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Before she’d left her chambers, she’d commanded he bring her a horse to this spot. She was relieved he had managed to meet them.

“Your horse, Lady Cecily.” He handed her the reins as the horse neighed and bucked its head.

She took them after she placed Kaeylyn in the saddle. He even helped her, giving her a boost so she could climb onto the back of the large stallion behind her younger sister.

There was no point in thanking him. Once she released them from her spell when she was a safe distance away, her guards wouldn’t remember anything of the last two weeks.

We are almost free.She’d managed to get this far without being caught.But we are still not safe.

No, Valerie knew they had a long distance to travel to return to their home, to the safety it would provide. She knew Geryon would come after them.

The darkness of night would cover them.

Kicking her heels in, she whipped the reins and forced the horse into a gallop. It whinnied as they headed straight for the palace exit and the gate that would let them off these fenced lands. She pulled on the reins when they got to the closed wooden bridge gate. The horse turned in a circle, neighing at being abruptly stopped.

“Who goes there?” a soldier yelled.

“Open the gate,” she demanded.

She could see the crank to the right, but the second guard began to draw his sword instead of doing as she asked. “There has been no mention of anyone leaving the palace grounds.”

A decision made in haste, Valerie launched two fireballs, each one slamming into their chests and knocking them back. They patted at their bodies to rid themselves of the flames while rolling in the dirt.

It gave Valerie enough time to focus her magic on the crank while she chanted. Her brow crinkled in concentration as she directed both her palms to it. She felt tension in her fingers, like something was pushing back against her. Struggling against it, she tried to close her hands into fists, even as pain radiated up her fingers, the back of her hands, up her forearms.

There was a grinding sound, the noise of something solid groaning under an immense amount of pressure.

Right before the guards were almost upon them, the crank broke apart. The gate bridge suddenly fell.

With a whooping call, she kicked her heels in and grabbed the reins again. The horse sprinted forward, shooting them through the open gate and knocking the guards away.

“Hold on tight, Kaeylyn!”

Valerie made sure her arm was around her sister’s torso, the horse moving at an impossible speed.

When they were a small distance down the field path that would eventually become forest, the sound of alarm bells rung behind them.

Now, we run.

The sound of a bell ringing broke Geryon from his impatient and worried thoughts. Laying on Cecily’s bed, he sat forward.Is that... the alarm bells?Quickly getting to his feet, Geryon wasted no time leaving Cecily’s apartment.It could be another Witch.

Pumping his arms while he sprinted, he descended the stairs before making his way to the front of the palace. A guard was running across the grounds, heading towards the main building. With a snarl, he took in the scent that had recently passed through.It is definitely a Witch.One he’d never smelt before.

However, his eyes widened when he picked up a second odour trail.They have the witchling.

“Lord Geryon, we have been attacked by a Witch.” The guard pointed to the gates, huffing as he came to a stop in front of him. “It has left the castle grounds.”

Soldiers were already preparing themselves for whatever demands he issued, their heavy boot steps echoing as they ran.

How? How did one get inside the palace without me knowing?Why was there only one track – a track of it leaving?It must have entered a different way.

Something didn’t seem right.

How did it know where the child was?It hadn’t needed to search the palace. It had known where to go.

There was no point in going to his chambers. He could smell the Witch child was with it, knew it was gone.Bradwick!He was the only other person who knew Geryon had the child.

Turning from the guard, he sprinted towards Bradwick’s chambers.