I don't think this can get any more uncomfortable. My gaze flicks between Syrra and Jada—both avidly searching through books on opposite sides of the room.

I lean towards my mate with a raised eyebrow. "You know the chance of success would increase if you two worked together."

She glares at me. "Well no shit. Does it look like she's willing to work with me though?" She snaps.

I look past her to the other side of the library where her cousin is sitting on the floor, her mate standing beside her—I pause. Nix isn't just standing next to Jada, they're standing guard.

"No it doesn't look like she's willing," I sigh, leaning back against the bookshelves. "So exactly how powerful is she?"

Syrra purses her lips in annoyance. "Much more powerful than me plus she has about a century more experience," she mutters under her breath.

"Then, no offense, but why didn't she just take the throne back from you?" I ask quietly.

"I prefer to help rather than hurt people. Taking the throne would cost a lot of lives and I don't believe a crown is worth all of that," Jada growls.

I look over at her with wide eyes but she is still staring at her book. I look to Syrra and nearly piss myself.

She throws me a furious glare that makes even my dragon whimper. "Did you just—"

I put my hands up in surrender. "Hey I was just curious why—"

"Shut up!" She hisses then whips around to face her cousin. "Everyone already knows I'm a horrible, immoral person so you don't need to keep using the things I've done to defend your murderous episode!"

"You know," Jada sighs, "for a supposed queen you act an awful lot like a petty child."

My eyes widen and panic starts to fill my chest. Syrra leaps to her feet but I grab her wrist and yank her back down. "Don't let her get to your head!" I growl.

I catch Jada's smirk out of the corner of my eye and lock my arms around Syrra's waist as she jumps up again. "Okay let's go somewhere else," I grumble, easily lifting her and carrying her out of the library.

"I fucking hate her!" She spits.

"I thought you felt sorry for her?"

She runs her hands through hair. "Well I do but I also hate her! What happened to her was awful and I hate myself because it's partly my fault but I also hate that little bitch and her stupid snarky comments and pretentious morality!" She seethes.

My eyebrows furrow and my lips curl into a frown. "Okay I think you need to take a break. You're clearly exhausted and frustrated and I'd bet hungry too," I say.

She looks up at me, her body slowly relaxing. "I just really want to find your brother," she murmurs, her shoulders dropping.

I bite my cheek. "Jada will keep looking and from what you've told me she has a better chance of finding him than you do so let's get you some food and then get you to bed, you literally haven't slept or eaten in days."

"Kaine you understand the longer it takes to find them, the smaller our chances of finding them alive."

Her words are like a punch to my gut. I already knew it but it didn't seem real until she said them aloud. "I'm already terrified of losing my brother, please don't make me worried about losing you too," I mumble.

She closes her eyes, letting her head fall onto my chest. "Okay. You keep looking for your brother, I'll go get something to eat then rest."

"Promise?"

The corner of her mouth twitches up for a moment. "I promise."

I kiss her gently, brushing the hair away from her face, before hugging her tightly. She gives my hand a quick squeeze then turns. I watch her walk away, my heart sinking in my chest.

Once the door closes behind her I step back into the library. The first thing I notice is Jada's smirk. "What?" I growl in annoyance.

She glances up at me briefly. "Oh nothing. I'm just curious how my demon of a cousin managed to find herself a mate as sweet and kind as you," she replies with a shrug.

I bite back a sarcastic retort and instead start rifling through books again. Not a moment later there's a flash of red and then I hear her laugh.

"Oh gods she's your wolf's mate," she snorts. "That explains it. If you were a full-blooded dragon there's no way you'd choose someone so cruel—unless perhaps you were just as ruthless."

I growl. "I chose Syrra to be my mate—my dragon chose her to be his mate. I love her and it's not just because of my wolf! I know exactly who she is and what she's done but none of it matters to me. We've both made mistakes and done things we're not proud of and that's part of why Syrra and I have such a strong bond!" I snap.

She smirks again. "Then tell me boy, if your bond is truly that strong, why haven't you noticed she's gone?"

I falter. "What?"

