Darian turned to his mate. "Love? Are you okay?"
She nodded absently.
Kade walked over and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder; he immediately pulled it back as if he had been burned. "Gods above, her magic is completely unfettered. It's as if something stripped her of every discipline or restraint that she built to control her magic. What in the hell did they do to her?"
Darian cupped her face in both of his hands. "Baby? Do you know what that machine was that you were in?"
She nodded, her eyes unfocused. "He said it would steal all my magic."
Kade turned to Darian. "We need to get her to Quinn. He uses earth magic like Amelia. He can help her get her magic under control."
All at once, the men were moving.
Oron took the seat next to Keelan's body. He met Darian's eyes and nodded. Darian knew that his brother would look after Keelan while he helped his mate. Once Amelia was well, he'd face what had happened. Later, he'd face it later.
*****
Just outside the city, Darian heard Colton start cussing.
"We have company," Gavriel said from the drivers seat, keeping an eye on the rearview mirror.
"Maybe they changed their mind about a fight." Aiden cracked his knuckles.
Colton's phone buzzed, and he answered it putting it on speaker, it was Lorcan.
"What do you want to do, Commander?"
"Punch it. Let's put some distance between us. Then I want to pull over and transfer Keelan and Amelia to your vehicle. Your only objective is getting them to Adam and Quinn as quickly and as safely as possible. Alpha Unit will handle our guests," Aiden said, his face dark with emotion.
"Roger that," Lorcan confirmed before hanging up.
Aiden turned in his seat to face Darian. "I'd understand if you wanted to go with Amelia."
Darian looked over; his poor mate stared into space, tears trailing lightly down her cheeks. He kissed the top of her head then turned to Aiden. "No. I owe them for what they did to my mate and for what they did to Keelan. With any luck, Keelan's soul is with them, and we can set him free."
Aiden nodded and turned back in his seat. Gavriel pushed down on the accelerator, and the van behind them became smaller and smaller. After about ten minutes, Gavriel brought the SUV to a stop, and the men moved quickly. Darian had time to kiss Amelia before Lorcan picked her up and carried her to their SUV. Larik, Beta's fae warrior, nodded at Darian, his eyes flicking to the silver ring on Darian's right hand. Larik raised his fist to his chest in salute before picking Keelan up. Darian trusted all of his unit brothers equally, but he felt relieved that it was another fae looking after Keelan and Amelia.
Doors slammed and the SUV carrying the most important person in his life, his mate, turned left and sped toward Lycaonia. Everyone, including Oron, got back in the SUV.
Aiden looked around. "Let's take this off the main road. I don't want any innocents to get hurt."
Gavriel nodded and turned left down the same road where the other SUV had just disappeared. They drove slowly for about five miles before they saw the dark van coming up fast behind them. Gavriel pulled off to the side of the road, and the men got out. They stepped into the road and watched as the van got closer and closer. Less than a mile before the van reached them, it came to an abrupt stop, and the front of their car collapsed in on itself like an accordion. Steam from the radiator created a cloud that was barely seen in the grey pre-dawn light.
"Well, you don't see that every day," Oron said, squinting at the wreck.
After a few minutes, the van doors opened and men stumbled out. They looked up and saw the five unit warriors standing in the middle of the road and ran forward. Seconds later, like their car, they slammed into an invisible force, and blood spraying, their bodies fell to the ground.
"Well, I'll be a sonofabitch; Elder Airgead must have figured out a perimeter spell." Colton whistled his admiration.
Gavriel tilted his head and watched as the completely dazed ferals tried again to run at them only to be knocked senseless against the barrier. "As much as I would love to watch them do this all day, we do have ferals attacking the city." He pulled out his gun.
Colton looked over at the men on the ground and sighed. "Doesn't seem right. They should be frothing at the mouth and trying to bite us."
"Think of it like killing a mouse in a mouse trap, it's just a quicker way to exterminate," Aiden said, pulling his gun out.
All five men walked over and took aim. The sound of gunshots shattered the tranquil winter morning. They checked each body and the car for Keelan's soul. Not finding it, one by one, they dragged the bodies into the ditch for burial detail later and got back into their SUV.
"I bet you it was a witch in the city that freaked out during the attack that created the perimeter," Colton said, looking out the window.
"We need to find out who it was so we know the conditions. No perimeter is perfect, we learned that with..." Aiden swallowed hard.
"With Keelan." Gavriel said, finishing their commander's sentence.
"One thing at a time, Aiden. Let's secure the city and make sure our mates are safe first. Then we'll let your father try to figure out who broke the law and cast a spell over the whole city while we get some rest," Colton said, resting a hand on his friend's shoulder.
Aiden just nodded.
Everyone was quiet for the rest of the drive to the city.
*****
Amelia stared out the window as Lorcan maneuvered their SUV through the parking garage. No one spoke as they pulled into a spot and got out. Larik picked up Keelan and gently lifted him out of the vehicle. Amelia watched; to her, it looked like he was sleeping. She recalled his smile, they way he teased Darian, his concern for his friend, and the way he would wink at her, making her feel like she belonged. He was the sweet one, the kind one. Why? Why had this happened to him?