Kane POV
“Would twenty minutes be enough?” Mindy asks, breaking the stunned silence and looking around, confused. “Would that be enough ti to get fuel and stuff like last ti?”
“We won’t be needing that,” Maxim replies patiently. “We’re going to get her to safety, not kill anything or anyone.”
“Sure, that’s our plan,” Monroe says thoughtfully before Mindy can reply. “And we should be prepared. Things can go wrong. They get there sooner, or we hit traffic, sothing, anything. Let’s face it, things go from nothing to fucked up in zero seconds.”
“Well, then, no, twenty minutes isn’t enough,” Axel replies dryly. “But we can’t waste ti preparing for sothing that may or may not happen.”
“We should split up,” Elara suggests. “There’s no need for all of us to get captured if sothing goes wrong.”
“Elara’s right,” I reply. “Rather safe than sorry.”
“Braden and I will get Isolde,” Elara says. “She trusts us the most. The rest of you, be on the lookout.”
I grind my teeth and stare out the window. It irks that Elara is always the one making sacrifices and taking risks. Sure, it is true about Isolde; she trusts vampires and hybrids more than wolves. But I have never felt so useless and weak in my entire life.
“Agreed,” Braden nods, and pulls over a block away from Isolde’s office.
“Maxim and I will survey the area,” Monroe says. “We’ll call if we see or sll anything.”
“Good luck,” Axel says, getting behind the wheel.
Elara POV
Braden and I walk to Isolde’s office as fast as we can without drawing attention to ourselves. I keep sniffing the air, but I do not pick up anything, and I relax a little. We got here first.
“Do you think Kane’s okay?” Braden asks as we walk.
“No,” I reply bluntly. “I know he healed, but I get a vibe that he’s hiding sothing. I don’t know if it’s physical or psychological, but sothing’s off.”
“He just needs more ti to heal,” Braden says, taking my hand. “He nearly died. Nobody simply bounces back from that.”
“Maybe,” I exhale deeply, hoping he is right, but deep down, I know it is more than that.
Isolde’s office is empty when we arrive, and I thank the Goddess for small rcies. We do not have the ti and resources to save more people.
“Isolde!” I shout, walking to the back, and she pops out around the corner like a erkat.
“Why are you here?” She asks, her eyes suspiciously shifting between and Braden.
“To get you out of here before the Council arrives,” I reply bluntly. “Orson warned us they’re coming for you.”
“Well, that’s no surprise,” she huffs, her cheeks flushed with anger. “Your Neanderthal mates just had to go all violent in the street in the middle of a human city.”
“You can bla them all you want,” Braden chuckles. “But please do it after we’re out of here.”
“I was going to leave anyway,” she sighs. “I knew this was going to happen when I heard the first fist drop. Co on, I need a hand with my stuff.”
“Isolde, I’m sorry, but we don’t have space for ...”
“You’ll make space for this,” she cuts off. “Trust , you’ll be happy when I show you what I’ve been working on.”
“Now, I’m curious,” I smile, following her into a back room.
“Firebombs,” she replies, holding out a small orange sphere, and smiling wickedly.
“You made a fire potion?” Braden gasps in surprise.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she laughs, carefully putting the sphere away. “It’s basic chemistry. A human can do it. But I took the ti to stabilise it, so it doesn’t randomly explode and burn everything to shit.”
“So, what you’re saying is we’re carrying ticking ti bombs,” Braden says nonchalantly, picking up a tray of spheres.
“Just the opposite,” she replies. “Each sphere has been dipped in a sealant. It will only activate if you deliberately break them.”
“Or accidentally,” I add dryly, taking the box she hands .
“Yeah, well, I’d rather accidentally burn myself alive than be captured by the Council,” she replies, grabbing a massive bag and slinging it over her shoulder. “I’m ready, we can go.”
“Axel,” I mind link him. “You’ll have to bring the car closer. Isolde has luggage, and plenty of it.”
“Tell her to leave it,” he replies, irritated.
“That’s not going to happen,” I sigh. “We’ll et you outside.”
With our arms full of Isolde’s potions, we leave the office, and Axel parks in front of us. Maxim jumps out, opens the trunk, and we carefully load everything. He closes the trunk, and the hairs in the nape of my neck jump to attention when I sniff the air.
“They’re close,” I mutter. “We should leave imdiately.”
“Wait,” Isolde says, placing her hand on my arm. She reaches into her bag, pulling out a sphere, and holding it out to . “Do you want to test one?”
“They’re not that close,” I snort.
“No, my office,” Isolde says, rolling her eyes. “It will buy us ti and kill our scent.”
“In that case,” I smile, accepting the sphere. “I don’t mind if I do.”
“Just throw it,” Isolde instructs. “It will break on impact.”
“And how far should we be away?” I ask. “I don’t want to scorch an eyebrow or sothing.”
“Yeah,” Isolde replies sheepishly. “I don’t know, so ... uhm ...”
“Okay,” I nod. “Everyone, in the car, and Axel, move a block away. I’ll catch up.”
I wait until I am sure they are far enough away before I lift the sphere and toss it at the office with all my strength. It collides with the wall with a deafening thud. A bright blue and gold glow lights the sky, knocking off my feet and sending flying. I connect with sothing hard and solid, and then everything goes dark.
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