She quirks up an eyebrow. "Syrra's not on dragon territory anymore," she said—more slowly this time.

"What? What makes you think that? How would you even know?" I demand, a growl seeping into my voice as I stalk closer.

My gaze flicks to Nix who immediately steps forward, a hand on their sword, but I push down the fear rising in my throat and hold my ground.

Jada frowns up at me, leaning back against the bookcase. "You seriously can't feel it?" She asks.

"Feel what?" I snap. Confusion and concern eat at my insides like a parasite.

"Syrra has a pretty powerful presence—much like you actually—so I can feel it when she's near. As her mate you should feel it too—a little differently perhaps but you should still feel her presence. She is not on this territory anymore."

Why can't I feel it? I snarl at my wolf and dragon.

Jada gasps suddenly, her eyes flying wide. "Oh you two aren't mated yet are you?" She asks, tapping her finger against her lip. "Oh that makes a little more sense."

My eyebrows furrow together and I grimace. "You know most people don't like hearing others talk about them like that."

"Like what?"

"Like they know everything about you. It's off-putting and creepy," I growl.

"Really?"

My eyebrow shoots up when I hear genuine surprise in her voice. "You aren't around other people very often, are you?"

She shrugs. "Not a big fan of other people. I try to avoid social situations as much as possible so I apologize if my manners and communication skills are lacking," she mutters sarcastically.

"I thought you liked helping people?" I snark, remembering her words to Syrra.

She hums, her lips curling into a grin. "Wow, you are so much like your aunt."

The statement fills me with a small sense of pride that quickly turns to anguish. I know Angel and Zella and the babies are all perfectly fine but I still feel like I'm gradually losing everyone I care about.

"Did Syrra really leave?" I ask.

Jada's eyes suddenly roll back into her head and I jerk back in shock.

Nix chuckles. "Calm down, she's just checking on your mate," they tell me.

"Wha—how?" I gape.

"Spirits," is all they say.

Dozens of questions buzz in my mind but I only get the chance to ask one. "Syrra told me you can't speak to the dead so how—"

"There is no spell to speak to dead. Jada was born with the Sight, the gods gifted her the ability to see and speak with the dead."

"Huh," Jada murmurs, her eyes back to normal.

"What?"

"She went back to the clans and had one of the elders put her under a sleeping spell," Jada tells me.

"What? A sleeping spell? Why?"

She shrugs. "There's lots of reasons. It can help you remember stuff or solve problems or just help you get some decent rest. It's a difficult spell though, it takes years to master and doing it wrong can lead to a never-ending coma," she says.

"Wait she's not going to—"

"She's fine," she snorts, noting my panic.

"You sure?"

"She was smart and went to an elder rather than doing it herself. Though if she wasn't so pissy and proud she could have just asked me," Jada grumbles with a roll of her eyes.

"Well it's not like you've been the most forthcoming person. You tried to kill her when you first got here."

I hear Nix growl and I stumble back a few steps. "I already explained that she was under the influence of shadows," they snap.

"Woah hey I'm not trying to start anything," I say quickly, holding my hands.

I think Nix is the only creature to ever scare me more than my own mother. They are taller than me by several inches and just made of pure muscle. But I think what bothers me most is how completely silent they are most of the time. Well, either that or the fact that I have no fucking clue what they are.

"Nix leave him be," Jada murmurs to her mate. They slowly step back, crossing their arms over their chest.

Jada sighs, stretching out her legs with a low groan. "Look Kaine, I want you to know that I don't hate Syrra. I just disagree with her methods and I don't understand her need for power. And I don't hate you either, I just know that you are partially blinded by the fact that she's your mate and I'm hoping I can help you realize the kind of person she is."

"I know what kind of person she—"

"No you don't," she growls, her gaze flaring red. "She may have told you about the things she's done but hearing it and seeing it for yourself are two very different things."

I start to protest again but she raises her hand and throws me a glare. "Kaine I'm not trying to make you leave her or anything, I'm simply hoping that as her mate you will be able to help temper her behavior. Now that her power's returning, her mistakes are going to have much greater consequences. She loses control very easily and I think a mate is the only thing that'll help."

