I was sick and tired of traveling from realm to realm, only to meet with more failure.

“But Kiev, for all we know that merman could have just been lying to us—hoping that the wolves of The Woodlands would finish us off. It’s possible that Magnus was never anywhere near here.”

I was about to slump down again on the rocks and bury my head in my hands to try to ease the headache that was now coming on full blast when a female voice spoke behind us.

“Excuse me.”

We all whirled around and found ourselves staring at a short woman with long wavy hair. She had a red scar across her cheek.

“Yes?” I said, stepping forward.

“I heard what you are here for,” she said. “You’re here because you are trying to end the black witches, isn’t that right?”

“Yes,” several of us said at once.

“Well, I just spied that same warlock—Rhys—hanging around one of the mountains. I was the werewolf he first caught—he took my child hostage and forced me to lead him to my pack. He is still hanging around this place. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but… I thought perhaps it might be useful to you since my chieftain cannot help you at all.”

“He is still in this realm?” I asked, my mouth falling open. “How long ago was it that you saw him?”

“About ten minutes ago,” she said. “I rushed straight here to see if you had left yet. I can take you to where I spotted him.”

“Yes,” I said, without even consulting the others. “Take us there.”

It wasn’t like we had any better ideas. We had hit rock bottom, and anything seemed better than standing here—even the prospect of meeting Rhys again.

We hurried with the female wolf to the spot where she had seen him. As soon as we arrived, we crouched down among the trees, making as little noise as possible as we peeked through the leaves at the nearby mountain.

“He was hanging around on one of those ridges,” she whispered, pointing upward. “It’s possible he is gone now.”

“There is only one way to find out,” I said. “I will go up there. The rest of you, stay down here.” I didn’t hang around long enough to give Kiev a chance to object.

I vanished myself as close as I could to where the wolf had indicated, keeping myself invisible in case the warlock was still up here. I was surprised to see a gaping hole in the wall. Before walking inside, I looked all around outside the cave—upward, sideways, downward—just in case Rhys was standing elsewhere. The last thing I needed was to get cornered by him.

When I was certain that he was nowhere in sight, I stepped inside the cave and looked around. It was empty, except for a long object at one end of the room. I approached it cautiously, and, nearing it, realized that it was some kind of casket. It was empty and lined with a thin sheet. I bent down closer, examining the ridges and then the interiors. I caught sight of something black and very thin within one of the folds of the sheet. I thought at first that it might be the leg of a spider, partially obscured by the fabric. But as I straightened the sheet, I realized that it was a black hair.

“I sense vampire in here.” A voice spoke behind me, causing me to almost jump out of my skin.

I breathed out in relief to see that it was just Micah.

“I figured that you might be able to make use of my sense of smell,” he said.

He approached and peered down over my shoulder. Clutching the hair in my hand, I walked toward the exit so that I could see better.

Micah, who had followed me, dipped his head down and sniffed the hair. We locked eyes, and he nodded. “That is the hair of a vampire.”

My heartbeat quickened as a theory came crashing down on me at once.

“Rhys hid Magnus in here,” I breathed.

I walked back over to the container and studied its edges more closely. I could tell in ways that an untrained eye couldn’t that this casket had once been sealed by a spell. I hurried back to the open wall, examining the edges of the entrance, and could see the same thing here—Rhys had secured this place.

“Why was Rhys looking for Magnus if he was supposed to be in here all along?”

“Magnus must have gotten out somehow.” I backed into a corner and slid down along the wall, thinking furiously.

If Rhys had imprisoned Magnus, it made total sense. He was valuable to Rhys—almost as valuable as Lilith herself. Because if something ever happened to Magnus, she would be at risk.

But then what happened to the vampire?

I knew how strong Rhys was—even if he had brought Magnus here many years ago when he wasn’t as developed in his powers, he had still been a powerful warlock. Powerful enough for a vampire to be unable to escape.

Micah tried to talk to me again, but I silenced him. Now more than ever, I needed to be lost in my own thoughts. It did not take me long to realize what must have happened.

Because there was only one way Magnus could have broken Rhys’ spell.

Someone more powerful than Rhys must have set Magnus free.

I shot to my feet.

I knew exactly where we had to go now.

The Sanctuary’s graveyard.

Where this journey started.

Where it must end.

Chapter 17: Isolde

What the hell is that man thinking?

If my nephew had told me that he would be gone this long, I never would have agreed to it.

Lilith had already woken up, and I was expecting her to ask to begin the ritual at any moment. I had been avoiding going inside her chambers, and I had told Julisse to do the same. We just made sure to make ourselves available if she called for us. Truth be told, I’d thought that she would have called us in long before now to say that she was ready.