Chapter 181

Hannah

Opening my eyes did nothing; it felt like they were still closed even though I knew for sure that they were open. It was what I expected though upon entering the underworld. This is what happened the last time too. Except, the last time, I was taken out of this dark room by a force that I couldn’t see. I was in and out of consciousness like I was drugged and when I came through for the final time, I was back in my room.

Or at least, I thought it was my room.

This time, there was no invisible force that took me away and I didn’t feel like I was drugged. I felt somebody besides me though and from the feeling of my wolf, I knew right away that it was Sebastian.

He moved slightly beside me, indicating that he was alive and that he too was waking up. On the other side of me, still holding onto my arm, I felt Wrenley. Her body was trembling in fear, and I felt rotten for putting her in this position.

I lifted my body so I was sitting up; I tried adjusting my eyes to my new surroundings, but I still couldn’t see much of anything. I don’t think Xander was expecting us to return so soon because there was no welcoming party.

“Where are we?” Wren whispered from beside me.

“The underworld,” Sebastian answered before I had the chance to. “We need to get out of here before they realize we are here.”

He stood to his feet and examined the area. He had escaped from here once before; I was sure he could do it again.

“Are we in the palace?” I asked, eyeing him carefully.

“Yes. We are under the ground.”

“How did you get out of here before?”

“I found a vent,” he answered. “No doubt they probably drilled it shut. If I can find it, I can get it open with my wolf.”

“Doesn’t hurt to try,” I said. “But once we get out of here, how do we know the guards aren’t everywhere outside?”

“We don’t,” Sebastian answered as he thought more about it. “Try mindlinking Caroline. She might be able to be our eyes on the outside.”

“Will I be able to mindlink her?” I asked. “Does she even have a wolf? Can we communicate in the underworld?”

“It doesn’t hurt to try,” Sebastian said, mimicking my earlier statement.

I gave him a smirk as I attempted to connect with Caroline.

“Caroline? Can you hear me?”

“Hannah?” I heard her voice roaming through my head and I sighed with relief. I wasn’t about to question how I was able to communicate with her, but I was glad to hear her voice. “Are you back in the underworld?”

“Yes, we all are,” I answered.

“Who’s with you?”

“Sebastian and Wrenley…”

“Wrenley?” She asked curiously.

“My daughter,” I answered.

“You brought your daughter?” She gasped. “Why would you do that?”

“It’s a long story that I’d love to tell you about later,” I told her. “But right now, we need your help.”

“Anything.”

“We are under the palace right now; that’s where the portal opens. Sebastian is currently looking for the vent he escaped through last time. But we fear that once we get out of here, we will be bombarded by guards. We are leaving here completely blind.”

“So, you need me to be your eyes from the outside?” She asked, finishing my thoughts for me.

“Would you be able to do that?” I asked.

“Of course, Hannah. I’ll keep you posted on everything I see. I’ll head there right now. Don’t leave until I get there.”

“Thanks, Caroline,” I said fondly before ending the mindlink.

I heard a clattering through the darkness; at first, it startled me. But then I realized it was only Sebastian.

“I got the vent off,” he called through the darkness. He was coming closer to us. “Did you get a hold of Caroline?”

“Yes,” I answered. “She said not to leave until she gets here.” After a bit longer silence, I decided to ask, “What’s the plan once we do get out of here?”

“We will figure it out once we are in safety. Right now, we just need sanctuary. I don’t trust the walls and grounds in this palace. Xander has eyes and ears everywhere,” he said, looking around warily. “Plus, this is a lot to take in. We need a few minutes to rest and recoup.”

He glanced down at Wren who was still holding onto my arm tightly; she was terrified. He was right. We had to get her somewhere safe to calm her down and rest before we think about what the next step is. She might have been brave wanting to come here and help, but she was still only a little girl, and we could only expect so much from her.

I wasn’t sure how long we were waiting, but I was half expecting Xander to pop out of nowhere. He must have been so preoccupied with his vessels and the Bluemoon ball, that he wasn’t paying attention to what was happening around his own territory.

Not that I was complaining or anything.

“Hannah! I’m outside. The coast is clear. You can come out here.”

I looked over at Sebastian with a head nod indicating that we were all set to go. I took in a steady breath and walked into the darkness behind Sebastian, with Wrenley still clinging to my arm. Once we got to the vent, I climbed in first. Thankfully, it wasn’t too high off the ground. So, it was an easy climb. Sebastian lifted Wren into the vent behind me.

“Just follow closely behind me,” I instructed her.

She gave me a courageous head nod in return, and I couldn’t help but smile at her. I turned away and began crawling through the vent. I heard Sebastian climbing through the vent behind Wren, sealing it closed behind us.

I saw a faint light on the other end, and I was relieved knowing that we were almost outside. I saw the blonde head of Caroline peering through with a large smile on her face. She unhooked the vent, giving us an opening to climb through.

“I’ve been worried when I didn’t get any more letters from you,” she said, once my feet were on the ground.

I helped Wrenley out of the vent; she seemed frazzled and breathless. It was nighttime in the underworld, but the sky managed to be a maroon-red shade. The heat was just as unbearable as I remembered.

“We shouldn’t stay here long,” she said, peering around. “The guards will be making another round to this section of the palace soon.”

We didn’t waste any more time, we sprinted from the palace grounds until we reached the naked forest. We didn’t shift into our wolf forms, knowing they would be able to sense us much sooner if we did.

“Should we go to my bunker?” Caroline asked as we slowed down our pace.

“No,” Sebastian answered quickly. “We need to go somewhere safer.”

I didn’t have to ask him where he wanted us to go; I already knew what he was thinking. He wanted to go to Liz’s sanctuary in her witchery shop. That was the safest place for us; that was the safest place for Wrenley.

We were able to reach the witchery shop quickly. Caroline was the first to go in because we needed to make sure that no one was there. Once she gave us the “all set” we all went into the shop to see Liz. She stood behind the counter in shock that we were standing before her.

“Sebby?” She breathed, coming around the counter.

“Hey, Liz,” he said with a faint smile.

“Sebby?” Caroline asked, raising her brows at me.

I stifled a laugh.

“Don’t ask,” I told her with a light chuckle.

Liz ran to Sebastian and hugged him tightly.

“What the hell are you doing back here?” She asked.

She separated from him and looked between all of us until her eyes landed on Wrenley.

“Is that…?”

“My daughter?” Sebastian asked before she could get the full question out. “Yes. This is Wrenley.”

“What the hell, Sebby,” she breathed. “What is going on?”

“I’ll explain everything. But we need somewhere safe to hide.”

Liz nodded quickly and motioned for us to follow her. She brought us to her underground apartment and then to the hidden room we stayed in the last time we were here. Caroline seemed skeptical, but once she got downstairs, she was in awe.

“Woah, she breathed.

Liz turned to face us once the door had disappeared. She folded her arms across her chest and looked amongst all of us.

“Now spill it. Tell me everything.”