even know if it was possible to heal her from this without a scale.

“I just wanted to get Jack,” I said, almost to myself. How could I have missed it? It was so obvious. “The Ringmaster tricked us all, didn’t he?” I’d ignored anything but what I wanted to see.

“Jack works for him now. Forever,” she whispered, her eyes closing. “He chose it again.”

I tried to shake her awake, but she was gone, either passed out or bled out. What did she mean, he chose it again? My brain rebelled at her words and the reality that was surrounding me. Had I just killed a girl?

Had Jack betrayed us all?