Crash (The Immortal Chronicles Book 2)

by Sloane Murphy

  “It would explain the great lengths he’s gone through to capture her,” Dimitri says. I can already see him plotting and strategizing. He’s been quiet, but that’s what he does best.

  “It would,” Queen Eolande says. “As you know, Xander, this is not the first time she has been taken. It’s easy enough to assume Kaden captured her on behalf of Cole, even if just to open her eyes to the reality of her world, so accepting the rest of whatever lies he’s spun her are more believable. We need to find her, and quickly. If everything that’s been said here is the truth, and she is the one from the prophecy, we need to get her back before he taints her mind with his twisted truths.”

  “And what if she believes any lies he spins her? What if she sides with him?” Dimitri asks. “Cole hasn’t lied to her like we have, he hasn’t kept things from her – even if it was for her own good. If what you think is right, then Kaden has already proved to her that we’ve been dishonest with her, she could trust Cole easily. We both know how persuasive he can be.”

  “Xander, Dimitri, you need to save my daughter – not just because she is my daughter, but because she has the potential to destroy everything we know if played wrongly. I will deal with the consequences of accepting her as my daughter, and I will work on the other Fae families. I will do whatever I can to help and give you whatever resources you need.”

  ***

  “Xander, we’re going to need help to find her,” Dimitri says after exhaling a long breath of disbelief. Perhaps I should have given him some forewarning; the poor guy’s head must be spinning – but ever the professional strategic brains, he turns to things he can understand – military tactics. “The Valoire tracers can’t find her – they’re some of the best in the land. It’s clear we need more help – help from a different source.”

  “I know, Dimitri, but we have to be careful who we ask, who we trust. It could be dangerous for Addie,” I say gritting my teeth with frustration. I’m still trying to get my own head around Queen Eolande’s lies. Things would have been so much easier to manage if she had just been honest with me from the start.

  “I know. I’m not saying we ask just anyone,” he replies, putting his hand on my shoulder.

  His unswerving support softens me. “Did you have anyone in mind?” I ask.

  “Actually, yes. While the Valoire tracers are busy, they’re not the only Fae we know. Rose is a Dream Walker. She could reach out to Addie. They’ve done it before so the connection is already there. We both know if Rose knew what had happened, she’d demand to help anyway. She loves Addie, and you know how she longs for a cause to channel that fierce fighting skill into. Personally, I wouldn’t want to risk pissing her off by not getting her on board.”

  Dimitri chuckles and relief runs through me. He’s right. I hadn’t even thought of Rose. She thinks of Addie like a sister if anyone would be willing to sacrifice, to help us save Addie it would be her.

  “You’re a genius, Dimitri!”

  “Oh, I know,” Dimitri says laughing. “No-one is ever going to believe you admitted it, though!”

  I laugh at him because we both know he’s right. I’m not sure how I’d get through this without him. If I lose her… It’s not worth thinking about.

  “Guess we better get things planned, brother. It seems I’m going home, and England is a long way from here.”

  “Too right, thank god for transporters. Queen Valoire said one was available, right?” Dimitri asks. Transporter Fae are Fae who can travel anywhere in the world and take up to five additional people with them. Since we no longer run planes, transporters make life much easier especially in instances like this.

  “Yes, she has two for us, should we need them later. For now, we just need to let the rest of them know what we have planned. Can I leave that to you while I liaise with the Fae?”

  “Sure thing. What time do we leave?”

  “In about four hours, so we don’t have long. It might be worth grabbing a few minutes’ sleep, too; I have a feeling it’s going to be a long and exhausting few days.”

  Dimitri mumbles something as he climbs in the car but the rest of the journey back to The Academy is quiet. I think of little else but getting her back. I only hope Rose can help us. My mind reels with the possibility of the things Addie’s going through – Cole’s not known for his soft and fuzzy side. My knuckles turn white with my grip on the steering wheel and I try to restrain myself before I snap the damn thing. I hate feeling this bloody useless. I am never letting her out of my god damn sight again! I try to calm the fire rising inside of me; I picture her face, recall her kicking my arse in her lessons, her feisty nature challenging me at every turn. I hope she’s giving whoever has her a headache. She can be a wildcat. The thought makes me laugh causing some of the tension to leave me. Dimitri is wise enough not to enquire.

