A lump rose in Kiran’s throat. He hated the Locke family, hated everything about them, and every single thing they stood for. But a woman? In all their planning for this mission, he had never imagined they would kidnap a woman, regardless of who she was. He glanced over at Ransom, and the hard set of his friend’s jaw told him that they shared the same thoughts.

“We’ll look for someone else,” Kiran said, immediately turning to search farther down the hallway. Ransom’s heavy footsteps followed behind.

“Wait!” Zephyr cried. “That siren had to be about us. It was not the usual storm signal. They will be searching for us. We have to go. Now.”

Neither hunter replied. They only kept trudging through the hallway until they reached the end. When they found no more enchanted victims waiting for them, the two looked at each other again, unsure what to do.

“Doors,” Ransom offered.

Kiran jumped on the suggestion, and they each took one side of the hallway, throwing open every door they passed.

Empty.

Empty.

Empty.

Kiran had just thrown open his fourth and final door when he heard a shout behind him, followed by a heavy crash. He spun fast to see Ransom heaving himself up off the floor, a broken piece of pottery smashed all around him. His attacker, a lean young man with curly black hair and skin just a shade darker than the queen’s, was frozen in place by the door, his face a mask of cruelty, teeth gritted in determination, as wisps of fog tangled around him in a slow, sly dance.

Zephyr appeared in the doorway, her expression grim. She lifted one arm and touched a claw on her gloved hand to the man’s cheek. “Casimir.” She tapped her claw twice, and dragged it down to his chin, leaving a pale line behind. “I watched from a nearby building when he had the Eye burned. I think he enjoyed it.” The man did little more than blink, his thoughts locked away somewhere inside by the fog storm’s magic, as Zephyr gripped his jaw hard and smiled. “You’ll do nicely, Casimir Locke.”

Aurora’s uneasiness grew with every empty hallway they traversed and each step that carried her farther away from her mother. Her heart beat a heavy repetition in her throat, making it difficult to swallow or breathe, let alone whisper the required directions to Jinx following alongside her.