Chapter Twenty-Five

**Leo**

I grabbed Cass some sweats out of the clothes pile I had brought into the office and then hurried out, spamming the elevator button so I could get to Gideon’s bedroom.

*‘Gideon, Cass figured it out. The poem. I’m almost to your bedroom.’*

The door opened before I got there, and he looked for me down the hall.

He stepped aside so I could come in and I saw Eris pacing by the bed, nervous. I could tell neither one of them had slept.

“He’ll have to tell you how he figured it out,” I panted, breathless from hurrying. “But the ceremonial chamber is at Uluru, outside of Alice Springs, Australia.”

I handed him my phone, which was still open to the Google search of Uluru.

“He’s sure?” Gideon asked, reading it.

He handed the phone to Eris, who read it as well.

“It’s the best lead we’ve got,” I admitted. “Can’t we send River and Rhia to check it out and see if there’s something to it?”

“Yes,” he answered. “We have the rest of the day…”

He paused, and his eyes grew wide.

“What is it?” Eris asked.

He looked at me. “What’s the time difference? They’re ahead of us, but how far?”

My heart sank, and I grabbed my phone, googling it.

“Seventeen hours,” I answered regretfully, panic rising in my chest.

“It’s five right now,” he said, “so that means it’s already ten in the evening there!”

Cass had arrived to stand in the door behind us, but Gideon was already pushing past him. He knocked on the door two down from his.

Finn opened it, looking sleepy.

“What’s happening?”

“We need to move,” Gideon answered. “Cass found the ceremonial chamber, but it’s in a different time zone. We need to mobilize everyone, ready to be transported, in less than two hours.”

“Gideon, that’s a lot of people,” he said, looking stunned.

“Make it happen, Finn. I know you can,” Gideon answered, before turning and hurrying to a different room.

The Fae King opened the door, not giving away anything with his placid expression.

“Your highness,” Gideon said, bowing slightly. “We know the location where we need to be, but we need to hurry. Can your troops be ready to go within the next two hours?”

“Yes, Alpha. They will be.”

To my surprise, he didn’t exit his room into the hall, but turned and leapt from the balcony. Three stories. Fae weren’t shifters, but they were still extraordinarily gifted. They were fast, strong, and agile, like cats. Plus, they had a strange affinity with the natural world. It told them things, helped them, and they respected it deeply. There had been wars in the past between the fae and the werewolves, and they had been bloody and brutal. As long as we could keep peace with them, we would, for they were an enemy we did not enjoy having.

Gideon opened his phone and called someone.

“My office,” was all he said before hanging up.

Cass, Gideon, Eris and I piled into the elevator. We hurried to his office and when we arrived found River and Rhia already waiting. They looked tired and more disheveled than I’d ever seen them.

“The spell?” Gideon asked. “We need it.”

He explained everything in short, as quickly as possible.

“With as many witches that have answered our call, we should be able to transport everyone,” River said.

“Okay then, we need to get ready to go,” Gideon said, glancing at the clock. “We’ll leave a few witches behind, and they can bring the unicorns and the harpies when they arrive.”

Hades threaded in between my legs, meowing softly. I bent and picked him up, helping him wrap around my shoulders like he always did with Enid.

“Don’t worry, buddy. We’re going to get her.”

**Enid**

Everything was a flurry of movement around me. All the preparations were being made to travel and conduct the ceremony. I understood now that we would travel to Australia, and I prayed that everyone back home would be able to figure that out.

They’d laid all three of the artifacts on the table right in front of me, another one of their sick mind games, no doubt. They all held significant magical power, but all looked so plain.

I stared at the athame, cursing it for being here.

I glanced again at Sophia, who laid on her side in the same place, her blood crusted on the surrounding floor. I’d watched her ribs all night to see if they would continue to move with breath, or if she would succumb to her injuries. She was still alive, and the wounds on her back were slowly knitting together. Very slowly, because he had used silver to whip her.

A part of me wished she would just die and end her tremendous suffering.

Una approached me and I glared darkly at her. She held up a gown. It was a deep red with gold stitching. I could tell it was risque and revealing just from looking at it in her hands.

“You like it? The Master wants you to wear something nice for the ceremony.”

I spat at the gown, trying to hit it, but she moved it just in time and then glared at me.

“No, thanks,” I said sarcastically. “He can wear it if he likes it so much.”

“It’s not like you have a choice.”

She opened her hand, and I saw more powder in it. She blew it in my face, but I shut my eyes tightly and refused to breathe until it all dissipated. Una growled in frustration.

Morga came to her side, clicking her tongue.

“An easy fix, my dear,” she said to Una.

She pulled the same powder out of her pocket and I closed my eyes and held my breath again. But she shoved it into my face, roughly placing her hand over my mouth and nose.

I wanted to bite her, but Skadi still refused, determined to bide her time.

After several seconds, my lungs burned too much, and I gasped, searching for air. The powder invaded my nose and mouth at full force, making me cough. The world faded to blackness around me.

The last thing I heard was the joyful cackle of the old crone.