"Whoa, wait!" Alaric shouted, throwing up his hands as Lila readied her sword for another attack.
Lila halted mid-lunge, the flas licking her blade fluttering in agitation while her eyes remained locked on them with violent suspicion.
Alaric asked cautiously. "What do you an, ’what we’ve done to Violet?’ Why would you think we did sothing to her?"
Lila’s nostrils flared. "Then where is she?" She demanded, "Violet was supposed to et at the academy hours ago. Don’t play dumb! What—did you all kill her after you found out what she did to this asshole?!" She swung her sword toward Asher, lunging again.
"That’s enough!" Adele’s voice bood across the space like thunder.
Lila halted, her gaze shifting to Adele and taking her in.
"The Cardinal Alphas did nothing to Violet," she said coldly. "You’d know that if you could calm your rage for five seconds and look around you!"
Lila’s hands tightened on the hilt of her blade, her expression still wild. "Then where is she? I warned her about hanging around you guys, but she asked to trust you all... " her voice cracked as she pointed at the cardinal alphas, "... and the mont I do, she disappears?"
Asher told her with a heavy heart. "Violet and Griffin were taken last night by rogues. We found out early this morning and we’ve been tracking them since. Until you decided to show up swinging crazily at the people actually trying to rescue her."
His eyes darkened as he stepped closer to her. "You really think I would hurt her? After everything I’ve done to protect her? Everything I’ve sacrificed?" His jaw clenched. "To think you still believe that after all this ti is sickening."
"Not when she’s a threat to what you desire most. To what you all have trained for your entire life," she sneered. "Love or loyalty, Asher. Which one would win in the end?"
That word stopped Asher , burrowing under his skin like a sting. But more than the accusation, it was the certainty in her voice that rattled him.
He looked her in the eye and asked slowly. "What is your relationship to Violet, Lila? Is she Fae or more? What do you know about her father? You know sothing, don’t you?"
Lila ignored him, her silence loud.
Then, with a chilling calm, she said, "I’m not saying anything to you creatures of lies and deceit." Then turned her back to them and started walking toward Asher’s house.
"Where are you going?" Alaric demanded.
"To the place she was taken. I’ll find her myself."
"You can’t do this alone!" Asher snapped, stepping in her path.
"Watch ," she shot back, trying to move past him.
But Asher didn’t budge. "Fine. Keep your secrets," he said through clenched teeth. "I’ll figure them out eventually. But right now, we’re working together not just to find Violet, but Griffin too. You might have magic and a sword, but don’t pretend you know rogues better than we do."
The tension between them was intense and nacing. Lila’s eyes burned into Asher’s with her hand still hovering over her sword. But slowly, and reluctantly, she lowered it.
Her voice was a grudging growl. "Let’s move then."
As they began heading back to the house, Roman, who had thankfully worn so pants, skidded up beside Lila with a grin that spelled trouble.
"I always knew you had a thing for trying to kill us," he said, eyes glinting with mischief. "And guess what? I was right."
He wiggled his brows, practically bouncing with energy. "But don’t worry, I have this massive, world-shaking instinct that this mission will be our bonding experience. Before long, you’ll feel the love too, Tinker Bell."
The Ice-cold, venom-filled glare Lila shot him was enough to chill one to the bone.
But Roman just grinned wider, utterly unbothered.
Alaric groaned and cursed under his breath. "Fucking idiot."
Then he stomped over and yanked Roman away. "Do you have a death wish or were you just born with one?"
Roman shrugged with a cheeky smile. "A little from Column A, a little from Column B."
Alaric shook his head in disbelief.
Once they reached the house, the group moved in silence as Asher led the way to the kitchen.
"This is where she was taken," he said, gesturing to the space.
Lila took in the dried blood on the floor, frowning.
Roman, ever the talker, spoke up without being prompted. "I don’t know what you’re planning to do, but if it’s scent-tracking, forget it. They blocked it. Real pro work. Honestly, at this point, we’re screwed without a witch."
Lila scoffed.
"My kind aren’t limited to sniffing floors for a trail," she said coolly. "And witches? They take lectures from us."
The Cardinal Alphas looked at each other and shrugged. Then they gave her space for her to do her thing.
Lila reached into the folds of her jacket and pulled out a small pouch. She opened it and revealed finely ground, multicolored sand.
"Every creature leaves behind a signature," Lila’s voice had a strange rhythm as she spoke. "An energy trail... an echo. So call it aura." She pinched so of the dust between her fingers and blew it gently into the air.
The sand scattered like shimring mist, catching the light as it swirled and fell to the corners of the room. For a mont, nothing happened — at least to them.
But Lila’s eyes lit with a strange color. It was not glowing but radiating several colors at the sa ti.
Roman blinked. "Okay, that’s new."
"There were three rogues here, then Violet and Griffin." Lila murmured, scanning the space as if she were reading invisible ink on the walls.
Her gaze followed the swirling trails of energy that only she could see. It was not surprising the alphas and Adele fell in behind her as she traced a path through the kitchen and out the back door.
Outside, Lila announced with certainty.
"I can see the trail."
Asher commanded imdiately. "Get the car! We leave now!"
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