Fate and Destiny (The Fated Series, #2)

Chapter 39 - Lance - Following In His Footsteps

We've been up since before dawn, standing on a roof tall enough to see into the castle grounds, and started pitching ideas of how we can get in and out without being seen. Every one of our ideas had a flaw that involved too high of a chance of one of us being caught and taken. Every one that we gave and shot down has been lowering my hopes of actually successfully saving her, inch by inch.

We stopped coming up with ideas an hour ago, hence why we're now in silence. Ethan, Gabe, Alister, Winston, Benny, Amel, and Ozzie are all laying down and staring at the sky. Henry and Alex take turns practicing another maneuver I briefly explained for them to do after they wouldn't stop fidgeting and tapping their feet. The rest of us are still staring at the castle, all trying to think of a way to save her that we hadn't already thought of. Aracely and Gretel left when we were still talking and they haven't been back since, while Garrison is in the tunnels with Hira.

Aracely being a witch still makes me uneasy, but at least she was able to do whatever it is she does to keep us safe. She calls them charms and totems, but I call them spells and more spells with a weird-looking objects. I don't know much about witches, aside from the likely poorly conceived words found in children's books.

Those witches were written to scare children into thinking that all witches turn you into pigs or goats, and despite her earlier threat to turn Henry into a rat, I highly doubt she'd actually do it. Not to mention that she's gotten dark circles forming under her eyes. If a witch's power is similar to that of Darius and Fey's, then the runes she's painted on the bottom of our shoes are already beginning to drain her.

Speaking of draining, this weather is really making me want to scream at the Gods. One second the world is having a rather warm winter, and the next thing we know the temperature drops. Even Darius can be heard cursing the chill wind, and he can literally make it move around him and keep himself warm. The cold still isn't our normal several layered snow days, but it seems to be getting there.

"I know that face, Darius," Vlad says. I look at Darius and find his face too blank beneath the balaclava to tell, but Vlad knows him well enough to only need a glance at Darius's eyes to know what's going through his head.

"He's making the face?" Alex and Henry stop their practice to walk back over to us. The others stand up and follow and I suddenly get this bad feeling deep in my gut. That's never a good sign.

"What face?"

"His conspiracy face. It means that he has an idea and that it's the worst possible idea that anyone could come up with," Benny explains. He waves his hand in front of Darius's still distantly staring eyes.

Darius ignores his hand and just slightly tilts his head in a feline movement. That sinking feeling gets worse. Fauna does the exact same thing. "I have an idea, but you're not going to like it."

Benny gives me the 'I told you so' look. "Well, unless anyone else has an alternative idea..." I prompt, cutting off Amel before he can tell Darius to forget about it. No one offers up their own schemes, so I turn back to Darius. How bad can this be?

"How many ways are there into the castle that don't involve the tunnels, or having to use the water wolves for anything?" Darius asks.

"One," I answer.

"No, Darius," Vlad says before Darius can continue. Still, he ignores him.

"Walking through the front door is the only option in which none of us get injured-"

"Xaxias will kill you the moment you get close enough for him to slit your throat," Mal argues harshly.

"He won't kill me."

"Oh? And why the hell not?"

"Because I'm the one he wants. He told us the moment he stepped into the ballroom that he wanted both elementals. Right now he only has one-"