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35 REN MONROE

Unnatural.

That was the only word for what they were facing. Ren’s very first spell had hit the viceroy square in the chest. It was, as far as she could tell, the only spell that had done true damage to him. As if he’d simply not been expecting it, and thus it had struck past whatever impossible defenses were currently making him invulnerable to their attacks. She had unleashed dozens of spells. Theo and Avid were casting a steady stream alongside her. The viceroy’s defenses should have been overwhelmed in less than thirty seconds.

Instead, nothing touched him. Spells rebounded, blasting nearby tables into shrapnel. Some appeared to simply vanish into him. As he fought, his eyes were dark and glinting and focused. She knew he’d been an accomplished student at Balmerick—but this was beyond anything she’d ever witnessed. It was one thing to resist so many attacks. Quite another to be able to unleash such powerful spells of his own at the same time. It was Landwin Brood’s advice to Theo. Keep a man backpedaling, and he wouldn’t be able to hit you at full strength. That was true of magic. Barrages like the one the viceroy was facing destroyed a person’s ability to counter. One was too busy shielding themselves to perform their own attack.

And yet he was doing exactly that. Fighting with reflexes that not even Able Ockley could have rivaled. Ren was starting to lose hope when she saw Dahvid Tin’Vori join their fight. He swiped one of his tattoos and she watched as two versions of him began walking forward into the battle. Spreading out slightly in their approach. The viceroy saw his new opponents a split second too late. He had to choose between them, and he did, blasting the one on the right with a powerful burst of magic. But that left him vulnerable to the other one.

The real one.

Dahvid lunged with his sword. It caught the edges of a summoned ward, but he gritted his teeth and shoved the blade in with all his strength. Just enough to break through. The barrier shattered and the blade slipped into the viceroy’s side like a whisper. Not a killing blow, but more than enough to stagger him.

Gray’s eyes widened. He seemed to realize he could not beat all of them. Not all at once. Dahvid swung again, but the viceroy blinded the room with a final spell. A concentrated light cantrip like the one that Ren liked to use. She blinked a few times, and then saw him sprinting. Straight for the western entry. Ren knew it led to the glass bridge, and that the bridge led to other parts of the estate. There would be escape tunnels. Places he could go that they could not follow. Ren didn’t hesitate. She sprinted after him.

Theo was a step behind her, their bond pulsing with hunger and fear and adrenaline. Dahvid and Avid joined their pursuit. Paladins maneuvered between them, though, forming a sort of human wall. Ren was forced into close-quarter combat. By the time she’d blasted her way through, the viceroy had a good thirty-second head start.

We can’t let him get away.

The hunt began.