He froze, twisting his body within the confining hold to see his father’s face behind him. He dropped his gaze, finally pausing long enough to take in his surroundings.

He was sitting in Jaeros’s lap in the middle of the same hallway he and Veralie had just been attacked in.

Panic clawed up his throat, and he frantically glanced around for the two blond males, but they were nowhere in sight. Other than Jaeros, the only other individual around was his other father, Dedryn, who was currently leaning against the wall, watching him.

Nothing was amiss. If it weren’t for his throbbing head and the smell of blood in the air, he might’ve thought he’d imagined it all. Might’ve been able to convince himself that Veralie was still safely tucked in her bed.

But she wasn’t.

He shoved Jaeros’s arms again, squeezing his eyes shut against the last image he’d seen of her. Sprawled on the ground, her curls a wild mess around her face while blood dripped over her neck onto the floor.

She had to have been in pain, but even scared, her eyes had never strayed from his. Their gray depths the last thing he saw before a blinding pain echoed against his skull, and everything went black.

She’d been so brave, and now he needed to be brave for her.

“Let me up, Veralie’s in trouble! We were attacked, and they’ve probably—”

“Stop thrashing about, Jaren. We know. You have a wound to your head and need to calm down.”

The comment only made him thrash harder, digging his elbows into Jaeros’s torso, and he slammed his head back into his jaw.

His father cursed, and his hold slackened enough for Jaren to fling himself up and whip around to stare down at him.

“What is wrong with you?” he yelled, flicking his eyes between the two of them. “Did you not hear what I said? She was with me and was taken. Why are you just standing here? She needs help.”

His voice cracked on the last word, and he swallowed, wiping angrily at his eyes when neither responded. “I heard two males breaking into the house, so I snuck her out. We ran here to find you, but they followed us.”

His eyes stung and tears built in the corners despite how hard he was trying to hold them back. “I couldn’t protect her, and she got hurt. She’s probably so scared right now.”

His heart felt like it was about to pump right through his ribcage at the thought of what she must be going through. Was she calling out for him? Did she think he was hurt, or worse, that he’d abandoned her?

“Jaren.”

“We need to find her, right now.” What were they doing to her while his fathers stood around staring at him?

“Jaren,” Dedryn repeated.

He ignored him, fisting his hands at his sides. He hated that he didn’t have the ability to track her by scent yet. Hated that he’d have to rely on his fathers to do it.