"Asair, get in here—now." Natalie's shouting shattered his thoughts. Asair closed his book, though he hadn't read a word, for his thoughts always wandered to Halen.

His chest ached with longing; a feeling so much more overwhelming since their separation. From his dimension, when he watched over her from the orb, he yearned to know her more intimately. Now, after being a part of her, knowing her every thought, the desire to be near Halen consumed him.

He understood her struggle of having so much power, and yet being tied to a Guardian that had none. Natalie found love with a Hunter, but Halen's heart was lost in the Guardian bond. The connection created a desperate loneliness that would never be filled. When Asair found her, despite the silver beneath her arm, he would find a way to set her free. He owed her at least that much.

"Asair!" Natalie's voice rose shrill.

"I'm coming." He shut the door to his bedroom, even though privacy was moot in the Hunters' fortress. He frowned as the ceiling camera rotated to follow him down the hall. The Hunters claimed the surveillance team worked for their safety and he couldn't argue the fact that he and Natalie needed protection, but he hated the idea of eyes on him twenty-four-seven, recording his every move.

He shuddered at the thought of the dozens of tapes with the day-to-day-dealings of the fortress—most had been innocent, but some tapes had been too gruesome to view. Not all the Hunters murdered sirens with mercy. He couldn't fathom the idea of re-watching their kills. However, with Tage and Halen's mother, the recordings had proved useful. Asair wouldn't have agreed to come, let alone stay at the fortress if he hadn't viewed the tapes himself.

Emil and Natalie stripped their guilt away, replaying the footage in slow motion, claiming nothing could have saved Tage. Asair begged to differ. Instead of pinning the siren boy Ezra to the ceiling, Natalie should have bandaged Tage. Those few seconds may have saved the girl's life. Natalie was quick to remind him had played a part in her death, too. Had he not created the mermaids, then Tage never would have had the venom in her bloodstream. Blame was a game no one would win between sinners.

He crossed the hall and headed toward the arched doorway at the end, where the theatre speakers blared with a newscast. As he entered, Natalie's back was to him, her wavy dark hair cascading over the seat of her wheelchair, her attention fixed on the enormous panoramic screen.

He stepped beside her, not caring about the news since she had already called him in three times that day for minor earthquakes in Indonesia and a flood in Venice, which had nothing to do with sirens or Halen. He figured she just liked the company. Emil, usually by her side, would lasso the moon if Natalie asked, but currently, the Hunter busied himself securing the perimeter with Vita and Jae. "What is it now?"

"I found Halen." She pressed a button on the remote.

His gaze snapped to the blurred images as she flipped through the channels. "Well, stop on one, so I can see." He held his breath as dozens of flame ravaged animal carcasses filled the screen.

"I told you it was her. The nightmares we had last night were real," Natalie said. "Dax is guiding her magick. Look at all the bodies. If we weren't already a target, now the shifters will be after us for sure."

"What has she done?" He slumped in the armchair next to Natalie. As the cameras scanned the entire massacre, Asair winced as if he had been punched in the gut. "Where is she?"

"She's closer than we thought—Nevada."

"What? She's in the same state. We have to go to her."

"Not so easy. She could be anywhere by now."

"But we can feel her. If we leave the fortress, use our bond as our guide—"

"You know we can't leave here. The other Hunters, the ones who did this to me"—she waved across her legs—"they will come for our souls. Besides, where would we start?"

"There." He pointed to the screen, where a map of the surrounding area popped up. Asair rubbed the sides of his head, pressing his temples where a new headache sprouted. He had grown accustomed to the pain of inhabiting Quinn's body. Jae had assured him in time this, too, would pass, but now the throbbing only added to his frustration.

"Putting our lives at risk is not an option."

"We have to go." His gaze slid to her wheelchair. "I can go."

"You think it's because of this." She clutched the tops of the wheels. "I may not be able to walk, but I'm just as strong as you. The arrow injured my spine, not my magick."

"I know." He sighed. "I'm sorry. You've been the bravest of us all. I just thought it might be easier if I went." He thought of the forest, the arrow piercing her back as she collapsed in Halen's arms. She would have died, her soul trapped in the gold arrow if Jae hadn't shielded her with her wings and spun healing magick to stop the bleeding and the possession. Only a dragon could have saved her. Silence had consumed Natalie when Emil had brought her the wheelchair, but if it bothered her now, she didn't let it show.

