Page 82 of Bound

She wasn’t where she told us she would be. The minute wefelt something was wrong, we took off for the miller’s house only to be toldthe queen never showed up. Neither has her guard.

We immediately made the run for home.

“I would feel it if she was dead,” Cian says as Sweeneyeases up and stops at the back of our brugh.

“Yes, she’s not dead.” I can’t even consider thepossibility. “She’s had an accident. She’s unconscious.” That has to be it.

“I don’t know.” Ci slides to the ground and starts joggingtoward the brugh. “We can feel her when she’s sleeping. She’sunconscious then, too. This is different. Something’s gone wrong.”

I know. I don’t need to tap into Ci’s intellect to knowsomething is wrong with our wife. I shove down the bile rising in my throat atthe idea of something bad happening to our Meggie.

Nothing can happen. We just began our lives after years ofwaiting for her. She has to be alive.

“I’ll go around the right. You take the left.” I sound farmore in control than I am.

Cian runs. I pull my sword and force myself to move withcaution. She cut the connection for some reason. That’s all. Sometimes she cutsit so we won’t feel what she’s feeling. There are all kinds of reasons for thatto happen. She might think we need all our faculties to conduct theinvestigation.

Except I felt a jolt of fear before the connection cut. Itslammed into me, seizing my heart and threatening to overwhelm me.

“Beckett!”

All caution is gone when I hear Cian yell. I run toward thefront of the brugh, and what I see stops me in my tracks.

Niall’s body is crumpled near the front porch, left therelike a piece of trash someone forgot to sweep away.

“Meg!” I can’t help the shout that comes from my throat. Itthreatens to shake the ground.

No. That isn’t my shout. It was the thunder that accompaniedit. Clouds, gray and ominous, are suddenly darkening the sky above, and it’sall coming from me.

I don’t miss the way the trees shake all around us.

“Something took her,” Cian says. “I felt her fear, but sheknew what it was. Not who it was. What. She didn’t know the name of thecreature who scared her. I don’t think it was a Fae.”

A pit opens in my gut. “Goblins?”

Ci shakes his head. “They wouldn’t dare. They’re afraid ofyou, and she made a good impression on them. She trades with them. They takethat seriously.”

“Then it’s Torin.” It’s everything I fear. Torin will takeher and offer to trade. Her life for ours.

We’ll do it because our lives don’t matter without Meg.

“We can’t know that for sure,” Cian says.

“Then who was it?” My fear and frustration threaten to takeover. We have no idea where she is. Someone could be torturing her as we standhere. We must find her. I take a deep breath because panic isn’t going to helpour wife.

“We’ll gather the villagers and start searching.” Cian’sface is drawn in tight lines. “She can’t have gotten far.”

We look at each other and the words are left unspoken aboutexactly how far she might be from us. There are whole other planes she could betaken to.

“We should send word to Dante to have him search the Vampireplane.” A few scenarios play out in my head. “There were a lot of vampires atthe arena who felt like they’d been betrayed. Any one of them could have stolenher.”

“They’ll go into hiding then.” Cian paces, his irritationobvious.

“Then we’ll have to use our assets to find her.” And then Ihave a plan. A stupid plan, but the only one I can think of. “Have you heardthe rumors that Liadan has skill with magic?”

Cian goes still. “I don’t know that’s such a good idea. Idon’t like that woman.”

Cian never liked Lia, but I can’t concern myself with Cian’spicky nature. “She’s the only one I know who can do a locator spell. I knowMeggie won’t like it, but I would make a deal with the devil if I thought itmight get our wife back. Can’t you say the same? If you won’t, I will.”