Page 165 of Kingdom of Aramis

“Yes, that’s why they make such good trackers. Once they have a location, they can usually head straight to it. It took Mom a little while to get a lock on the area because of the wards, though, which is why it took so long.”

“I can sift us in once I deal with the wards.” Titus puts his hands up like he’s scanning the area.

“Will whoever set them feel you break them?” Brodie asks.

“It depends if the wards are cast by an actual person or if they are set into rocks surrounding the area. If they have been cast, then yes. If they are just using ward stones, then no,” Titus says absently, and the rest of my guys gather around me to keep me warm while we wait.

It takes Titus about ten minutes to work out the wards. He explained that if he were full fae, it would have been quicker, but his ward powers aren’t as strong because he’s a hybrid. They finally fall, and he winces.

“Shit, they definitely have a fae on their team, and they are going to know we’re here. Hopefully the fae isn’t in the facility, otherwise there is going to be a welcoming committee,” he warns.

“Liam, Gryffin, and Brodie, you should shift, because you’ll be able to move quicker in your animal forms. The rest of us aren’t as agile in enclosed spaces,” Hunter suggests, and they quickly comply.

“How are you with a weapon?” Micah turns his attention to Nox, who shrugs.

“I’m acceptable, but I’m much better with technology. I should be able to get us through any security in the place, and I can wield illusions in this form as well.”

“Okay, you and Colbie stay together. It will make it easier for us to protect both of you,” Micah tells him.

“Kill anyone who attacks us, but if they stand down, just incapacitate them. We want to question them,” Hunter orders, giving Titus a hard look.

Titus pouts but reluctantly agrees. “Fine, but it goes against my training to leave anyone alive. Let’s go.”

Everyone places a hand on the hybrid, and he sifts inside the compound. When we arrive, it’s pitch black, and I can’t see despite my enhanced eyesight, but there’s no way to miss the cacophony of snarls and howls.

He has brought us into the cells. A flame flares to life in Gem’s hand, and I blink against the sudden light. I look around, thankful we aren’t in an actual cell but a hallway between two rows of them. I shudder at the sight of all the deformed humans stuck between shifts, foaming at the mouth. They become super agitated at the sight of my three shifted mates and start throwing themselves at the bars of their cells. Some of them eye us with eager hunger, while others ignore us completely and randomly attack one another in their crowded cell.

“Oh my god, this is awful.” I shudder and step back as one of them lunges at the bars, reaching for me with a gnarled, claw-tipped hand. “How are we even going to find the children?” I ask, feeling helpless because I can’t help any of these people.

“It would be too difficult to move a feral from one floor to another. I bet they are down here on this level somewhere,” Hunter says, holding out a piece of cloth for Brodie to scent. Brodie does before putting his nose up, then he starts sniffing the air. His ears prick, and his tail starts to wag as he bounds down the hallway. The rest of us follow him, keeping Nox and me between them. Gryffin and Liam bring up the rear. Anyone who wants to get to me is going to have to go through both of them to do it.

We move swiftly, and I am stunned by the number of cells, each of them containing way more feral shifters than they should.

“Where did all the humans come from? There weren’t that many reported missing by the human authorities,” Gryffin says, voicing the same thing I was thinking.

“Probably the other kingdoms,” Gem suggests, his flame lighting the way. The ferals are kept in a pitch-black environment, and I can only pray they were kinder to the children.

“This is a bigger problem than we ever knew,” Micah mutters as we come to a closed door. Brodie scratches at the gap at the bottom, and the others part to let Nox through to do his thing.

“Why don’t we get Titus to sift us on the other side?” I ask as Nox pulls out a portable tablet and plugs it into the console on the wall.

“Because we don’t know what is on the other side. We don’t want to risk running across an armed assault team,” Titus answers.

“But we didn’t know that before we sifted here either,” I argue.

He shrugs. “We got lucky. I don’t want to take the risk we get lucky again.”

It doesn’t take Nox long before the panel glows green, and we hear a click. He unplugs his unit and steps back, allowing Titus, Micah, and Hunter to move to the front, their guns at the ready as they peek through the door to see if there is a force waiting for us.

“Clear,” Hunter calls and throws the door open. Brodie pushes through and takes the lead again. There aren’t any barred cells in this corridor, but there are a number of closed doors. We pause, and Micah tries one of the handles.

“Locked,” he says, but our attention switches to Brodie. He’s scratching at one of the doors and whining.

“Whoever is behind these doors is terrified and exhausted, and they are beginning to lose hope. We need to open them.” Gem sounds pained, the empathic phoenix sensing their feelings.

Nox does his thing again, and before long, he has the first door open. As he moves on to the next one, I reach to open it, but Hunter stays my hand.

“Let me go first. They are probably expecting whoever is holding them captive, and their animal will be in protection mode. I don’t want them to hurt you.”