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The creatures circled above, ragged wings beating the air, feathers sparse and broken. Others lingered on the fringes, perched on the rooftops of nearby buildings like grotesque sentinels. Claws gouged into stone. Flesh hung in tattered strips, exposing raw sinew and bone. Hollow, red eyes scanned the crowd below, waiting.

“C’mon,” Kato panted. Taly groaned when they picked up the pace, running down the street along the fence line, almost to the—

A black shadow slammed into the pavement in front of them, throwing up dirt, rock, and debris.

Kato dropped Taly, Ana moving to take his place as he shot forward in a flash of shadow magic.

The harpy loomed, easily 15 feet tall—a twisted mix of peeling scales and patchy feathers clinging to leathery, wrinkled skin. Sunken eyes flicked, sharp and ravenous, tracking every move.

It shrieked—half scream, half animalistic roar—and lunged, all claws and teeth.

Kato spun, dodging a swipe from its spindly arm. His hand slipped into his coat, fingers closing around cold metal.

He threw.

The disc hit with a sharp click, fastening to the harpy’s wasted chest.

Light and sound exploded.

The harpy reeled back, its chest torn open—violet light pulsing from within.

Ana and Ren took the opening, funneling into the courtyard with the crowd.

The harpy’s wings flailed, struggling for balance. Kato didn’t waste a second. In a flash, he closed the gap, twin blades flashing as he drove them into the harpy’s exposed chest.

With a guttural snarl, he twisted the blades, slicing through rotted sinew and brittle bone until they struck something harder.

Shadow crystal.

Teeth bared, he slammed the hilts forward. A sharp crack split the air.

The harpy screamed, a final, ear-splitting wail. Its massive body convulsed, shuddered, and then collapsed, lifeless.

People were still bottlenecked around the entrance to the Swap, but the doors began closing, pushed by the frantic people inside.

Another harpy dove at the wards, claws tearing through the shimmering veil of magic like a web. Seeing the weakness, others followed, shrieking and raking at the spellwork until it buckled. The mages holding up the temporary shield wavered. Then the first broke rank, and the rest fractured like glass, scattering into the crowd.

Ana and Ren charged for the Swap. Kato caught up, sweeping Taly into his arms and relieving them of her weight. He pushed through the tide of people, slipping through the doors first and jamming his foot between them, holding the doorway open a crack. Just enough to pass each of the girls through. Then for Ana to squeeze by as Ren shoved his shoulder against the door to pry it open wider.

Inside the Swap, people flung themselves against the doors, blind with panic. Hands grappled for Taly, pulling her out of Kato’s arms and away from the crush.

With a roar and a flare of shadow magic, Kato lunged for the doors, grabbing the edge of one and heaving it back open.

Gaining an inch, then two.

Ana shoved at the others, reaching for Ren’s hand as he tried to squeeze through the crack.

Kato roared, throwing his head back as that gap once more began narrowing. It wasn’t enough. There were too many working against him, Fey and Shardless, all pushing as one.

“Stop!” Ana shouted. “Please!”

She tried to pull Ren through, more still behind him, all pushing for the door, shouting,pleadingfor the doors to open.

“I’m sorry,” Ren mouthed to his mother, the words lost in the roar of the crowd and the shrieking of harpies behind him.

His eyes lifted, finding Taly’s staring back at him wide and choked with tears. A sad, quiet smile passed over his face.

Then he let go of his mother’s hand.