  The Academy appears on the horizon. I tell myself that it won’t be long until she’s be back in my arms where she belongs. I pull into the underground parking garage and put the car back in its spot. Dimitri heads off immediately to get things sorted, and I head to the Head Keeper’s office. I try not to deal with her too often, the woman gives me the heebie jeebies. I knock on her door and no-one answers so I leave a note with her secretary and head back to my room to get my gear together before taking my own advice and grabbing some sleep.

  ***

  Just as I drop my packed bag on the desk of my office Dimitri walks in followed by two Fae women.

  “Ladies, please meet Xander Bane,” Dimitri says gesturing towards me.

  I walk over and shake their hands. They’re very young. “It’s lovely to meet you both,” I say, trying to smile, despite my misgivings.

  “The pleasure is ours,” the smaller of the two says giggling. Both have fiery red hair and ivory pale skin and I wonder if they are sisters. They look almost ethereal. “My name is Liana,” she says, “and this is my sister, Eevara. Queen Eolande asked us to assist you in your travels.”

  “Yes, you know where we are going?” I ask.

  “To the old monarch, the home of the Frosthearts,” Eevara, the taller of the two says. Her voice is so soft that it’s more like a whisper. She looks up at me with her wide green eyes, wonder on her face. I am used to this kind of reaction from the Fae youth. They know my name, and I’ve heard some of the stories they tell about the great warrior I’m rumoured to be. Hearing about my fictional jaunts makes me laugh frequently. My favourite has to be the one where I fought the last dragon and won, making them extinct.

  “Exactly. Hopefully, from there on we will be fine, and you will be able to return home,” I say, unable to hide the frustration I feel at Eolande having sent two such delicate creatures to assist us. I don’t know what she thinks we’re about to do exactly, but taking on Cole isn’t exactly a day out at the park. They seem innocent enough, but I suppose Queen Eolande wouldn’t have sent them to me if she didn’t trust them.

  They giggle again and Dimitri rolls his eyes behind them. Just what we need, more children to look after.

  “Are you ladies ready to go?” I ask. The sooner I can send them back home, the better. They nod before linking hands and grabbing onto Dimitri and I grab my bag and close my eyes ready for the gut churn I know is coming.

  ***

  I hate transporting.

  We arrived roughly ten minutes ago and Dimitri has been throwing up since. I’ve only just managed to keep it together. I sent the Fae back home. I know for a fact the Frosthearts have more experienced transporters; the more experienced, the smoother the ride, and I sure as shit am not going through that again. Dimitri makes his way back towards me, paler than normal, which I didn’t think was actually possible.

  “Never again!” he says, his gag reflex still not fully calmed as he heaves. I slap him on the back.

  “Man up. We’ve got shit to do!”

  He grumbles as I stride ahead towards the entrance of Frostheart Palace. The guards scramble as they see us coming. Queen Eolande has sent word to Nico
Baldisseri, the Head of the Baldisseri House, and the Royal Fae guard here. The doors open and I see Nico stood there, the strain obvious in his posture. He stands at nearly seven-foot-tall, a giant of a man, with a bald head that shines in the dim light. He’s a powerhouse, and built like one, too. He wears his trademark full length cloak, with wolf fur along the neckline. The rest of him is clad in black – a series of shadows.

  “Xander, it is nice to see you again, old friend,” he says with a tight smile as he grabs my arm and we shake.

  “Indeed it is, I just wish it were better circumstances.”

  Nico and Dimitri catch up as he leads us to a drawing room where Rose and Benny are waiting for us. They haven’t been briefed as yet, that’s been left for me. We walk down the silent hall. The tension is thick in the air and it’s almost suffocating. I don’t want to tell Rose that Addie is missing, not after everything they went through together already. I don’t want her to blame me, even though she should. Just knowing I failed Addie again kills me. Nico opens the door to the drawing room and I can hear Benny and Rose’s laughter, I feel bad that I’m about to extinguish it. I walk into the room and see them both sat down with a third person I didn’t expect – Kristian Frostheart.

