all rats. I’m a kid, so they treat me as such. Well, I guess they’re also afraid of what my mother might do if they lose track of me, so… no, I have no one here who can help us.” He paused, his face lighting up. “But I have a better idea. Sofia, take me with you.”
I needed a few seconds to process that request.
“Thayen, what do you mean?”
“Take me hostage!” he said. “Use me as leverage. Tell my mom she’ll only get me back if she gives you Nethissis’s body. We’ll set up an exchange location. It will work seamlessly, I assure you!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle, partly in disbelief. “Why would you do this? Why would you scare your mother like that? If we abduct you, it’ll definitely make her very angry.”
“Maybe it’ll remind her that I’m her son, and that I’m more important than whatever it is she’s planning to do,” Thayen said. “Honestly, Sofia, she scares me sometimes with how detached she can be. I can’t even remember the last time she hugged me.”
My heart broke for him, over and over again. “You mean to tell me the Lady Supreme hasn’t consoled you in any way since your father’s death?”
Thayen lowered his head, and I had my answer.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, honey,” I managed, taking him in my arms and holding him close.
“Do it, Sofia. I’ll go with you willingly. You’ll get Nethissis back, and Mom will have to face the fact that she still has to protect me,” he said, pressing his cheek into my shoulder.
“I’m pretty sure she already knows she has to protect you, Thayen. A mother knows these things. Maybe she’s not good at comforting you, but I’m pretty sure she’d rip a thousand heads off in a single breath just to keep you safe.”
“Whatever! Take me with you, Sofia. It’s the best way to get Nethissis back,” he insisted.
I moved away from him, slowly getting up. It was a risky plan, but it certainly might work as a means of retrieving Nethissis’s body. I had to give the kid credit: he was quite devious when he wanted to be. But there was definitely a method to this madness.
Derek’s voice came through, and it felt all kinds of wrong. “Sofia… Danika… She… She took me…”
“Derek?” I croaked, the blood freezing in my veins. “Where are you? What’s wrong with you?”
Thayen got up, watching me with genuine concern. My instincts were already flaring, the worst-case scenario Derek and I had discussed rearing its ugly head.
“She caught me… Sofia, get out of here… It’s not safe,” Derek managed.
“Where are you?” I insisted. Thayen couldn’t hear my husband, but he could easily read the terror imprinted on my face as he came toward me.
“I’m her prisoner…” Derek said before his voice faded.
“Derek? Derek!” I sobbed as I fell to my knees, and Thayen rushed to console me. The roles had suddenly been switched, and I was the one crying on the boy’s shoulder.
Danika had captured Derek, and I doubted she’d let him go willingly. She was clearly determined to follow through with her agenda against us and Valaine, and there wasn’t much we could do to stop her. Even though Derek had tried to reach out to her, she’d continued down this particularly wretched path. And now my husband was her prisoner.
It took me a few minutes to fully understand where we stood. Thayen’s initial proposal became more and more appealing, though for very different purposes. I looked at the boy, feeling hot tears as they tumbled down my cheeks, dread threatening to suffocate me.
“Maybe I should take you up on that abduction offer,” I said, my voice trembling.
“What happened, Sofia?” Thayen asked. “Where’s Derek?”
“He’s your mother’s prisoner now. And I think you’re mine.”
Trading Derek for Thayen seemed like a good option. Hell, it was the only option. My husband would be heavily guarded, making it impossible for me to get him out on my own. And I certainly couldn’t risk bringing in the rest of the team. Ridan’s crew wasn’t an option either, since they weren’t very familiar with the palace and its people. Besides, using the GASP cavalry—no matter how small—was something Danika might expect.
Me taking her son, however… she definitely wouldn’t see that coming.
“Got one of those invisibility pills for me, too?” Thayen asked, giving me a faint smile.
At least he was on board with all this. I doubted I would’ve had the heart to take him away against his will. Danika