“With my mother,” Xane says, as if it is obvious.
“Does she know anything?” Cole asks, quickly standing up and then, feeling lightheaded, he sits back down. Xane turns to him to regard him closely. Cole finds it very unnerving to have those bright blue eyes focused solely on him. He thinks it is the first time that Xane has ever really looked at him. God knows since Liv left it is the first time, he has even spoken to any of them directly. He finds it very odd that everyone seems to be getting along in Liv’s absence. He half expected the opposite and that they all would have tried to kill each other by now, especially seeing as one of the last things they found out before Liv left was about her marriage to the Demon Overlord. Cole is still struggling with that, even though he knew deep down they were more involved than she said.
“She is in the Dragon Realms,” Xane says eventually.
“Can Xanthe get to her?” Constantine asks.
Xane turns his piercing gaze away from Cole and he relaxes again. “No, unfortunately not. The Realm has been locked down. In fact, all Dragons have been recalled and no one gets in or out without the express wish of Tiamat Herself.”
“So, we’re screwed,” Cole says, slumping further into the sofa.
No one answers him and it seems that yes, they are, indeed, screwed.
“Maybe not,” Devon ventures cautiously after several moments. All eyes go to him and he swallows. “We do know someone else who might be able to get there.”
Cole blinks. He hasn’t got a clue who Devon means and neither do Xane or Constantine by the looks of it.
Devon chews his lip and says, “Now just hear me out. If we could somehow contact Other Liv, she is Empress of her own Realm. Surely that means she could bypass any rule Tiamat has in place?”
Silence.
A stony silence that only gets more awkward as the minutes pass.
Constantine finally says, “You want to try and contact your Substitute bitch and ask her to travel to the Dragon Realms here to fetch Aefre and bring her back?”
“Do you have another idea?” Devon snaps irritated to be reminded of his dirty affair. “Because I don’t hear any coming from any of you!”
It’s true. Cole ran out of ideas weeks ago. And he is damn sure that if Constantine knew anything, he wouldn’t be sitting around on his ass leaving his wife, their wife, to who knows what over there.
“Okay, let’s say we found a way to contact her, which in itself will be a major feat for us, unless you already know how? Or does she just turn up when she wants a fuck?” Constantine doesn’t wait for an answer as he continues, “Do you really think she would agree to such a request in light of the beating Aefre gave her last year? And, furthermore, if she did turn up to rescue Aefre, I highly doubt my wife would go with her.” He sits back in his chair with an inquiring stare.
“Agreed,” Xane says. “She hates that bitch. She wouldn’t trust her, and I don’t either. She is vile.”
“Well, then I am fresh out of ideas and someone had better come up with something fucking soon. This is beyond…” Devon struggles for a word to describe how awful this situation is. “Just beyond,” he finishes up lamely, and everyone agrees silently.
They all turn to the French doors as they hear the long, plaintive howl of Lincoln. He has been roaming the grounds in Wolf form for weeks now mourning the loss of his Alpha mate. They all take on sorrowful looks and lower their eyes to stew in their own misery. Cole suddenly wishes he could turn into a Wolf and howl into the darkness, anything to make himself feel better.
Eventually, he finds his eyes closing. He just can’t keep them open for a minute longer and soon the exhaustion of long days, longer nights, worry, anger, and having no sire to look after him, takes its toll and pulls him under.
“Cole. Cole.”
He hears his name being called gently and he opens his eyes with a start. Devon is peering at him worriedly and looks relieved when he opens his eyes.
“What?” he asks groggily.
“Just checking,” Devon murmurs to his alarm and sits down next to him. He is still on the sofa in the library and he can see it is daylight outside. The smell of cigarette smoke is in the air and he finds the source. Xane is sitting in an armchair with his legs dangling over the side and his head resting on the other arm, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He draws deeply and the entire cigarette turns to ash as he takes the stub out of his mouth and exhales slowly. Cole watches the swirl of the smoke and for the first time he wishes it was a habit he had picked up. At least it would be something to do with his hands and his mouth. Xane flicks the stub to the wastepaper basket and lights another one. He flicks it to
Constantine, who catches it without looking up, and inserts it into his mouth. Since when did they all get so in sync with one another?
“I suppose someone should go and check on the other one,” Devon says in a tone that means someone other than him. Cole knows how angry he still is that, not only did Liv turn Cade, but he betrayed her to the very creature that has her captive now. And to top it off, they all know it was Cade who told Liv about Devon’s affair with Other Liv. Cole thinks that will be the hardest thing for Devon to forgive. He knows that Devon asked Liv to marry him and that she said ‘yes’, but she needed time to sort stuff out, namely Constantine. He is also very aware that she screeched a definitive ‘no’ at him after she found him with Other Elizabeth. It destroyed him, but Cole knows he shouldn’t have gone there. It was the absolute worst thing he could have done to her and she won’t forgive him.
“I’ll go,” Cole says. He is also still furious with his new sibling, but Cade is suffering worse than he is and only he can know how awful and empty he feels. “I need to get some blood anyway,” he adds and stands only to sit back down again in surprise when Corinne pops into view.
“Corinne!” Constantine yells, standing up so quickly, his desk chair goes flying backwards to hit the French doors. “Do you know anything?”
She shakes her head in sorrow. “I am afraid we are shut out,” she says. “There is nothing we can do.”
Constantine makes a noise of frustration and slams his fist on the desk, making everything on it jump. “She is being held captive there! Who knows what tortures she is enduring at the hands of that…that…beast!” he cries, showing a rare flash of emotion.