Ruthless Fae - Ingrid Seymour Page 0,50
put distance between the creatures and us.
With one last leap from Vaughn, we went over a ridge and the battle slid from view. The last thing I saw was the shining dome and the chaos at its base. Just as I lost consciousness, I prayed to all the gods for the horde to devour Karen alive.
Chapter Twenty
I woke up in excruciating pain.
Even Ronnie, with his magic fingers, couldn’t make it all go away. Back in the caves with our friends, they fussed over me as I lay on my side on the dirt, trying not to show how much it hurt. Vaughn was already a mess, pacing, telling Ronnie to try the healing spell again. He knew about magical wounds. One had almost killed him several days ago. My injury didn’t seem that grievous, but I couldn’t pinpoint its exact nature, and it made everything harder, including trying to figure out what to do next.
What could we do now? It all felt so hopeless.
We did our best to explain what we’d seen to the group. Vaughn told them about the mutant army, gathering gasps and shocked looks from Ronnie and Becca. My aunt didn’t flinch. I had a feeling she’d learned well about the Habermanns’ horrific plans and experiments during her time in the dome. And Sinasre and Bael had already experienced what it felt like to be manipulated. More of the same couldn’t shock them.
“We have to get them here to this cave,” Ronnie said, gesturing back to the fountain that had healed Bael and Sinasre. “We can heal them.”
“We thought about that,” Vaughn said. “Tally tried to get the helmet, but Karen is far too strong. She has magic.”
More shocked gasps as Vaughn explained that our biggest enemy was also a very powerful witch. I watched their faces as they realized our situation had gone from bad to worse.
“But why did she hide her magic before? From what you guys tell me, she could have blasted us so many times.” Ronnie sat in the dirt, filthy, and worn-looking. This cave, this island, was taking its toll on him. On all of us.
I took a deep breath before answering. “I think the Habermanns wanted to keep Karen a secret. That dome is their best defense against the Dean and the whole magical community. Knowing it’s Karen who controls it gives us a big advantage.”
“Then we go and we… and we kill her.” Ronnie’s innocent face balled up with so much anger and frustration it hurt my heart.
Vaughn and I exchanged a look before I answered him. “We can’t kill her. We’re not strong enough. We already tried and failed.”
But Ronnie shook his head. “If we all went… I could help. I could try to fight her.”
Vaughn gave him a soft smile. “Kid, that’s really brave of you, but I think our best bet is to try to get this information off the island. If we go against Karen now, she’ll kill us all. She has an army. We’re only alive because she’s busy at the moment, and we don’t pose a threat. But if we could get free… When I was a guard, I had access to their boat dock. I think, if we were careful, I could get us a ship. I hadn’t mentioned it before because the dock is well guarded, and stealing a boat and getting away would be a dangerous mission, but a mutant army tops that.”
Everyone went silent as we exchanged glances. With the dean on our side these past few days, we hadn’t considered an escape and had set our hearts on destroying the Habermanns. However, breaking out had been my sole focus when I’d first been captured, though that goal shifted when I learned that people I cared about were on the island. Then my efforts focused on rescuing the children and my family.
Both of those goals had been accomplished now, so why did leaving feel so awful?
Ronnie felt it too. His eyes wavered with unshed tears. He looked like he might protest again, but Becca put a hand on his wrist. “We could go home, Ron. You could see your parents. Take a shower. Eat real Oreos.”
But the boy drew his hand away. “We can’t just leave.”
“Yes, we can,” Becca insisted. “We’ve done enough. We’ve suffered enough. I, for one, don’t want to die without ever driving a car or going on a real date.” Tears sprung from her eyes as she dropped her head to her knees and began sobbing.