Allegiance (Causal Enchantment #3)(99)

“I’ll be fine, Amelie,” he said, inhaling deeply. “In and out, right?” He nodded toward me as he walked past. “See you guys soon.”

Caden surprised everyone by reaching out to clasp hands. “If you don’t come out in a reasonable amount of time, we’re coming in after you,” he assured him in a gruff voice. How he expected to do that, exactly, I wasn’t sure, but now wasn’t the time to question it.

Julian nodded curtly.

“And don’t get yourself killed, okay?” Caden added. “If you do, I’ll have to deal with my sister for another seven hundred years …”

Julian chuckled. “Payback for yesterday?”

Caden grimaced. “Sorry about—”

Julian cut off Caden’s apology with a wave of his hand. “You had every right …”

“Yeah, but … still. Not cool,” Caden pressed. They paused to regard each other. Maybe they’d be friends after all. Julian just had to survive first.

“Keep that one out of trouble, will you?” Julian jerked his head my way. “She’s a walking disaster.”

“Yeah, because I’m the one stepping into a grizzly’s den with a long stick and a steak around my neck,” I muttered, rolling my eyes as Caden cloaked me under a protective arm.

“Don’t talk about poking grizzlies. You’ll get Amelie excited,” Julian joked, with a wink toward his scowling girlfriend. Her tight pout loosened, the corners of her mouth curving up despite how hard she fought it. Finally the giggle escaped, lighting up her entire face.

“It’s time. I’ll walk you to the main lobby,” Galen announced coolly and I thought I caught hint of admiration in his gaze as he regarded Julian. He led Julian toward the door, Julian following stiffly. I swallowed a painful knot in my throat. He was so good at putting on a brave face, I realized. Underneath that, terror had a firm hold. And this might be the last time I saw him alive.

“Julian!” I broke free of Caden’s grasp and ran to my dear friend—my twin in all of this disaster—and threw my arms around his neck, battling the hovering tears. “Don’t get yourself killed.”

He flashed a white-toothed grin. “Don’t you worry. When I drop my pants to show those witches my tattoo, the last thing they’ll be thinking of is me tricking them.”

Amelie growled in mock disapproval. With one last chuckle, Julian followed Galen out the door.

Despite my best efforts, a tear escaped, trickling down the side of my nose ... Then another … and another. I rubbed them away furiously.

“He’ll be okay,” Caden whispered into my ear, his mouth skimming my lobe. “He’ll be back before you know it. This is the right way to do this. It’s safer this way. Less risky.”

Less risky for me … I leaned back against Caden’s body, letting his broad chest form a protective barrier for my body, wishing I could erase all the pain, fear, and anxiety for just a little while and lose myself with Caden again.

“So how long do we wait before we go in after Julian, brother?” Amelie demanded in a cold, curt tone, hands on her hips. “And how the hell do we get in?”

“Well, I was thinking,” Caden’s hand folded with mine, tugging me along as he moved to the blueprints. “We can go through here,” his long finger pointed toward a mess of illegible lines zigzagging through each other. “Through the underground garage. I highly doubt anyone will be hanging out down there.”

I realized we were looking at blueprints of every square inch of city surrounding and under Viggo’s place. “Where did you get these?” I was surprised that Viggo wouldn’t have hunted down and burned every city record available.

“You can find anything you need if you’re persuasive enough,” Kait answered, a wicked sneer curving her lips. I shuddered, avoiding any more questions while Lilly and her group surrounded the table and discussed the numerous manhole covers, tunnels, and grates that they needed to navigate through. Even Wraith lingered over to assess Caden’s proposed plan, his reflective eyes watching intently.

After the fifth or sixth tunnel, I was more than confused so I decided to huddle by the window. I was more interested in seeing Julian’s entrance, anyway. I tuned out the low chatter behind me, my forehead pressed up against the cold glass.

“I’m so scared,” a voice hummed. I turned to find Amelie standing next to me, a finger winding through one of her springy curls, unbridled fear in her eyes. I gave her my best reassuring smile. This had to be pure torture for her.

The silent minutes hung over us like an oppressive heat as we waited silently. “There!” Amelie shouted, slamming her palm against the glass. I quickly spotted Julian lumbering down the sidewalk. We watched him stride up to the large iron garage gates. It was bizarre—looking at those things completely mended, knowing it was all an illusion, that there was a gaping hole.

Julian’s hand lifted. He froze. Only for a few seconds but it was enough to make me inhale sharply. With a vague glance back in the direction of our window, he continued on toward the metal door beside the car gate, reaching up to push the buzzer. Within moments, the door opened. An arm appeared. Julian vanished.

“God, Evie. What were we thinking?” Amelie hissed, her hand locking on to mine. “If I lose Julian …”