  “Xander! Dimitri!” Rose squeals, jumping up and hugging us both in turn. “What are you guys doing here? Is Addie here, too? I’ve missed her! Please say she’s coming, too!” she says excitedly, her innocent eyes searching behind us. I give her a small smile and Benny stands and touches her waist, knowing by instinct that something is wrong.

  “Xander. Dimitri,” Benny says nodding to us both. “Rose, honey, I think you better sit down.”

  “Xander Bane, you old dog! What brings you across the pond? Missing home?” Kristian asks, wrapping me in a hug and slapping my back. “Dimitri! It has been a long time!”

  “I think you guys should all sit down,” I say in a solemn voice. I watch as each of them sit on the sofas in front of me, Dimitri and Nico each standing on either side of the door behind me.

  “There’s no easy way to tell you this, but Addie is missing.”

  “Missing?! What do you mean she’s missing?” Rose asks.

  “Calm down Rose, getting upset isn’t going to help Addie.” Benny reaches out to soothe her and she leans back into him.

  “I mean she is missing. Shortly after you both returned home, I was sent on a mission with my Elite team. We were gone for a month and a half. When I returned home there was no sign of Addie. We have searched since then with no luck. We have no solid leads on where she is, and no Fae tracers can get a lock on her. We have no idea when she was taken, or by whom. We’ve heard whispers, but that’s all we have.”

  “Holy crap!” Rose says, brushing away Benny’s arms and jumping up from the sofa. Rose has a fierce spirit and she’s wired. I brace myself. “You’ve been home for what two months? And it took you this long to come and tell me! Are you freaking kidding me? I can help you, bloody men!” she rants, pacing in front of the sofa.

  “Rose,” I say, my hands extended in submission. “Please, that’s why we’re here now. We want you to speak to her, to find out where she is – to find out what’s going on,” I say softly, feeling foolish for not having done this sooner. She’s right to call me out on it.

  “Could this be dangerous for Rose?” Benny asks, the concern obvious.

  “Shut up, Benny. If it wasn’t for Addie, I wouldn’t be here. Of course I’m doing it. I’ll be fine.” She shoots back.

  Damn, you can tell she spent a lot of time around my girl. I smile at her and she hugs me again.

  “Sorry Xander,” she says, “I didn’t mean to yell at you, but she’s Addie… you know. I need her to be okay. It’s not your fault.” She says to me, before looking over my shoulder. She walks over to D and hugs him too.

  “It’s not your fault either.” She says. “And I know that she wouldn’t blame either of you. So suck it up, and let’s find our girl.”

  ADDIE

  I’m running through a forest. I have no idea where the hell I am, but I know I’m being chased, and I’m terrified. My pulse is racing as I run through the trees. I try to push the branches out of the way, but I’m only in shorts and a vest and I’m getting cuts all over my body. I keep running and I can hear it, whatever it is, getting closer. Some dark force. Something terrible, catching up to me and I push myself to go even faster. The adrenaline spikes, the cold, which was seeping into my bones withdraws and is replaced with nothing but the fight to keep going. There’s a clearing ahead and I push harder. I don’t know why, but I just know I’ll be safe there.

  Coming to the edge of the clearing, I slow down. A shimmering of sorts has caught my attention. I put my hand out in front of me and I can feel the energy on my fingertips, I push my hand through it. Before I know what is happening, I’ve been pulled through it fully and I can hear my own scream of surprise.

  It takes me a minute to clear my head and orientate myself. I’m back at the mansion, in the room Kaden kept me in.

  “Addie?”

  “Rose?” I spin around and see her stood there. This can’t be real

  “Thank goodness I found you, Addie, I’ve been trying for hours. They wanted me to stop for the night, but I knew I had to find you!”

  “Is this real?” I ask, still doubting my frame of mind. She rushes towards me and wraps me up in a hug. The relief is real as I slump into her and my knees give way.

