“Very well,” Iannis said. “But I’m coming with you this time.”

“What?” I asked, momentarily nonplussed before I understood. “Oh. You want to do that weird thing where you put yourself inside me.”

“Is that some kind of sex joke?” Elnos asked, and I choked on a laugh.

“No,” Iannis said, unruffled even as color spread to my cheeks. He didn’t bother to explain himself further—apparently, the skill was something that came from his Tua heritage, which he kept a secret. “Are you ready, then?” he asked me.

“Yes.”

Iannis reactivated the spell, and I was back in Rylan’s head again, looking through his eyes and ears. He and Noria were still sitting on the bed, going through possible options on how to rescue Annia and the shifter children.

“Hey, pause for a sec,” I told Rylan. “I just finished talking with Iannis and the others. We’ve got to switch gears for a moment.”

“You’re talking about finding the anchor?”

“Yes.” I sucked in a breath as magic surged within me. Suddenly, Iannis’s consciousness was inside mine, a foreign presence that sent a pleasant, though completely inappropriate, thrill through me.

“Are you all right?” Rylan asked, sensing the change in my mood.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, trying not to sound flustered. “Iannis just cast a spell so that he could watch and listen too.”

“A bunch of voyeurs, the lot of you,” Rylan teased, before growing serious. “So what’s the plan?”

“Tell Noria you are going to have to leave her for a bit to disable the wards,” I said, ignoring the guilty feeling squirming in my stomach. “And that as soon as they’re down, I’m coming in for her.”

Rylan relayed the message, and Noria’s face tightened. “I’d rather have her come for Annia,” she said. “I went into this willingly, but Annia doesn’t deserve what’s happened to her.”

“We’re getting both of you out,” Rylan said firmly, standing. “Just sit tight here, okay? I’ll be back for you.”

Noria only nodded, her eyes filling with exhaustion. Rylan left her sitting on the bed, and my stomach sank as he quietly slipped back out into the hall. He nodded at the guard stationed at the corner, then made his way to the guest wing.

“She will be fine,” Iannis said, trying to reassure me. “Noria is a strong, capable young woman.”

“I know,” I said, but the knowledge didn’t make me feel better.

The guest wing was a little nicer than the staff quarters—the carpet runner was a soft, lush green, the walls papered in cream with gold designs, and the wall sconces were brass instead of cast iron. The doors were all made of dark wood instead of thin metal, and I watched silently as Rylan tracked the scent to the proper door.