“You can have the top bunk over Vinya,” Disha said, gesturing as she fished in her shirt, produced her bra, and flung it at a pile of clothes on the floor. “Though it might be a little uncomfortable for your wings.”
“I’ll make it work.” I flew up, nearly bashing my head on the low ceiling as I climbed into the narrow bunk. Disha was right, the area was tight, but I’d slept in worse places, though I had to face the wall to give my wings enough room.
“So, Tally,” Bridget’s voice called. “You and that werewolf, eh?” Her voice had taken on a singsong quality that children used to tease their friends, but I knew her well enough to know this was how she talked to those she cared about. She had a werewolf for a brother, after all. Out of everyone, she likely understood my situation the best.
“Vaughn and I are… complicated.” I used the human term, realizing it fit perfectly.
Bridget giggled. “Well, Becca told us he said he loved you today.”
“Bridget!” Disha admonished. I heard a thump and glanced back to see that Disha had thrown a pillow at Bridget’s head.
“What?” Bridget said, grabbing the pillow and adding it to her own. “I’m happy for them. It’s not everyday interspecies romance works out.”
“Bridget dates a half-fae,” Disha offered.
I remembered now that Bridget had been with a fae girl back at the Academy, the daughter of the woman who’d taken in my aunt. I rolled this thought over in my mind while those two squabbled back and forth.
“Anyway,” Disha said. “We’re glad you're safe and sound, Tally. The dean was worried about you.”
“She was?”
“Yeah,” Bridget added. “We tried to get on the island back when you first were taken but weren’t able to. Stupid barrier. Sorry it took us so long.”
I rolled onto my stomach so I could look them in the eyes. “However long it took, you’re here now. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course,” Bridget replied. “You helped us. We’ll get you back home in no time, and then your only concern will be what that hot wolf is up to.”
Vaughn. I swallowed hard. “Do you really think he’ll heal?”
Bridget’s smile faded. It was rare to see her serious, but her brother, Bobby, also a wolf shifter, had been injured in a similar way. “Vaughn will be okay. The dean will figure out how to heal him. She can do almost anything.”
I nodded, going quiet, wondering if I should go to see Vaughn again before I slept or if he needed his rest. Sleep seemed like an elusive creature with so much on my mind, but my body was exhausted, and tomorrow there would be so much to do. We were going to try to break into the Habermanns’ dome again.
I needed rest. I needed to stop thinking about Vaughn.
I closed my eyes as sleep dragged me into darkness, and I knew no more.
Chapter Five
Vinya, Charlie, and I crouched low in the grass, waiting. A quarter moon hung low in the sky. We were on the north side of the dome while Tyler and his team were scheduled to attack the south side within the next two minutes.
I’d waited all day inside the ship for nighttime to fall. Now, restless energy coursed through my body, a buildup of hours of anticipation. The attack had to happen at night no matter how badly I wanted to get this over with. Vinya and Charlie had spells to make them invisible, and I had my glamour power, but Tyler and his group, including Neil, the silent twins, and some others, would need the cover of night to keep them safe. Their goal was to draw as much attention as possible, so he’d decided cloaking spells would be counterproductive.
Gods, keep them safe, please.
Charlie put a hand up in the air, holding up five fingers. One by one, they ticked down, counting the seconds as my heart beat wildly in my chest. When she made a fist, the sound of gunfire erupted in the distance. We waited until we heard the counter-attack from the dome’s guards, then ran toward the shimmering dome under Charlie’s cloaking spell. I was under her protective charm rather than my own invisibility, so we could see each other.
Vinya’s hand started a spell before we reached the edge of the barrier, and by the time we got there, her hands had turned a bright yellow. Wasting no time, she jammed her fingers into the fabric of the magical dome and pulled in opposite directions as if tearing open a hanging curtain.
She bared her teeth, face twisted with the effort. Slowly, very slowly, the shimmering fabric of the dome tore in a jagged line that traveled downward until it hit the ground. When she stepped back, a hole yawned open.
“Hurry!” She gestured with her hand.
Charlie and I ran through the tear and turned back toward Vinya. She stood under her own cloaking spell now, separate from Charlie’s, and I saw nothing but the torn barrier and the vegetation beyond.
“If we’re not back in thirty minutes, you go,” Charlie said. It was what we had agreed, but it bore reminding.
“Be back,” Vinya replied in a commanding voice.
We turned and ran toward the building. Charlie matched my pace easily, though I itched to fly faster. We stopped at the north side of the facility. The smooth, solid wall rose at least four stories and had no windows or doors through which we could force our entry, but Charlie had said we didn’t need any.
Confidently, she worked on a spell, her fingers tracing lines through the air, and soon, the wall melted away, leaving around a hole with a smoldering edge large enough for us to fit through.
“Impressive,” I said.
We rushed through the hole, carefully avoiding the edge, and found ourselves right where I thought we would: the staff cafeteria area where a birthday celebration had been underway the last time I was here. The space was dark and empty, just the reason we’d chosen it.
Our goal was to find as much information as possible on the Habermanns’ experiments, and the warlock in charge of the protective dome. I didn’t know how we would find either of those, but we had to try something.
Carefully and quietly, Charlie and I ran across the large empty room and through the doors and jogged down an empty corridor. Hearing voices, we pressed against the wall while a couple of guards passed who neither heard nor saw us. I’d done this before, but it was still unnerving every time my invisibility was tested. Luckily, the glamour seemed to be working.
Our best bet lay in Alexander’s experiment area on the main floor, so we headed in that direction. I had been there when they tried to take genetic samples from me and a second time when Alexander threatened to inject Sinasre with poison if I didn’t divulge the Seelie Queen’s location.
We traversed several halls without saying a word, understanding each other’s gestures and glances as if we’d been doing this kind of thing together for a long time.
Once in the experiment area, we separated. I went invisible as I came away from Charlie’s cloaking spell, and threw doors open on the left side while Charlie checked the ones on the right. There were many rooms set up with metal tables equipped with restraining straps. Shiny instruments rested on polished surfaces, ready for use. Oversized syringes and vials of murky liquids occupied shelves on the walls. Hastily, I picked up a vial of every kind and stuffed them in the pockets of my utility belt.