  “I’m really here, Addie,” she says hugging me. Tears run down her face, too. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Everyone is worried sick! Are you really okay? Where are you?”

  “I don’t know. Livvy turned up the night Xander left, the night you left. I really thought she was back. That she was okay. I was so relieved she was alive. It never occurred to me not to trust her. It’s Liv….”

  “What do you mean? I thought you said Liv was dead?”

  “I thought she was, too, but she’s alive, Rose – Logan, too. They’re both here. I have no idea how long I’ve been here. There’s no light where they keep me, no windows. I don’t even know if it’s night or day,” I say to her.

  The stunned look on her face doesn’t surprise me. Shock is better than pity.

  “I can’t believe they’re alive, Addie. What you must be feeling and going through. I’m so sorry I left you!”

  “It’s not your fault, Rose.” I say, tugging down on the long sleeves on my top. She sees me and raises her eyebrows, questioning me.

  “It’s nothing. I just… I don’t know how much longer I’m going to last here. I think I’m losing my mind. I’m not even sure this is real,” I admit. My grasp on reality is slipping, and I’m pretty sure that hearing someone else inside my head is not a good sign.

  “Talk to me, Addie. I’m here now,” she says. I can see the pity creeping into her eyes and I hate it.

  “You really want to know? You want to know that they hurt me, torture me every single day and I have no idea why? That their butcher, Micah, the sadistic fuck, seems to get off every time I scream,” I say. “I tried so hard not to scream at the beginning, but there comes a point where it’s impossible not to. You want to know that I’m weak? That it hurts so much that sometimes I pass out? That I’m surrounded by Vampyrs and Demons, and I can’t trust a single person around me. Not even Liv or Logan. I never thought I’d say that.” It all rushes out of me in one long stream and I can’t stop it.

  “They tortured me so badly that I left my own body. I was watching myself from a distance, and someone else was there inside me. Whilst she was there, I felt nothing. The relief was so strong that death was appealing. Of course, you don’t want to know any of that, but this probably isn’t real so it doesn’t matter anyway.”

  Tears run down Rose’s and she flies towards me, wrapping her arms around me. She pulls back from me but keeps my hand tightly clasped in hers.

  “This is real, Addie; you feel this?” she asks squeezing my hand. “I’m real and I swear we are coming for
you. Xander and Dimitri are both here with me, Benny too. You just need to hold on a little longer until we get to you. I need you to hold on. I need you to promise you’ll wait for us.”

  I nod, keeping my head lowered. Hope isn’t something I can hold onto right now.

  “I’ve got to go right now, Addie, but I’ll be back, I promise. I love you,” she says before she flickers away from my sight.

  I look up at the sky confused as my surroundings change, I’m still here in the ball of energy, but everything outside has changed. It’s dark now, stars scattered across the night sky, the moon shines down so bright it illuminates my little patch of forest. I hear a wolf howl in the distance, the sound of night birds rustling around in the leaves. I lay back and close my eyes, enjoying this small bit of peace. If this is the last peace I ever feel, it’s kind of perfect. Something is near me, and I open my eyes, looking around the edges of the meadow. The bushes move and I stand quickly. I thought I was safe here. So much for peace, I should’ve known I don’t get peace, not even in my sleep. The noise of snapping twigs makes me zone in on the bushes directly to my left, and that’s when I see a wolf – and he’s huge.

  He dips his head submissively to me as if asking permission. This is beyond crazy. I nod my head because it feels as if he’s waiting for me to respond. He pads towards me slowly, stopping just in front of me before laying down and watching me. He’s waiting for me to close the distance. As I step closer to him, I hear him whine, quietly hurrying me. His mane looks so soft, so fluffy and shiny. The black of his fur reflects the silver of the moon, making him look almost ghostlike. I can’t resist reaching out and touching him. I run my hand through his fur, and I was right. It’s so soft.

  “Do not be afraid of me child,” he says inside my head. I gasp and step back. What the hell! He whines at me again, encouraging me to come back to him. Hesitantly, I reach out to him.