Asair leaned with his back against the wall next to a bronze bust of the Hunter Otho. Seven more busts outlined the living quarters, all cast in their original bodies—a reminder of who the Hunters were before the curse. As he wrung his scarred hands, he found it hard to recall his previous appearance. Despite the headaches, he'd grown comfortable in Quinn's body; even his magick flowed through Quinn's veins as if he had been born into this vessel, and now his sparks surged. "We have to bring her here."

Natalie grabbed a blanket from the armchair and wrapped it around her shoulders. "I want to, I really do, but how? If you or I cast magick right now, we'll draw the shifters and the other Hunters right to us."

"A portal," he said, before considering the consequences. "Did you see the lake on the map—Pyramid Lake? She's close."

"Oh, no." She shook her head furiously.

"Oh, yes." He grinned. "It can't be a coincidence. Think about it. What shifters occupy the lake area? With a disturbance like this, those scavengers would surface."

"They prefer the term collectors. I've had my run in with the owls before. It's too risky. If we go in... If they capture us, then there's more to lose than our lives. Believe me, I want her here just as much as you, but we have to think of the collateral damage."

His mind reeled with each scenario as he paced the living room. He had witnessed many wars unfold from the orb. Asair had thought he understood the mind of a soldier better than anyone, but he hadn't factored in the feelings of the heart. He pounded the wall. "We have to do something!"

"And we will." Natalie grabbed her cell phone. "I'm calling Emil and Vita back to the fortress. We need to discuss our options."

"I could send the mermaids to the lake. They're restless in the reservoir. They would welcome the freedom, if only for a few hours."

Natalie wagged the phone at him. "No way! If Halen is there, then those fish would snap her neck. I see how they ogle over you—especially Selene. She's vindictive. You never should have summoned them here. They can't be trusted."

She was more than right. The spell bound with his blood broke when his heart stopped beating in the prison dimension, but the bond formed over a hundred years was still as strong as the day he had cast the dark magick. "They would protect Halen if I asked."

"Jealousy trumps reason. We need another way." She strummed her black painted nails against her phone.

With her this close, his magick connected with hers, the honey scented sparks begging for release. Even without the curse or a Guardian, he wondered if sirens could ever truly be free. He knelt in front of Natalie, placing his hands on her knees. His palms warmed. "You're burning up. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." She wheeled away from his touch. "Halen may have a fever."

"You're feeling her?" He balled his hands into fists.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you're freaking out."

"Of course, I am. Doesn't any of this bother you? What if Halen's just lying in the desert, too weak to move?" He nodded toward the TV. "You know dark magick would leave her drained." He shuddered at his next thought. "What if the collectors found her—then what?"

"You're right." Natalie pulled the blanket tighter around her. "Get your fish to spin a portal then."

"Are you sure? I can go."

She let out a heavy sigh, an action that had become familiar in the Hunter's fortress—one synonymous with their rising frustration, worry, and fears. "As much as I hate saying this, you need to send the mermaids in—alone. I can't see another way."

"Even though you don't trust them?" He was stalling, but he had to run through all the possibilities. Once he asked Selene, there was no turning back.

"I trust you. And besides, if Halen doesn't have the elixir, she's screwed. Send the mermaids. At least then we'll know if she's there." She nodded toward the screen, where the cameras zoomed in on a coyote carcass. "We should have been there for her." "We didn't know." Asair bowed his head.

"I should have known! I'm her twin!" As her voice rose, the Hunters' busts rattled on the marble pillars. "If I can feel her fever, why can't I find her?"

He touched her shoulder, absorbing part of her rage until the room settled. "The curse is complicated, and then there's Dax..." He didn't want to think of him on the edge of Halen's seam.

"Do what you have to do." She glanced up, tears rimming her eyes.

"I'll speak with the mermaids after they feed," he said, though his feet wouldn't move. Asking the mermaids had been his suggestion. Why, then, did his gut twist with dread? Selene would indulge the favor, but not without a sacrifice. He feared what she would demand in return.