That is what mates are supposed to do, Lucifer comments.

She doesn't even wait for me to respond before she lets the book fall shut, sighing heavily. "I expected Aris to have written something about the angels he was so fond of but I guess not," she grumbles, shoving it aside.

Dread starts to fill me when I realize how many books Jada and Syrra have gone through with still absolutely no luck. "None of these mention the angels?" I ask.

Jada snorts. "Not where their territory is."

I growl, running my hands roughly through my hair. "Can't you just do a spell or something to find the book we're looking for?" I snap.

She raises her eyebrow. "And what exactly should I look for?"

"I don't know!" I groan. "Just—any book that mentions angels."

Her lip twitches into a smirk but there is not even a hint of amusement on her face. She clicks her tongue and the lights flicker.

I take a step and whirl around as the room grows dark. Before my eyes can adjust, dozens of glowing white shapes surround me—no, hundreds of glowing white books.

I hear a sharp wince following by the rustle of clothing. "These are all the texts that mention the angels."

I clench my jaw hard. "All of them?"

"Yeah," Jada sighs.

"How many mention the angel's territory?" I ask.

She clicks her tongue again and I silently pray to the Gods as the books start to move around the room. The glow fades and appears again in bursts as the lights flicker. It would be mesmerizing if not for the pounding in my chest.

All of the books flicker once more, then the entire room falls into darkness.

I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants. "What does this mean—how many mention the territory?" I ask quickly.

Jada's defeated sigh nearly knocks the wind out of me. "None."

******

My eyes snap open and I let out a heavy breath. "Every night," I murmur as the leopard's cries echo through the halls.

Nothing keeps it quiet except the sun. It doesn't make a sound during the day, simply sits on my brother's bed, staring at the door. It doesn't even move.

Until it falls dark. Then it paces around the room and yowls and whines all night long. No one knows how to make it stop. And after the creature sent two warriors to the healer, no one is willing to try again. I was going to make an attempt until I realized the damage the dæmon did: both warriors are covered in deep scratches that immediately began to fester and strange black marks on their skin that the healer can't get rid of and both fell sick with a nasty illness after a day that still has yet to improve.

I don't know exactly what that creature is but the last thing I want is to go anywhere near it.

"Can't they shut that thing up?"

I nearly jump out of my skin at the voice. It takes me more than a moment to realize Syrra is lying beside me. "Wha—I thought—"

"I just needed to get some rest, I was hoping I'd remember something that could help but apparently not. I came back about an hour ago," she mumbles into the pillow.

"If you already rested then why are you still so tired?" I ask, watching as she blinks lazily and yawns as soon as she lifts her head.

"It rests your mind but not your body. I can actually think clearly now but I still don't have any real energy. I'd have to stay under the spell for much longer if I wanted to reenergize," she explains.

"Oh, well I wish you would've told me what you were doing. I had a very awkward conversation with your cousin after you vanished."

"Sorry I didn't even think about it until the last second. I promise I would have told you if I planned it but—Gods that thing sounds like it's dying!" She sits up, flinging the sheets off with a frustrated groan.

"Wait! What the hell are you doing?" I ask quickly when she starts to move towards the door.

"Something is wrong with that dæmon. They don't do that—even when the person they're bonded to is dying."

"Syrra don't touch it," I warn. "If something's wrong with it then all the more reason to stay away."

She pauses. Then sighs. "Did you guys try letting it out of the room?" She asks as she climbs back into the bed.

"Yeah it won't leave," I mutter, wrapping my arm around her when she curls up against my side.

"It doesn't make any sense. It can sense where Jaxon and Ash are and it should be trying to get to them. Their souls are bound—it should be fighting to get out of that room and lead us to your brother. Well, unless . . ." She hesitates, glancing up at me for a moment.

"What?"

"Unless the dæmon doesn't even know where they are."

A single thought crosses my mind and it makes my heart drop instantly. I close my eyes, gritting my teeth as they start to water. "Or they're both dead."

*****

Okay what POV do you guys want next? Jada or Fara?

Jada

Fara